Salt, Rust, and the value of a diesel engine
OK - I don't want this to become a diesel vs. gas debate, so I'm going to try to be very specific with my question. We might be in the market for a used truck in the next couple of years. Most gas...
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Not quite a answer to your specific question, I can weigh in on some history we have with these trucks. Being in upstate NY, we also have the salt / rust etc. We have a fleet of 14 trucks, Chevrolet 2500's. We for a while had a mix of both gas and diesel. We run our trucks until the rust underneath becomes basically unsafe, ex: brake lines, body panels, etc. Invariably this always seems to be around 250,000-300,000 miles. We maintain them religiously, and both the gas and diesel variations hit these miles with no major repairs. I mean, none. Out of about 40 trucks over the last 18 years, we've replaced 2 transmissions, and some broken exhaust studs on the gas ones..and that's it. Again, all having 250,000 plus miles when retired. So in my opinion, the extra cost of the diesels wasn't worth it by the time they rusted out and now just buy gas engine trucks. Of course we tend to haul heavy loads, but rarely pull a trailer so your needs may be different.
