I’m looking at an extremely low mileage Truck. Original owned it for 3yrs drove it 200 miles. Sold at auction and now has almost 300 miles on it. It is a 2007.
Sorry, I forgot to finish the question. So what should I be afraid of?
A 2007 what? Mack truck? Toyota Tacoma? Ford F150?
Vehicles do not like to sit for four years in a garage. I’d wonder if the engine/transmission/drivetrain seals have deteriorated. Has the gas sat in the tank that long? Are the brakes locked up? Why was it not driven. It could be a great deal or bucket of trouble. I would not pay more than for it than any other 2007 with normal (15,000/year) miles.
Many vehicles like this have a story behind them. Sometimes those stories are true and sometimes they’re not.
At 300 miles this truck should be as new. This means no mass of key marks on the ignition switch, no scrubbing at all of the rubber pads on the brake pedal, etc, etc.
Does your state have inspection programs? You may be able to verify the mileage by checking with the state inspection receipt records.
This truck could be completely legitimate. There are a number of reasons why it may not be.
One of them could be that it was wrecked shortly after purchase and sat somewhere for years while people were at odd over who was going to pay for fixing it. Eventually it was settled, the truck was repaired, and off to the auction it goes.
There’s not enough known to really make much of a guess about what’s going on but I certainly would not pay a near new price for the truck even if the miles are legit. It’s an '07 that was likely built back in '06 so it’s probably now about 4.5 years old.
I agree with twotone. Cars are meant to be used. Unless it was put into very careful storage, I wouldn’t touch it. Parts age faster w/o use and lubrication and fuels contaminate over time. Get something “used” !
If you buy it, replace all the fluids right away. Coolant, brake fluid, trans fluid, differential fluid all can deteriorate over time. Low miles isn’t the issue with fluids. Then just drive the truck. Realize hoses and other rubber parts are not new, and these kinds of parts will fail but you might as well drive it and see how it goes.
If the truck was sold at auction that is a red flag. Is it running now? Can you get it on the road for a test drive? A pre-buy mechanical inspection can reveal if the truck is really that low mileage.
I would also get the battery tested.
I agree with the others, lots to check on a car this old with so few miles. My biggest concern is the fuel system, 300 miles is hardly one tank of gas! Gas goes bad after about a year, leading to clogged injectors and pumps. These would need to be checked out carefully.
Thanks for everyones’ opinion and help. It appears to be a truck tied up in a company’s bankruptcy and it sat for three years waiting disposition of assets. I checked it out and went ahead and bought it. It was also
Toyota certified. It came from a dealer. 301 miles when i bought it and looks new. It is as if stepped back in time and bought a new Turdra.
…you should definitely avoid buying one of those Turdra trucks.
They didn’t give them that crappy name for trivial reasons!
On the other hand, you might want to consider buying a Tundra, as they have a fairly good reputation.
;-))
I’m sorry.
I just couldn’t resist this “gimmee”.
I don’t agree that the truck has deteriorated from storage. I have a car over 20 years old that is parked in a dry garage during winters that is in excellent driving condition. My last winter car, parked in summers, was 13 years old when I traded it and it also showed no signs of deterioration due to storage. For example, it had the original exhaust system, rear drum brake linings, clutch disk, wheel bearings and radiator hoses when it was traded. None of the seals were ever touched except the one for the oil filter.
For your truck, I would be concerned only with the fuel quality and possibly brake rust on disk/drum swept surfaces. If the truck was stored in a dry garage, the brakes may be no problem. The seals, for engine, transmission and wheel bearings should be like new. A fresh oil and coolant change would be prudent.
If a parked vehicle is properly stored, deterioration stops. Check with any car museum.
Congratulations on your “find”.
It’s good for a vehicle to be run occasionally to keep everything that should be wet wet, including seals. But in truth the vehicle isn’t that old. I’d purge and refresh the gas and oil, change the filters and check it carefully for signs of critters and/or bugs, and drive it carefully until I was sure it was working correctly, especially the brakes. Discs, drums, and some other brake parts can rust if left sitting, and you don’t want to discover the hard way that the brakes don’t work.
It sounds like you cars were used at least every six months, that’s totally different. Besides, winter storage is much easier on the fuel system. The key to op car is…properly stored.