I've been looking to buy a "new" truck, and I'm exploring my options. I almost bought a Dodge (ok, I was going to buy a Cummins engine and they were going to throw in the truck for free ). Right now, I'm looking at a little older (02) F350, and I'll probably go look at it tomorrow; tonight I was browsing on the Internet and found a truck that would be, actually, a better deal, but it's an 04 Duramax/Allison. OK, why would this 04 Duramax/Allison be the same price as an 02 PSD 6sp?? That one I can't figure out.....

Here are the details on the two:

02 F350 CC DRW 4x4 PSD 6 speed 58,xxx miles XLT with some options (not fully loaded) $28,990

04 Chevy 3500 CC DRW 4x4 Duramax Allison Automatic 58,xxx miles LT package (all the bells and whistles including power everything, leather, OnStar, etc.) $28,900

Do I need either of these trucks? No. Do I even need a diesel? No. Does my current vehicle meet my needs? Yes, but I've wanted a diesel for a long time, and now I might have a chance to get one. But the question burning in my mind is why would this newer Chevy be the same price, even though it has more options?? Is there something I'm overlooking? Other than being a Chevy, is there a problem with either the Duramax or the Allison that people don't talk about a whole lot??

 

It could well be the condition. One may have been treated gently and serviced well and the other may have been used in constuction, farming or other heavy use where it was not treated gently. When you look at them, make sure it was not a mistreated truck that has been cleaned up to look good. A really good cleanup, carpet cleaning or replacement and refurbishing can hide a lot. I would want to talk to the original owner. If you can't, be careful. Miles are not nearly as important as treatment.

 

An 02' for 28,990 is assinign!!! You can buy a brand new one for around 35k (its not what the sticker says but its what they can actually sell them for). The duramax is priced about right, it's the far better deal out of the two, and IMO I would rather have an auto in the diesels of today instead of the hand shaker, but thats personal preference. remember an 02' is now 4 year old, thats only a drop of $1,250 per year since it was new!!!! I bleed blue but the beter deal is the GM, If you want a ford I would look a bit longer.

 

I would rather have an auto in the diesels of today instead of the hand shaker
Behind a 6.0l... Yes...
Behind a 7.3l... No... The 4R100 is far to succeptable to have "issues" for my liking.

 

Yeah, a 6.0/Torqshift is a no-brainer, but the older trucks, especially with some "tweaking", I have concerns about how the transmission will hold up. Especially in front of a (possibly) 30+ foot 5th Wheel 1/2 way across the country.......

 

Here's a used car anomaly- in spite of the rebates and Family and Friends thing, I still see low-mile '04-'05 Ford PSD Crews bringing close to dealer invoice (yes, invoice) at used car auctions (if they're lariats, good color, right options). It's the wildest thing you've ever seen. At least out here, Kelly wholesale book has no meaning as to the the actual value of one of those things. It follows that retail book doesn't hold a lot of water either.

The Chevy D-max is a good, solid reseller, but not like the Ford. The dually can be problematic- I'd rather see a single-wheel, all things being equal (they move faster- also true in Fords).

 

I remember several years ago when sharp loaded and low mileage short bed Chevy and Ford pickups would bring far more than retail book at the wholesale auctions. Maybe tht's why I ended up buying that exact truck and didn't even realize it. I never understood why the books would give a higher value to long bed trucks and they always brought far less at the auctions.

 

This is why I said the deisels of "today". Of the new deisels the cummins would probably be the best with a handshaker, not sure though, I havn't drive a dodge newer than an 02'. Thats another discussion though.

 

Ok. Wasn't quite sure how far the statement "diesels of today" stretched.

Irrespectively. I don't think I have heard of ANY issues with the manual behind the 6.0l...