I've been lurking around this site for at least a year and I've finally gotten to a point where I can begin seriously looking for a used CTD. I "think" I have enough knowledge to make a good purchase, but I'm looking for some opinions from you guys.

I'm considering buying a '99 4x4 quad cab long bed CTD, auto tranny. It has 270k miles and the injection pump was replaced 8k miles ago. He has the receipt from Dodge. It's at a dealership about 400 miles from me. It appears to be in very good condtion on both the interior and exterior and appears to be unmodified. It's an SLT with I beleive all the options except leather. 3.55 gears. No gooseneck or 5th wheel ever installed. Don't know about 53 block or not.

He says the tranny shifts great and it steers/tracks good. Says it has no leaks of any kind. Carfax shows it was originally registered as a fleet vehicle up until recently. I don't know if this it good or bad? Carfax doesn't show any trips to the dealership except for the IP replacement. No accidents or other damage has been reported.

Anyway, do you think I'm crazy for considering one with this many miles? Also, what do you think would be a good price on a truck like this? Any other issues I should get clarified?

By the way I'm in Alabama and these trucks are very hard to find without breaking the bank.


Thanks in advance,
Brad

 

At that milage I would be more worried about the chassis than the engine.

The might Cummins is good for a half a million miles... But some of the crap that Dodge bolts to it...

And I have seen trucks like that go for 13-15 thousand. On diesels milage does not have quite the effect that it does on gassers, there are a lot of high mileage diesels in good condition out there.

Sounds like it could be a good truck for you.

 

Thanks for the reply. I can get it for a good bit less than $13 to 15k, so maybe I shouldn't worry so much.

I will walk away from it if the tranny doesn't feel tight or if I can't keep it between the lines.

Does anyone have experience with former fleet vehicles. I would think that they would generally be maintained properly, but some people think it means they were likely abused. I'm hoping since the appearence was maintained so well that maybe the mechanicals were also. I also think it's hard to go 50k miles a year if you are having a lot of problems.

Keep the thoughts coming

Brad

 

Fleet trucks usually get hammered, I would shy away from any fleet vehicle. Keep searching. THere are some great trucks that show up here in the classifieds very frequently. Goodluck,,Rick

 

I wouldn't touch a fleet vehicle with at ten foot pole. Maintenance upheld? yes certainly. But the slacker driving it who could care less if it dies tommorow, thats my concern.
Are we talking in the $8,000 range??
If th price was too good to pass up, and you could take it to a mechanic for a once over.................................Maybe.

 

I can get the truck for slightly more that $8000

I'm going to go check it out Saturday. Cosmetically, this truck need nothing. Nice A/T tires with about 75% tread left. All tires worn evenly and pictures seem to back that up. Good paint and interior. The driveline and steering are the things I'm worried about. I'm going to run it hard and see how it feels.

Help me with my checklist of things to look at. Here is what I have:

- Check for oil, atf, or coolant leaks
- Check for 53 block (where exactly should I look for this)
- Check tracking/steering and pull while braking
- Verify all power options operate properly (seat, AC, radio, windows & doors, cruise control, etc.)

Give me some other things that I should look at.

Brad

 

You live in the humid part of the country ... check the frame from the front wheels forward. The channels don't appear to have sufficient drainage holes and can rot from the inside out at the low spots. May not be obvious unless you REALLY LOOK HARD.

I'd also check under the carpet in the rear of the cab for moisture and rust. There have been a few folks on here that experienced leakage from (I assume) the sliding rear window.

The A/C system should be thoroughly checked out. I was one of the victims of a bad condenser (also supposedly a rust related issue, somehow).

As it has been said before, many people don't care for a "company" truck like they would their own. I have seen people "drive it like they stole it" or the windows left down in some of the Gov't vehicles during gully washers and people walk away laughing... until I caught up with them

Good luck with the truck ... hope the deal works in your favor,
PISTOL