Used Dmax or New Cummins

[davisenvy]

I am currently looking to upgrade to a newer truck. I now have a 2006 Duramax and I am looking at a 2016-2017 with 0-10k mi Cummins or 2013-2014 50k mi Duramax.
Apples to Apples the Cummins is a cheaper truck and I do honest beleive the Duramax to be a better set up, but can't justify the extra cost of a Dmax. I am leaning towards the Cummins. I think the Dodge has a nicer interior and the exterior isn't bad either. Is the Duramax worth that much more than the Cummins?

Please don't turn this into a diesel vs gas debate and Ford is absolutely off the table.

[ScottG]

Bumpyroad wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
You want a public opinion poll? Why not look at the annual sales numbers....Ram vs Chevy and GM combined?

what do those numbers really mean? folks like the looks better? get a lot cheaper? get a better trade in on one vs the other. had a bad $$$ experience with a Dakota in the past?
bumpy

The avg American makes so many stupid choices that I almost automatically shy away from the best seller of anything. I always find there's a better choice.

[Bumpyroad]

4x4ord wrote:
You want a public opinion poll? Why not look at the annual sales numbers....Ram vs Chevy and GM combined?

what do those numbers really mean? folks like the looks better? get a lot cheaper? get a better trade in on one vs the other. had a bad $$$ experience with a Dakota in the past?
bumpy

[4x4ord]

You want a public opinion poll? Why not look at the annual sales numbers....Ram vs Chevy and GM combined?

[The_real_wild1]

I was a dodge guy. Went to chevy. It will be a long time before I consider getting a dodge again after my 2014. Tows way better then the dodge. What would be ideal is if you could test drive both one after another both towing and unloaded. That alone will probably push you one direction over the other. Also really shop around. People say the chevy is more expensive but if you shop snd shop you can get the new truck for the same price.

[Cummins12V98]

The Cummins and AISIN are TRUE Medium duty. You say so are the Ford and GM diesels? Are they used in other Medium Duty application other than GM and Ford? Cummins and AISIN are used in many different MD applications.

The head West Coast Warranty rep for Chrysler Stan Gozzi was asked a couple years ago about the AISIN he said "they don't break".

I tow 33-35,340# West coast with ZERO issues. My hottest trans temp while idling in miles of stop n go recently with this load was 172. The hottest while climbing miles of 6 percent grades was 167.

[Grit_dog]

Apples to apples condition, as long as your talking LMM Dmax and '14 up Cummins 2500 or '13 up 3500, it's a tough call.
My take is yes there are some reported disaster repairs with the new injection pumps on the Dmax, but I'd take an Allison trans over the 68rfe in the ram. Never drove an Aisin truck though.
I wouldn't have reservations about either of them personally. I do like the '15 updates to the GM twins though and now they throw the LP5 in there for '17 which is a monster, on paper. Haven't drove one, but I had an old LB7 tunes to similar power levels and it was a sweet combination and FAST!

[dfm]

I had a 2007 Duramax 2500 SLT 2wd with 165k and sold it when I found a 2012 Ram 3500 LongHorn Laramie with 45000k.
I wanted the 1ton rather than the 3/4 ton and the 4x4.
I had a lot of reservations about selling my Duramax as it was a great tow vehicle and zero problems. The duramax got better mileage when not towing because of the dpf on the Ram , but when towing they are the same. The luxury features of the Ram LongHorn are great and I have no regrets on doing the upgrade.
When I did the change I also drove a 2013 Duramax with similar mileage but the Ram was far and away the nicer handling vehicle in my mind.
As mentioned " no regrets " I'm a happy camper .

[blofgren]

Cummins without a doubt. The GM/Duramax combo has nothing over the Ram/Cummins other than being a few seconds quicker towing up a mountain pass.

[Me_Again]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Me Again wrote:


I did however purchase a 120K 8 year extended warranty on our truck because of all the electronics these new rigs have.

Chris

yep, I did the same on my Tacoma, lots of electronics to fail. sort of nice to just drive it into a toyota service bay and don't have to grab your wallet.
bumpy

Our warranty includes a loaner also. Which includes during the factory warranty period. We took the truck into a dealer for the first time last month for a list of TSB that had come out over the last 18 months. They did not have a loaner available, so they rented an Enterprise vehicle for me. Turned out pretty cool. the Enterprise guy said "would you take a RAM 1500?" I said sure. On the way back to the RV part I though, why not use the open bed to haul things from our storage unit to the new park model that we were just moving into. On the second trip I got a call from them that our truck was ready. So back it goes after two loads with a free truck to haul with.

Note: Our bed is full of boxes and hitch and does not lend it's self to hauling much except the 5th wheel.

[downtheroad]

To the OP...are you sure you want to let go of your 06 with the LBZ generation Duramax?

Arguably one of the best/

[rhagfo]

I haven't worn out my first Ram/Cummins yet! When I do it will be replaced with another Ram Cummins!

[Bumpyroad]

Me Again wrote:


I did however purchase a 120K 8 year extended warranty on our truck because of all the electronics these new rigs have.

Chris

yep, I did the same on my Tacoma, lots of electronics to fail. sort of nice to just drive it into a toyota service bay and don't have to grab your wallet.
bumpy

[jimh406]

If you can tolerate the RAM, buy it. I leaned away from it. I'm one of those who didn't like the looks of the RAM or GMC/Chevrolet. Maybe next generation I'll like them more. Instead, I bought a Ford which is off your table. Yeah, I know a horrible 6.4. Funny thing is that 3 years ago, all of my sources said it was a toss up between the 6.4 and 6.7.

I haven't seen threads that say they hate their RAM with Cummins. Could be they are saying it in private. 🙂 My guess is they are liking them, and most reviews say the RAMs have just been getting better the past few years.

[tinner12002]

As seen in my sig that I prefer the Cummins. I also had the option of buying GM with a family discount and still preferred the Cummins over the Duramax. That's just my preference, Cummins design has been around for a lot of years, not so much with Duramax.

[Me_Again]

Bumpyroad wrote:
just read a thread about frequent $5,000 engine repairs to duramax????????????
bumpy

And maybe that was the 1st gen Duramax injectors issues with the early ones.

They are all pretty bullet proof now. I did however purchase a 120K 8 year extended warranty on our truck because of all the electronics these new rigs have.

Chris