I friend of mine has asked me to help her find a Diesel truck. She has around $10,000 to spend. Diesel trucks in my area are overvalued and anything in that price range is quite beat.

I want to know which regions in the states, have the best deals on Dodge diesels? I’ve noticed that there are a lot of places where diesel is significantly more expensive then gas (not the case where I’m from). I figured these areas would be a good place to start looking. We both need to take a vacation, and I figured I could turn this truck buying experience into a vacation. How are the diesel truck prices around Vegas?

I’m wanting to avoid the rust belt areas, and areas where trucks are often abused, i.e. in the oilfield. I would like to buy private, but would buy from a dealer if it is a local trade in with a maintenance records. Looking or a 12 valve 4x4 with a standard. Would consider an early 24valve as well.

Basically I want to find her a nice clean truck. Any help, or links to good classifieds would be much appreciated.

Carl

 

Where do you live? Glad im not in a salt road, rust pit area.

When I was looking , Most the used dearlers were getting their trucks from auctions in Texas. 2,3,4 year old trucks with from 30- 80,000 miles. Some thrashed and dented. Even a clean one would have at least one good dent.

Everyone wants top dollar for used CTD's. Dave Smith motors in Kellog ID. had decent deals.

I must have looked at 30 or 40 trucks all over the west. Saw only a few good deals.

I finally found a very clean truck from a Private party.

 

I live in Indiana and we are notorious for rusty truck. Well mine doesnt have a spot of rust on it and its 12 years old. although I would be wary of vehicles from MI, the can get very bad very quick. The best place would be Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and states around there will be the cleanest.

Oh ya and mine is for sale!

 

Texas seems to be the best bet on these trucks.

 

I just finished going throught the whole search and compare process. I saw quite a few in Texas. Check:
www.trucktraderonline.com
www.Autobytel.com

These are great starting points.

 

I've read where Montana has the highest per capita number of diesel pickups.
There are always at least five 12 valves listed in my local paper. Montana trucks usually have high mileage but it's all highway, no salt here.
Check it out here http://www.montanaautofinder.com/advanced.php

Here's a couple of interesting ones http://www.montanaautofinder.com/det...ealerid=201638

http://www.montanaautofinder.com/det...ealerid=151016

 

Thanks for the help guys. Finding a good clean deisel at a reasonable price is quite the chalenge. Up here in Saskatchewan, all diesels really hold their values. I've got alot of places to look now, and hopefully the right truck will come along.

Carl

 

Like you, people around here think their trucks are worth gold, so I was looking out of state. Most of what I found were in Arizona and Texas. I bought mine in Az. The one thing you need to be careful of is the fees your state may charge for registering an out of state truck. I figured I saved about $2500 on the truck. A one way ticket to Phoenix was $125. Fuel home was cheap, maybe $75 for 450 miles. But the DMV stuck it to me for $723!! Fortunately, I'm still money ahead, but that can eat up your savings pretty quickly.

BTW, if you get lucky and find a truck for a reasonable price in the Ventura County, Calif. area (highly unlikely!!), I'd be happy to go check it out for you.

 

As Mike said, watch your DMV fees, if you're in Canada I'm sure there are import fees as well. Texas is generally the best, but repeat this word slowly, three times: CARFAX. I found one that a friend was looking for that turned out to have been lemoned, and had four seperate owners. It;s just a guide, but if you're traveling to get a truck, you need a good guide.

 

check down here in florida.. no salt down here except by the coast.

 

I'm in Maryland and on monday i'm buying a '97 CTD for $10,500 with 83,000 Miles. It's in beautiful condition, 4x4, bed liner and cover, extended cab, and a spotless interior. I thought $10,500 was a pretty good deal!!

I see them around here for about that price sometimes, it's just hard to catch them before someone else does!

 

Im in Austin and would be glad to help also.
I just got a great deal on mine.
I found it on ....www.craigslist.com
I paid 8000 for mine and the next cheapest one I could find was 11,500. I looked at both and they were almost the same truck. lol

 

You are not going to find a good clean 2nd gen 4X4 in Alberta or Sask for $10,000CDN. I've been looking for about a month now and for a clean 4X4 CC and you are looking at $15,000 min, more if its a quad cab.

First gens go for around $10,000 in Southern Alberta. When I find my new truck(2nd gen) I'll be asking $12,000 for it.

You are either going to have to raise your price or lower your standerds. Otherwise you are oing to get frustrated looking at junk.

 

Bill what do they use on the highways instead of salt? In ND, they used coal cinders, and here in WY, it's just sand/dirt.

justin

 

Hey Hohn - how are ya?? We are both about as far away from WYO as we can get and still be in one of the 50 states!

Actually, WYDOT uses sodium chloride in the sand mix and some places have gone to "ice slicer" which I guess is just a hotter version.