TDIRyan

I went and looked at a 2001 Cummins 2500 with a 5 speed yesterday and it was a nice truck, but I have a couple questions. I'm looking at selling my 2002 Jetta TDI (of course it's modified, so I can't get what it's worth by trading it in) for this but have a few questions.

First, it lacked power above 2500 RPM. IT didn't pull evenly at all throughout the power band, and I was wondering if that was normal on these engines.

The tranny seemed to shift fine, and it was the NV4500, which my brother said everyone wants for off-roading cause it's bulletproof, but how do the manuals seem to hold up in these trucks.

Third, it had no muffler and a brake controller, so there was aparently some towing done in the past and maybe some modifying done to the truck. How do you feel about that. At first it didn't bother me, but I'd like to know if it had been ragged on. I may go look at it and see cause it was too dark yesterday to see anything. If it was traded in because the tranny was replaced and the owner didn't want to put up with that again, that wouldn't bug me cause it'd be a new tranny.

Fourth, what would you place the value at for a 2001 with some damage to the bed (about a 8 inch scrape) and dents in the bed? This one is 12,900 - too high considering everything I said?

Is there anything else I should look for that I may have missed? Also, what fuel economy should I expect in reality from one of these? I'll miss the 42 I get in my Jetta!

clarson80

12,900 seems like a really good price to me. Does it have really high miles?
I wouldn't worry if the previous owner pulled hard with it...you should almost expect that it did some pulling, after all it's a 3/4 diesel pickup.
The power you described sounds about right for a stock CTD.
The only thing I would worry about is to have the fuel pressure checked, if you have a local diesel shop I'd bring it there during a test drive if possible. Bad lift pumps can end up costing a lift pump AND an injection pump$$$.

TDIRyan

The mileage is 118,000

I may wait for another to come along since I've got to get rid of the Jetta first, but I'm hoping to break even on that one...

clarson80

I assume you're looking at a 4x2...if it's a 4x4 with that low of price and that low of mileage, I'd jump at it.

TDIRyan

It's a 4x2, gold, has some dents and crap in the bed, but nothing unexpected.

It also has a 5 speed. Is the 6 speed NV5600 that much stronger than I should look for that instead? I'll be towing a toyota off-road truck or my 49 chevy on a wood-deck trailer most of the time with it (about 5000 Lbs.)

PaulDaisy

I think this is a decent deal for a 2x4. I would look around to borrow a fuel gauge with a schrader valve fitting to see if the fuel pressure is ok. Maybe it has a fuel pressure gauge?
The power band ends at 2600 rpm on a stock engine according to Cummins, so dropoff there is Ok I think. Aftermarket mods will expand it.
-P
P.S. A 6-speed 4x4 would be a better choice but you will not find that for $12k with a 120 kmiles on it.

SR_Crewchief

Ryan,

If that's all your going to pull you'll have no problems. I regularly pull move than twice that with mine and I've got over 225K on it.

As far as mileage goes, It does vary. I'm averaging 20-21mpg highway. Cruising at 65 for a daily commute of 50 odd miles each way. That's with 3.55 gears and the wheels wrapped in stock 245 rubber.

starkey

Sounds like a pretty good deal. If your going from a jetta to a CTD, your gonna notice some small driving differences!!! My power ends at around 2600, just like Paul said. I found my 4x4 6 speed for 10 down here, but she's got a salvage title!! Get the truck man, you won't be dissapointed!

TDIRyan

Right now, it all depends on getting rid of the Jetta... more trucks will always come along. I may do this, I just have a bunch of work in the Jetta and wouldn't get even close to what I could get if I sold it myself. I'll post it on a couple boards and see what happens.

My other thing is that the Jetta has 2 more years of payments, and if I get this, that's aprox. 5 more years again...