Thanks Leo, but momma's never happy for long. Eventually you learn to accept that fact. Luckily she won't spend any time here on FTE. If she ever learned what PMS is all about, she might put some of the other members here to shame. As long as she doesn't know what she's missing, I can get by with just giving her a mild tune, in dash nav system, fancy wheels, 4" exhaust, intake, vb, and be done. (No, not in that order )

 

I'm beginning to think that low mileage lariat translates into I have enough money I don't really need to take care of my truck. I'll just trade it in and buy another one. Either that, or my wife is able to spot an intake issue and only likes the trucks that have those problems. I drove 2 hours today, spent 30 minutes checking the truck out before I even got around to opening the hood. Noticed the cover on the filter felt loose and though Oh No, here we go again. Took the cover off the air filter and GRASS FELL OUT. One plastic ear that holds the end of the cover was broken off, and the plastic under one of the clamps was broken, so the lid wasn't sealing anything out. The filter also looked like it had only been changed once in the life of the vehicle.

This truck was at a Chevy dealership, and they were in the process of replacing the shift cable since the lever felt a little loose. They were letting me take pictures of the entire truck to show my wife until I got to this point and peeked down the intake tube. That's when the mechanic and salesman knew the deal was dead and asked me to stop taking pictures.

From now on I'm not even going to kick the tires before I check the intake tube. I'm getting tired of wasting my time. I think I'll call the Platinum dealer tomorrow and check about bringing the truck home for a couple of days so at least I can enjoy a cold one while I poke around. That way if I'm disappointed, it's only a short walk to the house.

I'm now convinced not everyone takes maintenance as serious as I do. I also know why I usually only buy new vehicles. How long does it take everyone else to check out a vehicle when buying used? If I don't find any red flags, it's been taking me about 2 hours before I even let my wife think about it. All I know is this is starting to get old.

 

Amen to that! I spend a full day test driving usually......this may sound weird, but I try to go WASH it! When you hand wash a vehicle you really get to know the entire exterior! Also use a small magnet and run it over (without touching of course) the entire truck. This will determine if it's got bondo repair or not! I actually fell for that trick on this truck, I was out of town, and didn't find a magnet anywhere, and there's now a spot (3 years later) that is flaking/chunking off from Bondo. The paint looked PERFECT where this spot was when I bought it. I have since bought a replacement bed off of Craigslist, but that's another story lol

 

You and I would get along very well when it comes to taking care of vehicles.
I am to the point of being compulsive when it is time to take care of the vehicles.
.
Was the intake tube clean, did the grass fall out of the top half?
Intake wheel chewed up?

 

Chris, go back and get the Plat. Ed and take it home for the afternoon. (thats all youll need) You have the knowledge, to know in a short amount of time if the truck is worth the money. Even if you have a couple of small red flags, remember that you are still looking at a truck with almost 100K miles. You already know that you will have to spend at least another $1000(very conservative estimate) to make it worthy.

 

This vehicle had been set up to be environmentally friendly. The grass was above the filter, and the turbo was acting as a mulcher. The mechanic commented he doesn't remember seeing an air filter that dirty, which of course means the engine was getting it's air through the lid where the tabs were broke, as the filter wasn't allowing enough air to pass through.

I guess that wasn't one of the items on their 122 point check list the salesman was so proud of.

Brandon, My only concern with the Platinum is the mechanical diode since it's a 2001 model. The trucks not overpriced, but it's not a good enough deal to set aside the money for a good tranny. I have zero experience with the autos, so I'll crawl under it and look for the tag to find out if the build date falls in the dreaded diode category. I may be back with some tranny questions after I take a look.

I will say, I've been surprised so far at the lack of power of the auto trucks. My stock 02 with the hand shaker is supposed to come with 275 hp. There is a big difference between that and the 235 - 250 I've driven in the autos. I'm beginning to understand why so many here have a chip.

 

Well - in your situation, part of that stems from your military backgraound and being trained to "pay attention to detail". Nothing wrong about that at all. Drives my wife crazy too. Unfortunately it seems that many folks have the mentality of "I'll drive it until it dies then get a new one" - the disposal economy effect. Well, that was at least the mentality until the economy went bad - now folks are looking to hold onto what they have a while longer......

Just remember - First impressions mean something.....trust your gut feeling.

 

I hate to send you there, but , pop in to the 6.0 forum, and have an OASIS pulled on the platinum. the tranny MAY have already been replaced.

the Platinums and the LEs are two of the sexiest trucks that FoMOCO has made.

 

I've done that, thanks. Does anyone know how long a tranny sits around before it's stuck in a vehicle at the plant? Looks like the mechanical diode issue was for trannys up to 3/23/01. This truck was built in 04/01. I'm guessing the odds of me getting lucky and not having this diode are pretty slim.

 

Good luck with the hunt Chris, I know you'll find a good deal on one that's been cared for eventually.

 

It took me about a week and a half, and three seperate visits to see the truck (and test drives) before I bought mine.

The extra effort in making sure you're getting a well-maintaned vehicle will definitely be worth it Chris, even if right at this moment, it's getting a bit frustrating for you.

Maybe a testament to the 7.3 that so many of these trucks make it to high mileage, even when driving around with grass clippings in the intake.