Buying a used Diesel Truck

[MVH1]

I am not really brand specific, but want to stay in the $20,000 budget range. Most everything I have looked at for the price has 100,000-150,000 miles. Almost all the fords have the 6.0 motor. I have heard that this was the motor that had lots of problems. Looking for input about that. On the other hand, I have heard that the 6.7 cummins model years 2007-2008 yr had problems as well. Looking for input on that. I don't know anything about the Duramax. I want to be an informed shopper, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[joeshmoe]

rtmcavoy wrote:
I am not really brand specific, but want to stay in the $20,000 budget range. Most everything I have looked at for the price has 100,000-150,000 miles. Almost all the fords have the 6.0 motor. I have heard that this was the motor that had lots of problems. Looking for input about that. On the other hand, I have heard that the 6.7 cummins model years 2007-2008 yr had problems as well. Looking for input on that. I don't know anything about the Duramax. I want to be an informed shopper, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Unless you do all your own repairs and don't mind taking preventative measures, 6.0 Powerstroke might be for you. Stick with an 06-07 if possible. "Most" of the lesser problems were updated by 2006/07
The 6.0 is somewhat user friendly to work on, whereas the 6.4 is harder to work around and costs twice as much.
Trick is finding one in nice shape that was decently maintained by someone who already put the money into it. Otherwise, get a Dodge or a GM. I'd love to get a Duramax

At this point in time, there's absolutely no reason to pay more than $15K for one of these Ford trucks. I see guys selling 'em for 18,20,25 or more in some cases. That's just ridiculous. They are old and are becoming dated and less valuable every year. I paid $12K for mine exactly two years ago with just under 100K on the odo.

The previous owner had just paid $1600 to have the oil cooler replaced, updated the EGR cooler and turbo serviced. I got lucky with all that. Head gaskets checked out okay with no loss of coolant. Last year, I decided to "fix" the EGR cooler, deleted the exhaust "scoop" in the tee fitting, updated the STC fitting on the HPOP (Found out I didn't need to once apart), pulled injectors, removed spools and sanded clean (No more rough idle from stiction), replaced copper seals, o-rings, updated the banjo bolts with 6.4L version, updated with blue fuel spring...and what else???...Oh most importantly, a coolant filter. DO THIS immediately if you get a Powerstoke.

The very next month I drove 2000 miles to Oregon, picked up my camper and drove home. Not a single problem the entire time. On the way up, I used the "economy" tune and with a little right foot conservation, through the Oregon and NorCal mountains, I manged to squeeze almost 500 miles out of 29 gals. of fuel.

[phenrichs]

I have a 06 Dodge with over 200K on a stock truck. I have had no major issues although I do know the trans is nearing the end of its stock life. I know a guy that loves the Ford 6.0 (partially for the money he makes on them). He told me that for about $6K you can "fix" the issues and make it a long life bulletproof truck.
In South Dakota you can pick up a really nice Ford 6.0 for around $10K. A Dodge of the same year will cost double or triple depending on condition and mileage. If you are willing to travel (as I see you are in Florida) you can get a steal.

[rhagfo]

Me Again wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
So I know that pre-emissions Rams demand a good price, but there are limits!!! :R
Do you think this will sell for anywhere near asking price. :h

Super low mile 2001 Ram

Russ, those guys ask ridiculous prices for all their used trucks. All of the Puyallup based used truck dealers insult ones intelligence. If you follow their adds they sit on trucks quite a while, which means they try to hold their high prices. most of their trucks have been lifted, and even if that is what I was looking for, I would question the lift they installed. I avoid them like the plague.

I paid less than that for my truck new. It was down the street at Larson Dodge in Puyallup. I bought it from Lynnwood Dodge, who had a hard time getting Larson to release it, as they had a hot customer that drove it the day before!!! Ha! Ha! I wonder who that was.

Chris

I know that well, almost fell out my chair laughing when I saw that one!!!
Yea low miles is good for maybe a couple thousand, but truth be told, I felt better buying my used at 234,000mile than I would one with 14,000 miles. Totally agree, I would be at the local Ram dealer getting a new year end unit close to the price, than pay that much for a 13 year old truck.

