OT: Looking at Used Pickups

[Ken Christopherson]

Hello all... I know this is a little off-topic, but I will keep it tractor related by saying that I may be looking into getting a 'new' pickup to haul my tractors. Most use will be as a daily driver to and from work (approximately 50 miles/day), but having 4 mid-sized tractors I'd like to be able to have something that can haul 1-2 at a time (Farmall H, Farmall M, Case SC, John Deere Unstyled A). I really am partial to GM, although I don't mind other manufacturers. It will be an older pickup, and I have been looking at diesel crew cabs (will keep this truck probably through the first few years of having my future children which isn't far off).

I have my eye on a 2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD crew cab with the Duramax. Truck is spotless inside and out (with leather in great shape), but has a bit higher mileage which concerns me (228,000). Dealer is asking $12,900. With my commuter car trade-in I might be able to get it for 11,500. I am pretty familiar with the 99-2013 line of GM pickups as I worked in the aftermarket industry for quite a while (so I have driven a lot of pickups). I know diesel trucks will far outlast the body as long as they are maintained properly.. But I am curious to know your thoughts. You guys have helped in so many other areas of my life - I figured here would be the first place to turn.

I have been shying away from a gas motor simply because of the 10/11 mpg fuel rating on a daily basis (although many I think will say that I won't USE the diesel enough to justify the purchase - and you may be right).

Thoughts?

 

[Dblair]

clean retail is not nearly that much , have you looked at the nada prices ?

 

[rrlund]

Wow,that sounds high. I bought this 07 F250 Super Duty 4x4 5.4 gas with 187,000 on it two and a half years ago for $5850.

 

[Ken Christopherson]

I did look at Kelley Blue Book - but I know that is a bit 'unused' at this day and age...

 

[TomH in PA]

Offer the dealer half what he's asking. If he gets an attitude go somewhere else.

 

[Ken Christopherson]

According to NADA guides, clean retail (this is on a fully loaded Sierra 2500HD - and it is fully loaded)... Clean retail is $19,125. Rough trade in is $12,975.

Base prices list out at $8,000 for rough trade in to $13,575 clean retail.

 

[Andy Wickiser]

Hopefully you don't live in a road salt state. I have a 2003 2500HD gas 6.0. Had to replace all brake lines, rusted through to the point of rupture. Body is O.K. but everything underneath rusted. You are right, the gas engine gets bad mileage.

 

[lee little]

IMHO a Duramax is hard to beat running and pulling BUT It will tear your rear end off to work on /repair one. My bils own several duramax trucks and they routinely trade them off before they require much work. I like fords but if I was looking to buy I would look for something with a 12 valve cummins. Simple and relatively inexpensive to repair. That usually means a dodge. You could do like me and drop a cummins in the truck of your choice. I put one in my 93 ford 250 4x4 nine years ago. 19 mpg and the only repair was the electric switch that turns is off and on. The kid that works for me drives a 96 dodge cummins that pulls awesome and gets 22 mpg. He gave $3000 for it.

 

[Ken Christopherson]

The tough thing working against us in our area (MN) is trucks tend to be quite rusty after 7-10 years.. It's because of the heavy salt brine they put on the roads in the winter. (Really wish there was another way)! Another option would be to look out of state and drive it home.

 

[Ken Christopherson]

I also like the Cummins motor.. Another option for me to look at. So far I have just been surfing Craigslist. Haven't spent much time physically looking yet. But, there again.. I have driven a lot of pickups in my years working in aftermarket - probably thousands. I have a pretty good idea of what they drive like. It's just finding one that is in good enough condition to last me probably another 10 years.

 

[moresmoke]

Looking at older vehicles I highly suggest you shop Texas. And make sure you check the vehicle's history. My wife just traded a car here in ND and the dealer put it on a truck headed to AZ. My current PU I bought south of the Cities. I am now the proud owner of an 08 Ford with a rusted out box.

 

[Ken Christopherson]

Unfortunately I do live in a state with HEAVY road salt. (Minnesota)... With that said, I know first hand how corrosion happens quickly when eposed to salt. It's like watching the Titanic disintegrate right before your eyes.

 

[rrlund]

Same here in Michigan. Most of the service records on this one are out of California.

