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 or diesel HD trucks are going to be fine for our usage (we currently tow with a 2006 Suburban 2500). Many of the options out there, of course, are diesels, while some are gas. My question is simple...We live in the great lakes region, which means salt (and thus body and underbody rust) are a norm to our vehicles. It looks like I'd be looking at trucks that are 7-10 years old, most with 100k or so in miles. I know a diesel engine will (theoretically, at least) last longer, but will the body and frame rust out from under it anyway? We won't put more than 12k a year on it, at most (only about 3-4k towing). Is it really worth buying a used diesel in this area, for that kind of usage, or will the truck's body and frame give in to rust before a gas engine runs out its life anyway?

If the gas engine runs out of its life by that time, can you still sell it? Can you still sell a diesel in the same time frame and get more money out of it? If you can sell both and get enough money back from the higher resale value and fuel economy to pay for the upfront cost then it is worth it. If not, then it isn't.How long will it last may depend on you. I know some people religiously wash their undercarriage and some that do not. Some have a secondary beater for winter and others do not.

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.

We live in the great lakes region, which means salt (and thus body and underbody rust) are a norm to our vehicles. It looks like I'd be looking at trucks that are 7-10 years old, most with 100k or so in miles. I know a diesel engine will (theoretically, at least) last longer, but will the body and frame rust out from under it anyway? We won't put more than 12k a year on it, at most (only about 3-4k towing). Is it really worth buying a used diesel in this area, for that kind of usage, or will the truck's body and frame give in to rust before a gas engine runs out its life anyway? If you want a pre- owned diesel why not find one that has lived its life in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Nevada, etc. You are going to spend some serious coin, why limit yourself to just where you live?

x2 out west theres some great older trucks , IF I was looking for a great used truck,or rv I,d head to the west. and I,d buy from a private owner.

blownstang01 wrote: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.When you retired these trucks, what did you do with them?We have 500+ truck fleet from California to Pennsylvania. We retire our trucks at around 200-300 depending on location, engine and usage and sell them at the auction. In every case we get more money at auction for the diesel over the gas trucks unless it has a major issue. The amount of money we get back along with the fuel economy gained is more than enough to justify the upfront cost for almost all of the trucks. This is according to our data which we track on every vehicles, and yours may be different.

Salt, Rust, and the value of a diesel engine | Good Sam Community

ShinerBock
Explorer
Apr 18, 2019
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
Well I guess I'm the exception to the rule than. My 04 with 150K+ was spotless inside and out and 100% maintained better than the factory recommendations. I don't keep vehicles past the 150K mark because I'm tired of them by than. Even my wifes lease vehicles are maintained to the factory specs.

Funny if someone does not maintain their vehicle they should NEVER complain about how it runs or doesn't runs!

Don

If you already plan to trade it in before problems arise from lack of maintenance then there would be no need to complain. You are also not the exception to what I said. From my experiences, most who do both are those that keep their vehicles for the long haul and therefore their vehicle would not be for sale in the first place.

This is why I am stay away of a low mileage one to two year old vehicles with 30-60k on them unless I see verified maintenance records. Vehicles today can go that long without proper maintenance and show no signs of issues. As I said before, it is more common than many think from what i have seen at the dealer level.
Lessmore
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2019
We always Ziebart our vehicles from new and the bodies seem to keep in pretty good shape. We live in a area that has very long, cold winters and although sometimes the winter turns mild for a bit...you know ice turns to slush...mostly I think the preponderance of -20 and colder days makes sure the salt doesn't get a chance to work that much during the winter.

They do salt some, probably not as much as those places with warmer winters as I believe salt in order to be effective at melting ice, does not work well in very cold temps.

As others have said, probably the best place to find a truck with little rust would be in the SW parts of the USA, like Arizona, New Mexico, etc.
6_2Superduty
Explorer
Apr 20, 2019
My advice is to find a truck from out west or down south. I picked up a 2012 f250 two years ago that came out of the western side of Colorado. Didnt have a spot of rust underneath.
whjco
Explorer
Apr 20, 2019
Why not buy a used truck from Texas, Arizona or some other southern state where rust is unlikely? Then flush out the body and have a rust-proofing treatment performed on the truck?

Bill J., Lexington, KY
DiskDoctr
Explorer
Apr 20, 2019
Another strategy that may help either choice would be an annual wash down and treatment with something like FLUIDFILM.

A lot of work to properly cover all the spots and inside box frames and such. Well worth having a professional do it.

Shouldn't be too much once per year and definitely helps preserve your investment.

Let us know what you choose and good luck!
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 20, 2019
Fluid film is good stuff. I use it once in a while on things. It sticks. I've never used it on areas exposed to repeated "washing" like the exposed underside of a vehicle.
But yeah, even as much as I don't like the thought of a gross oily undercarriage, I'd be very tempted to do the oil spray thing on the chassis if I had a nice winter vehicle in the land of salt.
ppine
Explorer II
Apr 20, 2019
I would be willing to fly to a desert state to buy a good used truck and drive it home, just like for a collector car.
4bearhug
Explorer
Apr 20, 2019
I wouldn't rule out any truck from upper midwest until I found out how it was used. Lots of folks use their HD trucks to snowbird during the winter months so the trucks are not exposed to the hard winter weather. You would be surprised at how many RVs head south in the fall and north in the spring.

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