[Me_Again]

rhagfo wrote:
So I know that pre-emissions Rams demand a good price, but there are limits!!! :R
Do you think this will sell for anywhere near asking price. :h

Super low mile 2001 Ram

Russ, those guys ask ridiculous prices for all their used trucks. All of the Puyallup based used truck dealers insult ones intelligence. If you follow their adds they sit on trucks quite a while, which means they try to hold their high prices. most of their trucks have been lifted, and even if that is what I was looking for, I would question the lift they installed. I avoid them like the plague.

I paid less than that for my truck new. It was down the street at Larson Dodge in Puyallup. I bought it from Lynnwood Dodge, who had a hard time getting Larson to release it, as they had a hot customer that drove it the day before!!! Ha! Ha! I wonder who that was.

Chris

[crcr]

Eng208 wrote:

crcr wrote:
Since in the interest of giving you reference points, others are giving you what they bought for what price, here is my recent experience (only a month ago).

I bought our 2004.5 Dodge CCSB 4x4, one owner, loaded except not leather, but I was fine with leather or cloth. Previous owner was older gentleman, pulling a 5th wheel with it, traded it in on new Ram truck. Arizona vehicle (no corrosion), clean carfax, with lots of professionally done add ons: Bully Dog tuner, 5" Banks exhaust, Exhaust brake, prodigy brake controller, Sprayed in bedliner, Onstar, etc. Everything works. 137K on the clock. Dealer did brakes all the way around, replaced tie rod ends, etc, all moving front end parts, and aligned it, rebuilt AC compressor, and oil change. I paid $18K. I looked for several months, and this was far and away the best condition vehicle in my target group (pre-emission Ram, 06-07 Duramax, or 7.3L Ford in a crew cab, short bed, 4x4) that wasn't insanely high priced. We just did 1100 miles in it, half of it towing. Performed perfectly. Drives excellent, everything is tight. It's a beast.

Good luck, OP!

Just for clarification and to avoid confusion from potential buyers that don't know better, the Dodge with the short four doors is not and has never been marketed as a Crew Cab. It is a Quad cab and does not have as much room as the current true Crew Cab. Makes a big difference in terminology. The Crew Cab Ram has every bit as much room as GM and Ford and is a completely different design from the Quad Cab. As a matter of fact, the Quad Cab is now only offered in the 1500 line.

Thanks. All correct.

[rhagfo]

So I know that pre-emissions Rams demand a good price, but there are limits!!! :R
Do you think this will sell for anywhere near asking price. :h

Super low mile 2001 Ram

[Eng208]

crcr wrote:
Since in the interest of giving you reference points, others are giving you what they bought for what price, here is my recent experience (only a month ago).

I bought our 2004.5 Dodge CCSB 4x4, one owner, loaded except not leather, but I was fine with leather or cloth. Previous owner was older gentleman, pulling a 5th wheel with it, traded it in on new Ram truck. Arizona vehicle (no corrosion), clean carfax, with lots of professionally done add ons: Bully Dog tuner, 5" Banks exhaust, Exhaust brake, prodigy brake controller, Sprayed in bedliner, Onstar, etc. Everything works. 137K on the clock. Dealer did brakes all the way around, replaced tie rod ends, etc, all moving front end parts, and aligned it, rebuilt AC compressor, and oil change. I paid $18K. I looked for several months, and this was far and away the best condition vehicle in my target group (pre-emission Ram, 06-07 Duramax, or 7.3L Ford in a crew cab, short bed, 4x4) that wasn't insanely high priced. We just did 1100 miles in it, half of it towing. Performed perfectly. Drives excellent, everything is tight. It's a beast.

Good luck, OP!

Just for clarification and to avoid confusion from potential buyers that don't know better, the Dodge with the short four doors is not and has never been marketed as a Crew Cab. It is a Quad cab and does not have as much room as the current true Crew Cab. Makes a big difference in terminology. The Crew Cab Ram has every bit as much room as GM and Ford and is a completely different design from the Quad Cab. As a matter of fact, the Quad Cab is now only offered in the 1500 line.

[NWKomfort350]

Took me almost a year to find my truck. I bought it june 2012 for 15k with 83,000 miles. Its a 2002 Ford F350 SC LB SRW 7.3 .

[crcr]

Since in the interest of giving you reference points, others are giving you what they bought for what price, here is my recent experience (only a month ago).

