Morning all. I thinking about trading my Avalanche in for a diesel pickup. Truck will only be a winter DD (100 miles round trip to work each day) and used to pull my camper. Trying to keep the total outlay under 20k as I want to spend any extra $ on replacing my Harley. During the spring, winter and fall I have a ragtop I DD in. There is a dealer with a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT Quad Cab Short Bed 4WD with the 5.9L 24V turbo diesel cummins that only has 41,800 miles on it for 20k. Does this sound like a fair price?

 

In my experience with 2nd gens. a 150,000 mile truck will run just as strong as a 40,000 mile truck as long as its taken care of. i wouldnt buy one over 12,000, my father and I consistently sell our trucks from 5-7k and usually have upwards of 150 to 200k miles. Most of the ones we sell do have salvage titles b/c they were wrecked before, but who cares?! the truck is 12 years old!!!!!

 

Sounds high to me, but it's hard to find them with miles that low. Sure, it doesn't make much difference to a well maintained Cummins, but everyone knows the only weak point of the Cummins is the Dodge it's in. And For a Dodge, the miles do matter. I would like to think you can talk them down some, they have to expect to be talked down with that asking price, but don't expect them to budge very far. The engines may go forever, but that's practically a brand new truck for this generation and if you're a big enough fan of the 2nd gen then it's well worth the inflated cost. Long story short:
I would love to find a pristine 40,000 mile shell of a 2nd gen 4WD quad cab short bed, with any engine in it. I'd drop my Cummins in there and be happy as a pig in crap. If it already comes with a Cummins? Well hell man, that's practically a collectors item right there. Maybe not below the rust belt, but these trucks don't last long up here, and the stellar Cummins has nothing to do with it.

 

Very True! But the body work is easy, sandpaper,primer and rust converter then roll on some bed liner along the bottom edge of the quarter panels and door! this is very effective counter measure to rust. ive had mine coated for 3 years and no rust and it hasnt left the midwest!

Heres a "buyers guide":
1)Make 100% certain the VP44 injection pump is in good/great working condition! this is a wk pnt in this range of cummins
2) look for rust under door edges and along quarter panels. if there is some there try to talk them down a little. then just ruff up the surface with sandpaper, put rust converter on the rust spots. if there is no rust just clean up the surface after ruffing and apply bed coating to it, i highly recommend HERCUliner it is durable/and very adhesive. i usually take the coating up to the first body line, unless rust is higher.
3) Last but not least Make Sure it is NOT a #53 Block! If it is then you just need to be cautious about hot and cold cycles and let ur engine warm up properly before driving or u will crack ur block.

 

How can I tell if it's a #53 block?
I'll try offering 18 and see what they say (Assuming it isn't a 53). Scratch that found stickey pics.

 

Yes, but there's a lot more to a new truck than bodywork. There's the lack of rattles in the dash, squeaks in the cab, wind noise in the doors, especially the quad cabs. Generally, a young cabin is a tight cabin and one that's been uh... loved a long time... isn't. There's perky seats and plush carpet, fresh door and window motors, clean wiring. Then there's stiff springs, solid ball joints and nicely charged dampers. Blower motors that don't make noise and cruise control that works like it should. Sure, all of this stuff is easy enough to do, if you like the idea of restoring a truck because it has an engine that makes it worth the effort; but if you have the means and a virgin is available, why not get one that hasn't been broken in by someone else and treat it right from the start? That's all I'm saying. It's either worth it to you or it isn't, but for those who think that way, just about any price can start to look reasonable.

 

-1st u will want to look on the driver side under the injection pump. (1st pic)
-2nd look at the passenger side directly below the oil pump and directly in front of the front turbo drain port in the block (2nd pic)
-3rd In cases were it is cracked this is wat u will see: (3rd pic)

 

20K sounds a little high for a 11 year old truck..
Even with the low miles that's still high..

I paid $11,200 for 98.5 with 132,xxx miles.. And I KNOW I paid high..
They wanted $13,999!

I would make sure everything is good on it, and drive it a good distance on the test drive to get a feel for it, see if you notice anything odd.

Good luck bud!

 

The guy across the street from me had his '98 club cab up for sale for awhile. 12V with almost 200K, couple basic mods and a built trans. Nice black interior. He was asking twelve something. I asked if he'd take ten, he said no. I don't blame him. If it was a quad cab not a club, I'd have given him twelve plus all day long.
Regardless, the thing about an old truck in good shape- or any old vehicle for that matter- is that they aren't worth KBB. They aren't even really worth what someone is willing to pay. They're worth whatever the person who has them is willing to let them go for, because any less is essentially what they're giving up to own them. The 40K on the clock wouldn't be enough for me to not laugh at the $20K asking price, it'd have to be mint inside and out. Since they're asking that much though, they're either crazy or it is. And if it is, it's only high to someone who doesn't care about getting as close as they can to a like new 2nd gen. I saw a bone stock black on black '99 dually with 80K on it go for $17,5 last year. It sold before I could call about it, mere days after placing the add. The guy's phone was ringing off the hook about it. "High" is in the eye of the beholder.

 

I dont think I would pay that much for a truck of that vintage. I think the max I would pay for the truck if it was immaculate is 10 to 12k. My truck needed a few things when I bought it has all been very easy to repair. I paid 3k for my 2001 2500 4x4 extended cab long bed. It was an old Schlumberger oil field truck. It has 200000 miles on it but runs like it is brand new. The things I have had to do was replace a shift fork in the transfercase, and starter. Cosmetically I just replaced the dashboard as they all crack of this vintage and redid the headliner due to sagging.. Was kinda fun to do that work. I also replaced the 16.5 inch rims the previous owners installed and installed some stock 17 inch rims off of a 2006 Dodge ram. Oh and I just installed my new Cobra 29 CB and Wilson 1000 Antenna.

I figure I have a total of less than 5K into my truck. My father in law just bought a 2000 Dodge ram 2500 4x4 extended cab and he paid 9K. His is almost flawless though.