How dependable are newer trucks with higher mileage?

specta wrote:




I just change the oil, filter and rotated my tires yesterday. I do this every 5000 miles.

Other than maintenance the only repairs I have done is a fuel pump at 180,000, 5 light bulbs and a lower shift cable. It even wears the factory brakes.

Thankfully they don't built them like they used to.

Yep, the GM LS engines are solid as an anvil. My 2001 Yukon 5.3L with 272k kms runs like new.

Ive got a 2002 Chevy with the 6.0liter gas engine that I bought new, and it has been super solid. It now has 250,000 miles on it, and has had to be towed one time when the fuel pump went out. Internals of the engine and trans have never been touched.
She does drip some oil, I’ve had a radiator and water pumps replaced, and minor things like that, but those repairs are much cheaper than a truck payment or new truck.
I’m starting to look at trucks and figure out what I want for the next one, but have so far old faithful just keeps on trucking.
I am in the south, so rust is not an issue for me.

spoon059 wrote:

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.

Everything must be all that political hot air near DC driving prices up.

$10k got us a 2008 3yrs ago (10yrs old at the time). No rust, runs great 150k miles, no issues to speak of.

I lost the argument with my wife over a 2011 with 120k miles for $6800 because it had a couple of paint drips on the side of the truck bed but otherwise appeared to be in great shape.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Devo the dog wrote:
Don't buy a 2019 or newer Ram (new or used). The trucks are substandard at zero miles and the only way to expose the problems is by driving them. They can pull heavy trailers, have great exhaust brakes, and are quiet on the highway when towing. But, the rest of the truck has too many problems. Unfortunately, the typical long time dodge/fiat/ram owner only cares if the truck can pull a heavy trailer. So, the manufacture produces a substandard truck knowing they can get away with it.

Maybe you can elaborate. ONLY issue and it's rare is they went to the CP4 injection pump for 2019 and 2020. The 2021 RAM's now have gone back to the CP3 pump.

For those with the 19 and 20's you have a 5 year 100k powertrain. IF something happens it WILL be taken care of.

So please tell us about all these "substandard" issues.

Radio doesn't work properly and even though it's under warranty, Ram hasn't been able to fix it yet. Two issues: 1. It randomly shuts off and reboots. 2. The second issue isn't a big deal but it exists. The service/help button does not connect to Ram when you place a call. But, it will connect to Sirius or Emergency road side service. Ram is aware of this issue and there isn't a fix planned.

AC: If the outside temperature is too low, the AC will not turn on, even if you switch it to manual, turn up the fan, ect. This is a separate issue from the lack of performance from the AC due to no diverter valve.

Transmission: While pulling grades, the transmission will momentarily attempt to downshift and then stay in gear. Consequently, there is a bucking. Initially, it happened once per trip. Little by little, it turned into happening on every grade.

Body mount: Thump/clunk when front suspension (either side) approaches full droop.

Surging. This is an odd one. After I brought it to the dealer for the 1st recall, they did an emissions update and there wasn't surging. Once we moved to a colder climate, the surging started and it's very noticeable.

Check engine light: Latest issue. Don't know what the issue is yet.

I'm bringing it to the dealer again to address recall #2 and the other problems above, again. Will the warranty help? A warranty isn't helpful if you take it to the dealer and the result is: Don't know how to fix it yet. But, the problem is in the system. This is the reason why I say it's substandard. If the problem exists, the dealer knows it, but the manufacture doesn't have a fix yet, it's substandard.

BTW, you may have noticed that I didn't address the CP4.x pump issue. It hasn't failed so I can't comment on it. All I have mentioned are the problems that Ram hasn't been able to fix yet.

This is the first Chrysler/Ram/Dodge/Fiat/Peugeot we have ever owned. We have never had this many problems owning any other car from any other manufacture. Ever. LOL.

The truck is great pulling loads. It has great engine braking. And, it's quiet. But taking it to a dealer to fix something over and over and over, plus the recalls, is a bit of a hassle. Maybe this is just normal for Chrysler/Ram/Dodge/Fiat/Peugeot owners and that would explain why Chrysler/Ram/Dodge/Fiat/Peugeot is so far behind on everything other than the engine. Maybe the longitime owners don't care, or understand, that a truck is more than just an engine that can pull a heavy trailer. So, the manufacture gets away with producing a substandard truck.