I bought our 2004.5 Dodge CCSB 4x4, one owner, loaded except not leather, but I was fine with leather or cloth. Previous owner was older gentleman, pulling a 5th wheel with it, traded it in on new Ram truck. Arizona vehicle (no corrosion), clean carfax, with lots of professionally done add ons: Bully Dog tuner, 5" Banks exhaust, Exhaust brake, prodigy brake controller, Sprayed in bedliner, Onstar, etc. Everything works. 137K on the clock. Dealer did brakes all the way around, replaced tie rod ends, etc, all moving front end parts, and aligned it, rebuilt AC compressor, and oil change. I paid $18K. I looked for several months, and this was far and away the best condition vehicle in my target group (pre-emission Ram, 06-07 Duramax, or 7.3L Ford in a crew cab, short bed, 4x4) that wasn't insanely high priced. We just did 1100 miles in it, half of it towing. Performed perfectly. Drives excellent, everything is tight. It's a beast.

Good luck, OP!

[oughtsix]

I paid $17,000 for my 2006 Duramax crew cab long box in the top trim line, leather etc with 185K on it and feel like I got a good deal. I was going to buy a 7.3 Powerstroke but all that I found were way over priced for their year and mileage. I think the 5.9 Cummins is probably a bit better engine than the Duramax but the Allison transmission behind the Duramax engine is much heavier duty than the Dodge transmissions of the same vintage... IMHO. The back seat of my Chevy has considerably more room than the standard Dodge Crew Cab which meant a lot to me because I have kids. The Dodge MegaCab is a different story as far as backseat room though... if you want a short bed.

P.S. Texas seems to have the best prices on used trucks and they usually don't have salt damage. I spent 6 months searching before I found mine locally. I was just about to give up and take a road trip to Texas.

[4bearhug]

It's hard to find a good deal, but not impossible. You have to be patient and keep looking. I bought an 06 Ram 2500CTD in Feb 2013 for $24K. Truck was Laramie trim, fully loaded, 34k miles, mint and included 5th wheel hitch and rolling tonneau cover. The deal was so good that I thought that I had to be missing something. I bought from an elderly gentleman who was dealing with a sick spouse. He knew he was never going to be needing the truck and just wanted one less thing to deal with. The only real negative was it was 4x2, but I really didn't care because we were looking to upgrade to a 5th wheel and knew we needed a diesel. My point is don't give up the search too quickly. The good deals are out there, but you have to wait them out.

[IllinoisCheeseh]

My opinion, find a good Dodge Ram with the 5.9 Cummins. Buy a Ford 6.0 at your own risk. Ask me how I know... One bit of advice, if you buy from a dealer, try to get them to throw in an extended warranty (make sure it covers diesel-specific issues.) I was glad I had one.

[crcr]

afishinado wrote:
I'm in the exact position as the OP suggests... $20k budget, undetermined whether or not to go dually, praying when I scale the thing I can get away with a 3/4 ton...
One vehicle not mentioned that I came across and like is a 07 Dodge with the 5.9 it has 203,000 on it. I have read to stay with it rather than the 6.7.. What say you experts?

I'm no expert, but I bought a one owner 2004.5 5.9L Dodge. There is a reason that these trucks often bring more than the newer 6.7L -- lots of emissions equipment added to the 6.7 that the 5.9 doesn't have. I'm very impressed with the capability of the truck, and plan to keep it indefinitely (we only put 5k to 7K miles per year on it). The Dodge with 5.9 Cummins is legendary. You can't go wrong with it.

I shopped the 06-07 Duramaxes, but never found a clean one for less than about 25K, which was more than I wanted to pay. Plus one thing I didn't like about the Duramax is that the OEM fuel tank is only like 26 gallons -- absurd for a diesel truck! The 5.9 Cummins has something like a 34 or 35 gallon capacity, but by doing a vent mod (mine was done by the previous owner), you can up the capacity to something closer to 40 gallons. They put the same fuel tank in the gas and diesel trucks, and left a huge bulge at the top for expansion for the gas models, which isn't needed for the diesels, so many have done the fuel vent mod, raising the vent to a high point on the tank to increase capacity.

[MinnCamper]

Got my 06 Sierra 2500HD D/A LBZ last Feb and paid $19,000 for it. It took me three years to find this GEM! I've had offer's greater to sell it. NOPE