Great forum!! Just joined today, but I've been educating myself for a week or so reading through all the posts.

I've been in the hunt for a truck the last month or so and found a new 08 250 4x4 Super Cab 6.4l 60th edition that I'm seriously considering buying. I can get it for 37k out the door (sticker was $48,685). Does this sound like a pretty good deal or should I hold out for a lower price?

I've never owned a diesel before and have looked at all the players (Ford, GM and Dodge). I like the GM lbz engines for their tunability and fairly decent reliability but like the look of the Ford's interior and exterior best. I'm a little nervous about the 6.4l's reliability mainly b/c of all the 6.0 horror stories.

I won't tow that often maybe 10-20 times a year. When I do, it'll be one of my two Land Cruisers. One is a 1974 FJ40 that weighs around 5k lbs and the other is a 1997 Land Cruiser that weighs 6500 pounds. Most trips will be at least 4 hours each way and I plan to make a few trips to Moab and Rubicon out West (I live in NC). Do I really need a diesel? Or would a Tundra be able to handle my towing??

I don't want to just throw away money on a heavy duty truck that will be a daily driver but I also don't want to buy a truck (i.e. Tundra) just to find out it won't perform for the towing that I plan to do.

I need to jump on the 08 60th if I want it so any thoughts/advice is greatly appreciated.



-Jon

 

Well first off, welcome to FTE. Great group of people here.
37K is a good price so I think I would run with it. Did that include the rebates?
I have the 6.4 and I can tell you this is a much different motor. Forget the horror of the 6.0 and start fresh. Did you drive the truck? You will see if performs much differently.

With what you are going to tow, you could get by with a V10, but based upon your distances I think the PSD will be so much better for the mountains and everything.

Big word of advice is leave the Tundra to the 3-piece suit people. Not a real truck. Weak frames. They rust easy too.

 

Yeah the 37k was after rebates and included taxes/tags/title, etc. Sticker was 48k so I assume they are selling it for less than invoice just to move it as they've had it on their showroom floor for almost a year.

Oh I own two Toyotas already...I know all about rust .

 

It *looks* like diesel will finally be where it's supposed to be price-wise: Less that gas. That said, diesels normally get much better mileage anyway over their gasser counterparts, so if you HAVE to have a truck, the diesel should run less in fuel costs. I'm not totally up to speed on the 08s, but I have heard that they aren't getting as good as mileage as maybe they should be. Maybe one of the 08 guys can answer that. I generally get 17-19mpg on the highway not towing, and about 14-15 in the city, but I am FAR form nice on my go-pedal. If I drove more like Grandpa, I'd get closer to 20. I did make a mileage run a while back and got nearly 20 out of it (mostly highway, but some city). I believe I went about 575 miles on 30 gallons of fuel. Also, I know the maintenance costs are up a bit on diesels, especially the newer ones. My oil, air, & fuel filters cost me about $75 for a year. I believe the 6.0 air filter alone costs that much. I have no clue on the 08 -- again, maybe an 08 owner will fill you in. But, it *will* last much longer and should cost less in the long run. If you plan on having a truck for a while, go with the diesel. If this is a couple year thing, get a gasser.

 

Welcome to FTE! Here's my $0.02. I'm a Toyota guy. I owned a 1992 FJ80 that I traded for my truck and I have a 1971 FJ40 project in the garage. I wanted a Tundra, but I also wanted a diesel engine. Read it for what it is, I wanted a diesel; I don't/didn't need one. I'm also a solid front axle guy, so that narrows the search. Since I like the look of the Super Duty, that's what I went with. The Tundra will handle what you are looking to do with it. There is a guy who is part of Gotham City Land Cruisers in NJ that just got one to do that same job and it's perfect for him. It sounds like a good deal to me, but I say to buy what you want.