high mileage 12 valve vs mid mileage 7.3
 

Ive been looking around for a while and almost bought one truck but the guy ended up keeping it. So far ive narrowed it down to these two trucks.
1995 f250 extended cab, manual, 4in exhaust stock clutch, 229,000 miles
1997 dodge 2500 extended cab, manual, 4 in exhaust, hx 40 turbo, 370 marine injectors, south bend clutch, gauges, 318,000 miles
Which one do you think would be more reliable? I have to make long drives 8-9 hours every couple of months and could not have a truck breaking down on me. If the cummins wasnt modded i would be worried at all but how is that going to effect it reliability?

Thanks guys any help is appreciated!

I would go with the 7.3. There is no telling what the dodge has been through. Because most who mod like to play and playing can be hard on parts.

7.3 diesel vs 5.9 cummins
 

even though the cummins has more miles its the million mile motor unless the dodge truck it self has alot of rot. motor wise you can't go wrong with a 12 valve you can't kill them. i would have the killer dowl pin fixed its worth doing it after that its a stress free motor. i have seen first hand 12 valve go for 400 or even 900 THOUSAND MILES 7.3 ON THE OTHER HAND ARE ALL ELECTRONIC CONTROLLED AND ARE V 8 DIESELS DIESELS AREN'T MENT TO BE V8 CONSTRUCTION THE INLINE IS THE STRONGEST YOU CAN FIND. LIKE YOU SAID RELIABLE IS KEY WITH THE CUMMINS. BUT IF THE TRUCK IS BAD AND THE FORD IS GOOD MAYBE JUST MAYBE GO FORD.

Dude get over the friggin caps lock, and to the OP I would buy wichever one you liked better :c:

someone needs to hit the button to the left of letter A every now and again...

and i would go with whichever one looks better/feels better/IS better. you really cant go wrong with either. but the only thing about cummins is, 75% of people that own one and mod it havent done it right or beats the hell out of it.

good luck on your choice

@mansman33, theres nothing saying the cummins will go to 400k or even 900k miles. every engine has rare cases and proper maintainence from day one helps with that. and theres nothing saying the ford wont go 400k/900k either. its just hit and miss.

Whats the most I should pay for the dodge? And what are some thing to look for when checking it over?
Thanks again for the help guys!

were are you? That will have alot to do with the price of the truck.

I'm in Idaho, trucks in Utah.

What is the asking price?

Asking price is 7, I said I'd do 5200 an he's thinking about it