Is it possible to get a good used Toyota product? Besides the new(ish) ones that were leased or older ones that were barely driven because the owner can't drive anymore, all the used Toyotas, lexuses and scions that I am looking at my area are all "worn out" and have an average of 200k-250k+ mileage on the odometer (some of them are varying or have even more mileage).
Is it safe to buy a used Toyota product even when the mechanic says that every looks ok in the end?
I would want a vehicle that has an excellent service history over the course of ownership. I am very picky when shopping for used cars, but I look for one owner usually and also well maintained (all fluid changes done at proper intervals). There is nothing wrong with an older, high mileage Toyota as long as it has been well taken care of. Finding those is a different story.
We should all question everything all the time.
This is an underrated statement.
You can't always find a one owner, but carfax, or similar, does give some good information that can help you to make a better decision.
If you see, let's say three owners over 150k miles, and each one owned the car for quite a few years, that is a good sign. If you see owners buying it, then selling very quickly, be cautious. At least that is my thought on it.
Also, what makes you say they are all "Worn out" ? Is that just because of mileage, or they are having issues and near death?
I sold my 98' 4runner 2 years ago with 225k miles and it ran perfect, and if the next owner takes half way decent care of it, it would likely double that mileage easily.
I say worn out in terms of mileage. I would only mention having issues if the price of the car was $1500 or less. There are few people out there who will gamble with a car like that. Scotty says that he doesn't trust stuff like CarFax because sometimes they don't tell accurate information (according to him). How is 3 different people owning a car a good sign? That is even more of a gamble-which owner took care of the car, who didn't and how many miles did they put on the car.
First off, I didn't say 3 owners was a good sign, I said that if they kept it a while, that can be a good sign. A lot of people don't like to keep cars forever, but if it is a bad car, they are likely to ditch it quickly.
I am not saying carfax is great, but it may tip you off to something bad. It can help tell you how long the owners had the car. If a person only had a car for a year and sold it, that would scare me, why did they sell it so fast? Carfax can also help tell you where the car has been, and sometimes it can tell you maintenance records. The last car I helped buy for somebody, the owner said it was first owned by an old lady that didn't drive it much, carfax backed that up, and she did good maintenance on it. The next person drove a pretty good bit, but only went to one place that showed up on carfax, that is not exactly a deterrent for me, as most of my maintenance I do myself, and many mechanics don't report to carfax. The last owner bought it shortly before covid, but rarely used it, and carfax and his title backed that.
3 owners yes, but from what I could see it looked okay, and has been so far.
At that mileage, everything depends on price.
If they’re still priced at a premium, look at other vehicles/OEMs.