I am also near the DC area. You can find a 10K truck in these parts.
However finding a 10K truck that is camping worthy is a challenge.
I define camping worthy as a truck that is reliable enough to go to a remote area and not have to worry about a breakdown.
Breaking down in the big city is much easier to deal with than breaking down in a remote area that is 20 miles from a small town. Add in a towable RV and you have a big fat expensive headache.
When I traded my O7 Duramax in for my current truck I had began to worry it was not camping worthy. The truck was very reliable and never let me down. (well once when the water pump failed, even then I was not stranded but had to cancel a camping trip.) The 07 was just getting worn to the point I was questioning when it would let me down. That truck was worth about $10K with 300K miles on it..
It needed glow plugs, I was questioning brake lines, the truck had obvious wear and tear. But it was still worth $10K, but not camping worthy in my book.
Camping worthy around here starts in the 15K-20K range for a 3/4 or heavier pick up.
I have also purchased a few 75K-100K late model trucks. I've concluded that as long as you plan to keep the truck for forever buying new is you best bet.
You get the full life of the truck especially the 1st 100K that are generally problem free with modern trucks. I've also gravitated to the last year of a engine run vs. buying the first year of an engine run.
By buying the last year you get proven reliability vs. a new model where you get all the new features and gadgets that are not yet proven.
I understand the 10 speed trannies are great however I did not want to be the guinea pig to test them. The verdict still is not out on how well they do when the miles pile up. Will 10 speeds be reliable up to 300K? No reason to believe they won't but I don't want to be the tester...LOL

FWIW....2009 Chevy Silverado diesel currently 130 k

At about 90k, lots of electronic gizmos failed: mass air sensor, throttle position sensor, etc. Usually $500 a pop between parts someone elses labor. Probably $7-$8000 all told.

Had to spend about $1,000 on brakes, but that was in the 2-year period I was gone and #1 son used the vehicle...can't help but think there was user issues involved.

Other than that, the iron has been fine. No internal tranny issues, no engine failures, etc. Of course, at 110k, I bought another pickup and relegated the chevy to "backup status"... that could be why I've never had a problem since.

PA12DRVR wrote:
FWIW....2009 Chevy Silverado diesel currently 130 k

At about 90k, lots of electronic gizmos failed: mass air sensor, throttle position sensor, etc. Usually $500 a pop between parts someone elses labor. Probably $7-$8000 all told.

Had to spend about $1,000 on brakes, but that was in the 2-year period I was gone and #1 son used the vehicle...can't help but think there was user issues involved.

Other than that, the iron has been fine. No internal tranny issues, no engine failures, etc. Of course, at 110k, I bought another pickup and relegated the chevy to "backup status"... that could be why I've never had a problem since.

In general the 2008 or so emissions equipped truck had lots of emissions related issues. Once DEF was introduced the problems subsided.
Trucks of that era tend to have worse MPG numbers than other diesels.
My rule of thumb is to avoid diesels of that era.
My trouble free first 100K mantra does not apply to those early emissions pre DEF trucks.

Lantley wrote:
I am also near the DC area. You can find a 10K truck in these parts.
However finding a 10K truck that is camping worthy is a challenge.
I define camping worthy as a truck that is reliable enough to go to a remote area and not have to worry about a breakdown.

Glad we are from the midwest then.

It's our only vehicle. Currently about 4000 miles into a cross country 6-8 month trip. No real worries about reliability.

Newer vehicles (diesels) are much more complicated. I traded a 2006 GMC Duramax/Allison 3/4 ton for a 2016 Powerstroke. My 2006 only had oil changes and regular maintenance, my 2016 has had a water pump replaced at 18,000 miles, sensors go bad, 3 days of work on a Ford TSB at 4,000 miles new, a coolant leak at 40,000 miles etc. etc. It had enough problems that I decided to purchase a Ford bumper-bumper extended warranty.

If your loads are not too heavy, look at the new gassers (the 7.3L Ford and the 6.6L Chevy). Someone had a video of both engines under the hood, the gasser is half the parts and you can see the ground through it, the diesels are so crammed in, it is a miracle any work gets done on them... Just my $0.02

Vahalla360 Wrote:

Glad we are from the midwest then.

It's our only vehicle. Currently about 4000 miles into a cross country 6-8 month trip. No real worries about reliability.


I agree the east coast is certainly not the cheapest place to buy a Truck. Especially in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast areas of the east coast