I am new to CTD's. I am looking at purchasing an 03' cc lwb SO 5-speed truck. It only has 50,000 miles on it and seems to be in pretty good condititions. I have done several searches looking for some info on these trucks but have not really found what I am looking for. I was wondering what are some of the pros and cons of these trucks?? The truck is reasonably prices at around $19K. Should I keep looking for a different year or should I jump on it? I test drove it and it is a real tight truck, shifts nice, starts and idles great. Thanks in advance.

CP

 

That is kinda high for the price. No issues with these trucks. Just not as much power as an HO truck but will still get the job done.

 

I have an '03 SO with the NV4500 5-speed. The truck is great! I still grin whenever I drive it. Hard to believe I bought it with 7 miles on it more than 5 years ago! I have had no problems with mine except I had to replace my LP at around 40K. I didn't mind, because I need a better LP to support fueling anyway. I pull a 12K toyhauler on a regular basis. My truck has pulled trailers up and down the Canadian Rockies, traveled the Alaska Highway twice, survived 1 Montana winter, 3 Alaska winters and 1 Idaho winter so far with no problems. I love this truck!

 

That is great to hear. The truck is a one owner truck and he replaced the lift pump with a holley blue pump with the custom fitting kit to use the stock filter and what not. I did look up KBB on this truck it was sitting at around $17,500. What would you guys say is a reasonable price for a truck like this?

CP

 

I'd say they jacked that price up because of the low mileage. Most used CTD trucks you find have at least 100,000 miles on them. Most people are begging you to buy big trucks and SUVs right now so I'd start at about 15,000 if I were you. SOs are OK but the newer HO engines make so much more stock power. I don't think I could ever own another SO again. I had an 03 SO before....
Don't even look at KBB. Look at what trucks are actually selling for at Autotrader, E-Bay, and at local dealerships.

 

Wonder why someone did a Holly pump when the factory retrofit to the intank pump was covered 7/100. That would bother me some.Have a friend asking $19k for his 05 dually,auto,quad cab,4x4 off road package real clean and dealer maintained.Has over 100k.It has not sold and ads have been out on it 6 months now.Bank says they'll loan $15k on it.That was a few days ago.Several dealers told him they have not sold a USED one in several months and only a few new. I think $19k on a used S.O. 2wd 5 speed is high.Several thousand too high.The S.O. 5 sped would not be a issue to me.Bet it gets good fuel mileage.

 

I had an 03 SO 5 speed, it was a blast to drive. Love that trans.

 

That trans is ok but has a big gap between 3rd and 4th.

 

Love mine, gets 21 to 22 MPG when not towing. 17.5 with P/U camper to Alaska and back. 15.5 towing 30 ft 5er. The ratio from 3rd to 4th is a bit wide but you get used to it. The best mod I put on mine was a set of F1
40hp injectors, they really wokd up the bottom end and made towing much smoother. Another plus is that they come stock with no cat to deal with.

 

The truck is a 4x4. I'm not sure why he went with the holley pump, I believe he did this before the warranted pump change. Is 19K still too high for a 4x4?

 

I did not wait for my OEM pump to go out on me and I put on a Glacier Diesel pump because I did not want the in tank retrofit the dealer would put in. I carry a spare pump with me when traveling and it can be changed out in just a few minuets as it is mounted in the frame rail. The OEM pumps were a weak point on the 3rd gens.

 

I was not about to spend money on a aftermarket pump when the retrofit has been very trouble free. With the history of lift pumps in the past that issue should have been corrected on 3rd gens.I just uplugged mine with engine running,plugged it back up and drove to my friendly Chrysler store. Told them truck just died and restarted,they pulled codes and put the retroft in the tank with a smile.Easy enough.

 

I loved my 97 5spd 3.54 but I had to do the mainshaft fix. The wide gears are fine unless hauling heavy. I don't know if they still had the 5th gear problem in 03. Craig

 

Supposedly the 5th gear nut issue was fixed in the 2nd Gen NV4500's. I still don't lug in 5th or floor it with a load in 5th, just in case ...

 

I think $19,000 is too high for an 03 SO. You could always use the "But it's not an HO" argument to help get the price down.
Check the prices here in the classifieds and see what these guys are trying to get for their trucks. There are plenty in there and you can go back a couple months too. Heck, you may find a better truck here. Most of us put accessories on our trucks and then sell them with the stuff still on them.....

And there is definitely nothing wrong with an SO. It doesn't take much to get to the power level of an HO if you so choose...