if one needs more than 500 in irregular maintenance, it's probably been abused like crazy as well, from what I read/hear.
lets not start on the reliability of new diesels either.
400hp and attempting to lighten up the engine/transmission do not mix well.
not to mention you just told a guy who lives in canada (all of his prices were canuckian) to drive to "the south" and nab a diesel for 2-5 grand. . .

 

i'm sure he can do math!
imo a 7.3 powerstroke is more reliable and can hold more power safely

 

Sorry but you all are wrong haha a 300 six is a good motor but will not Cruz highway with ANY load. At 136hp and 230ish trq it's a good city truck but if your lookin to go over 40 good luck. The 1500 your looking are are horrible especially the chev. IFS. Is a joke even in the new trucks. My dad has an 05 dirty max and just put 900 into the front end at 50k just so it's drivable. As for the 6.9 165hp @ 3300rpm and 320trq at 1400rpm! That's pretty legit. I Cruz 70 no prob with a 23ft deep V chapparell boat. If the 6.9 looks good on the out side it's probably ok on the inside. Plan on 250 bucks off the bat to fix stuff that bugs you (oil leaks) and keep er going. I love my 6.9 and my buddies 96psd is in the shop every other month. As for upgrades the 6.9 is making 400hp reliably. Google mnb2 and racinndrumin. They push tons of pOwer and never has issues. Get the 6.9 buddy don't listen to nay Sayers

 

I do not doubt that a 1st gen powerstroke is dead nuts reliable if taken care of.
buit that is not to say a 6.9 isn't either.

and it's not that he cannot do math.

it's that you do not necessarily understand the cost of just hopping on a flight or driving down to the southern states for a vehicle. my boss scored an 07 chev 3/4 ton for 17 grand in 07, and by the time he got it to saskatchewan, the cost was over 22 grand. mighta even been more.

still a steal for what he got, but for a 3,000 dollar truck? that's just stupid.

OP:
you want it. go test it, make sure it's what you want, and get it. if you are not looking to be hauling too much or really workin the thing, it'll probably be akin to a 6.5 chev. a good light duty truck, but not something you're gonna haul horses through the mountains with.

 

Disagree. It is a very capable truck. Not trying to **** anyOne off but saying the 6.9 is not a capable truck or that it's unable to make big power is misinformed. Nmb2 just is in the finishing stages of proving that......again he thinks his truck will be 500hp to the wheels and it's a tow rig so allthe heat and other bs people preach is wrong. And doing this is very cheap. I think the website is idiperformance.com.

 

I miss the hell out of my old 6.9, I had a 86 with a zf5 in it and was getting about 28 mpg, pump was turned up a little bit. wouldent win a race or a pull off, but was very reliable and had good power if you werent in a big hurry.

 

sounds like power struck is too proud of his powerstrokes and doesnt like the fact that an older non di non turbo truck can do the same work as his maybe a little slower but wont cry at the end of the day. powerstroke owners are scared of these antique oil burners because theyre scared a turbo idi more than a decade older is gonna steal their thunder 6.9'S are sick had one lost it and buying another towed over 10k on the regs and 16k a time or two and she didnt like 16k but 10k was no problem at all. she took it and kept on smiling

 

one very nice thing about the old IDI 6.9's and 7.3's is if somthing is wrong, you can usually diagnose them without using a computer, and everything is mechanical so they are easy to fix. But from my experiance, i didnt have to fix very much, very reliable.

 

I love my old 6.9. Very reliable and will pull anything. Just not fast. PSDs are fine, but the old diesels get the job done well. Plus, a lot easier to work on. Simplicity has its MAJOR benefits. I pull horses with mine through hills and valleys and have pulled 12k worth of hay with it. No big prob, just patience. Newtrucks are nice looking, but for reliability, I like my old girl. JMHO;