 

[IH10020]

all the dealers are really dealing right now on selling program and lease 15 & 16 year models,some with very low miles

 

[RedGreenGuy]

Email me. Have my 12v cummins for sale

 

[ASEguy]

A young man at our school just bought a Duramax with 150,000 miles and it started leaking coolant from a head gasket. He didn't care because he loved the truck. He said book time was 38 hours for the R&R time. I bought a used 2002 Dodge 2500 Quad cab with the Cummins and the six speed with the Dana 80 Limited Slip rear and Dana 60 front and love it. I get 21 MPG. Stay away from the newer 5 speeds since they apparently grenade when they fail. These are in some of the newer ones. I acquired mine for $12,000 which was a steal since the front end was tight and the engine had only 184,000 second owner miles. I bought mine to pull a camper and it pulls well. If you can wait on the purchase you can weed out trucks you don't want. Good luck with your decision.

 

[kcm.MN]

So you want a double-duty rig - one that can haul 2 tractors as well as make the 50 miles/day trek? Why not have a small car for work and get a med. duty truck for tractors? A single axle still only requires your normal license up to 26,000 lbs.

 

[VicS]

If you are going to buy a used diesel. Look for a Cummins. My son has a 08 mega cab. Hard to beat. But I have a 6.2 Ford gas. And a old 12 valve 91 Dodge.

 

[Eldon (WA)]

(quoted from post at 15:23:06 02/27/17) clean retail is not nearly that much , have you looked at the nada prices ?

Book price doesn't mean much on that era of diesels as they are in demand due to no emissions crap. I sold my Dodge Cummins dually with 151k miles back in November for $5000 over retail book...I think I could have gotten more as the first looker handed me cash.

 

[Nick m]

It's easier said than done, but be patient and window shop down south. Look for an older one with lower miles in good shape. I bought an 01 dodge diesel 8yrs ago, and it's still in good shape. I think I could still get just about what I paid then for it, just because the lack of salt years on it. I'll do it again when this one is whipped.

 

[mmfan55]

"Crunch the numbers ". You may not be so bad off. Don't know fuel prices in your area: so I'll use those from around home. Gas mileage of 11: diesel mileage of 15: gas @ 2.10/gallon: diesel@ 2.50. Here goes: 2.10?11=19 cpm : 2.50?15=16.6 cpm. Only 4 mpg difference in mileage more than offset $0.40 difference in fuel costs. Imagine what 17-20 mpg will do! !! There is a point where driving a diesel actually pays for itself. Be smart: do research on problems reported commonly: check trucks out fully. Some of the duramax engines were known for head gasket problems ( a dealer I often talk to in the coffee shop told me this) : of course the 6.0 powerstroke problems and fixes are well known. HAPPY HUNTING! !

 

[IAtractorKid]

I think that would be an excellent choice! I, however, am also a GM guy. I've got an '06 Duramax with 170,000 on it currently. I bought it in '09 with 36,000 miles and have done nothing but routine/preventative maintenance. Mine has some aftermarket upgrades but runs and drives great! Absolutely no complaints from me, I Love the Duramax! I average 18mpg with mine. It has been my daily driver up until last fall when I finally talked the wife into a third vehicle and got myself a little commuter car.

Anyway, that mileage would not be a deal breaker for me. I would try to find one that has NOT been tuned, has not had a gooseneck/5th wheel installed, and does not have an egg shaped hole in the receiver hitch. To me, these are signs the truck has/may have been abused. Make sure the transfer case is dry...look up "pump rub" if you don't know why.

 

[IAtractorKid]

VIN code 1 would be an LB7 made up to early '04 and bad the head gasket problems. VIN code 2 would be an LLY made mid '04 through '05. LLY would be the more desirable of the two having the updated valve covers allowing access to the injectors.

 

[Sprint 6]

That truck is a steal at that price. One of my customers just traded in his '05 GMC Sierra 2500HD with 235K. He got $13,500 on trade. I wish I could have bought it, was well maintained. At that miles, just be prepared that it may need head gaskets and/or a waterpump soon, both spendy repairs. Save money for repairs, as they will happen. Make sure it is not leaking trans fluid, Allisons are bad about cracking the extention housing if they have a bad U joint. Also make sure the transfer case is full and not leaking, the internal pump wears a hole in the case.

 

[hd6gtom]

Ken, I work for a used car/truck dealer. If we put that on our lot it would be gone in a few hours, might not last a few minutes as we have a waiting list for the duramax diesels. Wish I could afford 1. I have owned 5 ford pickups, gas and diesel, I guess after many motors, tranny's, torque converters, front end parts, high pressure oil pumps, turbos, etc on the fords, I will keep driving my GM and Dodge units.

 

[Bob]

I've been a fan of diesel pickups since they came out in the late 70's.

I've given up on owning a newer diesel, though, I can't afford a new one with warranty, and any ANY significant (or possibly trivial) repair will easily cost 1/4 or even 1/2 of the asking price of your dream truck.

A guy can buy a LOT of gasoline for that kind of money!

