How dependable are newer trucks with higher mileage?

wanderingbob wrote:
Contrary to what Devo the dog sez , I have 207,000 miles on my 2014 Ram 2500 CTD and have not spent a dime on repairs , couple sets of tires and wiper blades .Daily driver plus three or four trailer trips a year-that each last 10 to 20 days .

Why do you say "Contrary to what Devo says"? Devo said to stay away from a 2019 and newer. You have a 2014. :h

wanderingbob wrote:
Contrary to what Devo the dog sez , I have 207,000 miles on my 2014 Ram 2500 CTD and have not spent a dime on repairs , couple sets of tires and wiper blades .Daily driver plus three or four trailer trips a year-that each last 10 to 20 days .

Except you didn’t read what he said, he said 2019 or newer, and he is mostly wrong as well, save for 1 Achilles heel on the 2019/2020 trucks which is the CP4 pump that apparently Ram hasn’t had good luck with because in 2021 they ditched it for the same old pump that has been in service since 2001/2003 in Duramax and Cummins. (GM went to the cp4 and then ditched it as well after about 5 years).

However buying a CP4 truck out of warranty is just fine, there’s a 95% (figuratively idk the exact numbers) that it will be fine and you can circumvent most of the issue for about $300 with a bypass kit or circumvent the whole issue for about $1500 with a CP3 swap. Both on GM and Ram. (Parts only)

Wildcat63 wrote:
So I am starting to look for a new to me truck and can’t believe the prices for used trucks these days. I really want a crew cab long bed so I am looking at 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. This will probably be my daily driver but not a lot of miles put n it each year.

My question is if I get a truck with 80-100,000 miles on it will it start having issues that will have to keep being fixed or will I need a transmission in 20,000 miles. I will be picky in what I buy but what have others experienced. I live in an area where any real old trucks are either rusty like my current truck. I don’t want to buy a money pit.

If you’re asking a question like this, I’m surmising that you aren’t the diy backyard mechanic type. So any issues will be out of pocket and retail cost to have repaired. And there WILL be repairs, regardless of how good the vehicle is. That’s why used ones cost way less than new ones. And the propensity for needed repairs (aside from “known” issues) is a mostly direct function of the vehicles history, use, abuse, maintenance etc, which can be hard to determine by non “car people.”
The good news is, if you find a good one, 200-300k miles is pretty achievable without major component failures (drivetrain).
Good luck in your search.
However if your consideration is newer (sub 5 years old) high mileage vehicles, right now, the market is inflated to the point that you’re not getting much of a discount ($/mi) for the used one, unfortunately.

And define not a lot of miles “each year”. When I think daily driver, I think 20k miles per year.
There’s no free lunch and I analyze this more than a lot of folks and it’s tough to not “spend” a lot for a vehicle when it’s all said and done unless one is very diligent in vehicles and the market for them.

Example, I just gave high $30s for a 70k mile 2016 Ram diesel Bighorn 4x4.
Seemed high but it is a very marketable truck and easy to get top dollar for (lifted, deleted, high $ accessories,black, well kept).
Seemed like too much $ but I could flip it and pocket $5k right now easily and my 07 Dodge diesel 5.9 mega, 6 speed with 180k fetched $27k! Which is almost more ridiculous than the price of the 2016!
Heck our friends bought a newer used wakeboard boat last fall and the prev owner wants to buy it back from them for more money right now.
Point is, if budget and financial matters are very important to you, right now is not the time to go buy anything newer. But if you can limp along for a year or maybe 2, I believe there will be a market correction similar to the late 2000s albeit for different reasons. ( not getting political, lol)

But since I got almost totally off topic (hopefully helpful In your decision though), short answer, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the right 80-100k mile truck with the reasonable expectations of putting another 100k on it without any major engine or drivetrain failures).

Buying a used truck that is reliable really depends on how it was taken care of. My 2013 Duramax is approaching 100k and it is very reliable but I do routine maintenance.

I'm not afraid of buying a 100K mile heavy duty pick up.
A 100K mile truck can be very reliable. However at 100K the truck will require more maintenance than it did in its first 100K
More things will be worn out and require replacement.
I've sort of come to the conclusion what you save by not buying new you end up spending in additional repairs.
If you buy a truck brand new there are basically no repairs for 5 years. I don't mean no maintenance. Sure you will need to change fluids as required. Tires brakes and wear parts will still need attention, but for the most part nothing will break for 5 years.
When you buy a truck with 100K on it. You are out of that nothings gonna break period from day one. A truck with a 100K may require an alternator in 6 months, not a deal breaker but the savings on a 100K truck vs. a new truck comes with a higher repair budget!

Grit dog wrote:

If you’re asking a question like this, I’m surmising that you aren’t the diy backyard mechanic type. So any issues will be out of pocket and retail cost to have repaired. And there WILL be repairs, regardless of how good the vehicle is. That’s why used ones cost way less than new ones. And the propensity for needed repairs (aside from “known” issues) is a mostly direct function of the vehicles history, use, abuse, maintenance etc, which can be hard to determine by non “car people.”

At $10k vs $60-80k, I can pay retail for a lot of expensive repairs and come out way ahead.

Of course, my experience is there isn't a major amount of repairs.

valhalla360 wrote:
At $10k vs $60-80k, I can pay retail for a lot of expensive repairs and come out way ahead.

Of course, my experience is there isn't a major amount of repairs.

At $10K you aren't getting much around my way. That's 300K miles and needing overhaul range where I live.

OP, modern engines and transmissions should be fine at 100K miles, especially on 3/4 to 1 ton trucks. They are designed to run long times and work hard their whole life. Your interior, seats, radio, windows, ABS sensors, TPMS sensors and other electrical systems will likely need repairs. If you can get one with highway miles that was treated gently, you'll likely pay more but get a cleaner truck

My last GMC 2500 6.0L gasser - clocked 214,000 miles, and still ran great. Only reason we went new at the time, we were heading out on a five-month cross country trip - Florida to Cape Cod, to Oregon, down the coast and back the lower routes to Florida.

We didn't want to get stuck on what might have been minor issues somewhere, and the delay that sometimes happens. Well, or major issues either. So we decided new 2015 Chevy 2500HD and now have 56,000 on it. Love that 6.0L engine.