Hello all. This is my first post to this site and with any luck, hopefully there will be many more. I am looking to get into a cummins because I need a tow vehicle for my new travel trailer. I wasn't planning on getting a new truck, so my budget is limited but I out of neccesity I will be getting one. Here is a copy and paste of what I found in my area;

1997 dodge 2500 Cummins 4x4 auto extended cab long bed. Has line x bed liner and remote start. newer flip up tow mirrors and turbo back mbrp exhaust. The truck has 279000 miles and runs great. the paint does not look great. And just today the transmission did not shift into overdrive. I do not know why i might be something simple i have not had it looked at i would just like it gone.
Asking 4500 obo

I had them send me pics. The rust is minimal which for a Michigan truck of that age is rare. The paint is dumb. It is the original silver but the PO painted the bottom half of the truck flat black as well as some other flat black paint highlights. So here are the two "MILLION DOLLAR" questions. Based on my research on this site I believe there is a decent chance that the tranny problem could be the PTS and wonder what others think? Also, providing it is a typical truck of that era what do you think about the price?

It has been for sale for a while and I think the paint is a big turn off to most, that, and the fact that if you tell somebody that you have a mid-late 90's dodge truck with a tranny problem, they pretty much expect tranny replacement. Would it be unethical to ask to test drive the truck, swap on a new PTS to verify whether or not that is the problem, remove the good part once a determination is made and then make an offer accordingly? (That is kinda rhetorical as it is completely unethical but it would be nice to be able to do). How would you approach this situation? With the mechanical issue, I don't think it would be out of line to ask to bring it to my mechanic for his opinion. Thanks everyone.

-Joseph

 

My opinion, if you will be using the new truck for towing I wouldn't even bother to see if it's something small before offering a price. It's got some miles on it, I'm sure if it is something small, the next thing won't be after putting some weight behind it. I would offer a low ball price seeing how it's not shifting right, spend a few grand on a decent new tranny in it, and take on anything else as maintenance. I don't consider a new transmission maintenance, so keep that in mind with your offer if you decide to give one. Besides that, I wouldn't hesitate picking a truck like that up, but it would have to be for the right price. Good luck.