Also, before you believe all the mileage claims talk to a guy that does oil changes and needs to look at the "information center" to record mileage and ask them what it they typically show for average MPH, in my experience those numbers don't match the figures bantered around at the local coffee shop.

 

[2underage]

I just traded my 2011 ford dually diesel in on a Ram 3500 gas. It had just 31,000 miles and it was loaded but I was getting concerned about the cost of repairs as it had never had good brakes and it had developed a noticeable rumble. It was nearly time to replace all six tires which would have been major purchase. Diesel fuel is a pain also because many of our service stations in this area have gas only. Where I live, NY State, diesel is always higher than gas and I was only getting between 11 and 14 miles per gallon of fuel. I was able to trade for $4000 difference [they already had a buyer for my trade in] on a new truck with a window sticker price of $45,700. Yes, the Ford was a lot of truck with great looks and power but I do not regret
sending it down the road. I only have a few hundred miles on the new Ram but it is getting 18 to 20 miles with no load so I expect some savings in fuel costs.

The Chevy that you are looking at has a lot of miles and it will need some costly repairs in the near future in my opinion. New trucks are costly but they can last for many years with minimum repair cost. I had a new 1999 Dodge with the Cummins 12 valve engine that I drove for nine years without any mechanical problems other than the brakes. I traded it on a Ford and I but I am done with them.

 

[dhermesc]

I agree. The last Duramax we owned ran about $4000 a year in repairs - and it was only getting about 10,000 miles a year. Something as simple as a fuel pump or an injector can run thousands. We just had a Ford 6.7 grenade at 98,000 miles. A piston welded its self to the injector and that was all she wrote. $11,000 later and the F550 is back on the road - the engine was 3 months out of warranty.

 

[rrlund]

I'll third that. My old diesel that I drove for 25 years is still sitting out here,but I have no desire to ever have another one. Leave them for the kids who want to make smoke and noise. These newer gassers with fuel injection and electronic ignition ain't the gassers of the 70s.

 

[ss55]

That 2004 sounds like a nice towing truck. A 3/4 ton pickup will still be expensive to run as commuter vehicle. For commuting 10,000 to 12,000 miles per year, have you considered getting another used mid-size or full size car to commute in? When the weather is bad you can still drive the 4WD truck, but the car would get most of the wear and tear and a car will be more comfortable to drive. Most full-size cars get 28 MPG or more and mid-size will be in the mid 30s MPG. Tires, oil changes, and repairs on a car will cost 1/2 to 1/3 as much as for a gas 3/4 pickup, them might be 1/3 to 1/4 the cost as for a high mileage diesel pickup.

I'm not saying don't get the pickup if you need it for towing. I'm saying keeping an extra used car for commuting should reduce your driving expenses more than enough to pay for the extra car. Crunch the numbers.

 

[dhermesc]

When the dealership does a "trade" there is so much blue sky in the numbers its hard to tell what you are getting. One of the owners bought a 2016 crew cab Silverado 4X4 High Country in November. MSRP was just under $59,000, final cash price was $42,650 (no trade). I traded my wife's 2008 Kia minivan with 199K on the clock for a new (left over) Kia minivan a year ago. True trade value was about $1500, on the paperwork it looked like they gave us $8500 for it.

 

[ss55]

Some vehicles are traded off when they need an expensive repair. It may be worth your time to take it to a independent shop that does repairs on those trucks. Have them put it up on a hoist and check it over closely. It might cost $100, but could save you $1,000s in repairs because they know what to look for. Good luck and have fun.

 

[redih55]

I was driving my 2011 Ram dually back and forth to work for awhile. Fuel costs were getting too pricey for me, so I bought a 2011 Ford Ranger with a manual transmission and it only had 17,000 miles on it. It has definitely saved my dually putting on the miles. I now have 51,000 miles on the Ranger and the dually has 64,000.

 

[Eldon (WA)]

(quoted from post at 11:21:34 02/28/17) I was driving my 2011 Ram dually back and forth to work for awhile. Fuel costs were getting too pricey for me, so I bought a 2011 Ford Ranger with a manual transmission and it only had 17,000 miles on it. It has definitely saved my dually putting on the miles. I now have 51,000 miles on the Ranger and the dually has 64,000.

My run around vehicle is a 96 Geo Tracker 4x4. Paid $1700 for it, gets around better than the dually in snow and ice....just hate to be seen in it LOL! Truck gets written off in business, so I needed another vehicle anyway.

 

[buickanddeere]

The Direct Injection gas engines provide economy on par with the diesel per btu of fuel. Lower cost to purchase and maintain.