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Old 05-05-2015, 01:06 AM   #20
jimmerj
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Danville, California
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Re: How high of mileage is considered worrisome for Tacomas?

I retired 5 years ago. So, I took a job as a courier for an analytical laboratory in NorCal just for something to do. We use almost exclusively Tacomas. The oldest Tacoma is a 1997. It has 672,000 plus miles on. It is the four cylinder with an automatic. Original engine, original transmission, original rear end. Three other Tacomas in the fleet include a 2002, a 2003 and a 2004. Each of these have in excess of 425,000 miles on them, all original powertrains. I lucked out and got a 2006 Taco that they purchased last April with only 52,000 miles on it. All trucks have camper shells and all carry numerous heavy coolers filled with ice and water samples daily. Sometimes when I really load the thing up, I worry that the front end might rise up off the freeway when I hit a bump, but they truck on. My 2006 Taco has the 2.7, better than the 2.4 used previously. It now has 126,000 miles and counting without a tick. We change oil at 7,500 miles and do other factory maintenance pretty much on schedule (timing belts, transmission fluids, rear end fluids, brakes, power steering pump flush ,radiator flush, and so on.) We have a guy inhouse that does the work. If you religiously check the oil weekly, check tire pressures and don't keep the poor Taco floored all the time, it just might last 1,000,000 miles. (My personal pick-up is a 2005 Taco PreRunner TRD Access Cab (no timing belt). It has 146,000 plus and has only been in the shop for tires and brakes. I personally do the rest of the maintenance and it has never failed me. So, if you are looking to buy one with 75K on the Odo, you are probably going to be alright. You can tell if a truck has been maintained or not by looking under the hood and driving it. Smell the tranny oil on the dip stick. No burnt smells and not dark in color. Engine oil should be almost invisible on the dipstick. No chunks in the antifreeze. No rust on the side of the block and look for worn bolts, indication things have been removed and replaced. Finally, ask for the service records and CarFax. Pretty obvious. Truck ON!
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