Toyota Trades New Tundra for High-Mileage Model

Victor Sheppard recently surpassed the 1 million-mile mark in a 2007 Tundra pickup truck and was rewarded by Toyota Motor Corp. with a new 2016 Tundra in exchange for his high-mileage model.

Toyota plans to disassemble the 2007 pickup and conduct a thorough durability analysis on all of the parts to get a better understanding of how they’re affected by high-mileage driving.

Sheppard’s Tundra was one of the first vehicles produced at Toyota’s San Antonio, Texas, plant. The vehicle has been driven about 125,000 miles per year, mostly during long-haul work trips to North Dakota, Wyoming and Virginia.

Over the years, Sheppard took meticulous care of the truck—including 117 regularly scheduled dealership visits—which still has its original engine, transmission and paint job. The most serious repairs during this time have been a replaced alternator, water pump and several timing belts, along with a few dents and scratches. 

The 2016 truck will be the 16th Tundra Sheppard has owned.