I bought a 2007 truck two years ago with 155k miles on it. I only drive it about 5,000 miles a year.
I don't do repairs at home, but have a trusty mechanic.
It's a second vehicle - wife has a 2016 minivan for the kids.
Next time I buy, what's the consensus on optimal miles to buy a vehicle with?
In my head, buying at 150k and drive to 200k, then repeat seemed to make sense.
What criteria are you using to define "optimal miles"?
Initial purchase cost? Ongoing maintenance/repair costs? Reliability/dependability?
Under your scenario, you will keep your current truck until the year 2030, which will make it 23 years old.
I think that is unrealistic for the vast majority of consumers.
In fact, you didn't even follow this yourself, since your other vehicle is only 4 years old, and presumably has far fewer than 150K miles.
Personally, my priority for my family is #1) reliability/dependability, #2) ownership period, #3) ongoing maintenance/repairs.
My wife and I work full-time and shuttle kids to school/activities/ect. I don't want my vehicle not starting or leaving my wife/kids stranded on the road.
We don't have time to take off work, bringing beaters into the mechanic, shopping around for estimates/parts/ect, spending hours/days/weeks fixing things.
I also don't want to be shopping for a new used car every few years, and all of the hassle that goes along with it.
That is why I buy a car with 0 miles, and drive it until 150K-180K miles, then repeat.
The last time I did this I spent $19,500 for a brand new car, drove it for nearly 14 years and 185K miles, then sold it for $4500.
It never once failed to start or left me stranded. It never spent a single day at the mechanic for any reason.
It required nothing more than routine maintenance (which I did myself), though it was soon requiring several repairs I couldn't do myself.