looking at older trucks - dodge dakota/nissan hardbody/toyota pickup?

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by DELL37

The battery I can understand but a starter and brakes in 54k.

I'm at 160k and have done fluids and a timing belt. I just the third set of pads on the front and replaced the rear shoes while I was at it. The first set of pads lasted 75k. The replacements lasted 80k.

You are making the same assumption that millions of others on car forums make.
Miles are not the only source of mechanical problems.
Age of the vehicle has a lot to do with iit also.
Presently my R/T is 11 years old, and time does affect every vehicle, regardless of the miles driven,
I replaced the tires with less than half the tread worn because they were beyond the age where I felt safe driving on them.
Years ago, I had a blowout on the freeway in my mark v because the tire had developed dry rot.
There was plenty of tread, but I never noticed the sidewalls were cracking because of dry rot.
So, time plays an important part in the longivity of parts on a vehicle.
Bob.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by Brian_M

54k and needing a starter and brakes!!?? That's ridiculous. Battery, yeah, that's a time-bomb... has nothing to do with the vehicle or its quality short of being killed early thanks to a broken charging system.

Originally Posted by DELL37

The battery I can understand but a starter and brakes in 54k.

Brakes - Failure often has more to do with the type of driving one does than the number of miles they drive. Someone who drives mostly in town will wear out his breaks faster than someone who routinely makes longer trips. Given that the truck is 10 years old with only 54K miles it's pretty easy to assume the type of driving that's been done with this truck.

Starter - One of the hardest things on a starter is a weak battery. As has been stated, the battery was replaced; it's possible that the failing battery caused damage that shortened the life of the starter.

Regardless, the guy has spent maybe $500 for repairs on his truck over the course of 10 years. That sounds pretty damn reasonable to me.