Dodge 1999 3500 Lamarie dually
Hello again, I found a dually in my budget that has 120k miles. The engine and transmission are in very good condition. The problem is that the original owner had a hitch for a fifth wheel an...
Forum Discussion
Grit dog wrote:
If you are fairly certain the truck is mechanically sound ( you haven’t talked about the important stuff yet, just the cosmetic details, which makes me believe you don’t know what to look for mechanically), then get it for as low of a price as you can.
However, if you’re unable to do the cosmetic work yourself, that truck and your budget/financial situation, dictate that spending almost as much as the truck costs on cosmetics is a bad decision.
Answer more of the important questions first.
Maintenance and repair records? Better be a bunch of them over 20 years.
Condition of trans fluid (and last maint)
Condition and age of brakes?
Unit bearings?
Age and condition of tires?
Etc
You could have a great truck or you could waste $4k on the bodywork and then dump another $4k into maint and repairs. Easy to do if you’re paying for the work to be done.
He!!, we just got a 4 year old truck. 3 actually, in service date Dec 2017. 40% less miles than the truck you’re looking at. Well maintained well cared for and it “didn’t need anything”. And I’ve still spent a few hundred bucks and several hours in the shop doing maint and little repairs.
I do most of mechanics on my cars. I did change my transmission mounts and CV axles on my old 96 mystique last year. I do all of electronics and injectors stuff, I used to sell obd2 readers on the internet for 16 years before Amazon took my business away.
I did not talk about the mechanical stuff because most are ok. I cannot see if the atx was previously changed or serviced and I know the transmission is the weakless link of the drivetrain. Bellow is the mechanical stuff I noticed:
-ATX FLUID is fine, no smells and good color but he has no records.
-Brakes and bearings are fine, were changed last year.
-Two tires are finished, the side walls are cracked.
-No leaks.
-No codes in memory but that could misleading. I didn't have time checking the the sensor live data like Fuel trim, O2 sensors and etc.
-Engine runs great, no white or blue color smoke at the exhaust end.
Nice Ford dually and Lance Jaycocreek.
