this is more or less a rant/what would you do thread. I love my truck, 2006 dually that just turned 100,000 miles, but it's nickle and dimed me to death since the day I got it. out of lack of time for repairs, I keep looking at low mileage 2011s. my truck is 3 months from being paid off and I refuse to fix anything until it's paid off. I hit a road cone and lost a chrome front hubcap and won't replace it out of principle until it's paid off it's needed a clutch/flywheel for 30,000 miles, if the flywheel finally lets go it's just going to sit until February. seems every time I turn around something else breaks and it's getting my morale down. yet I look at 2011s and there's not much inside/outside that makes me want a 4th gen, other than everything not being broken. I regret trading my last 5.9L 3rd gen and know I will regret getting rid of this one even if it does need $3500 worth of work.

it needs:
South Bend clutch
A/C clutch/blend door housing
$600 in bodywork
chrome hubcap
drivers lumbar
ball joints
4 rear tires
4 shocks
4wd switch
I'm sure something else will break by next month

I can do all the work myself save the bodywork and clutch, just have no time, I drive for a living and this thing more or less sits 6 days a week. if you could get into a 4th gen for under 10k would you? I love the looks of the work trucks, especially the interiors, not a fan of the cloth seats and fake aluminum trim. I've found some nice 2011s but most are horridly overpriced, saw one for 49k. how about like 32k. then again I hate truck payments and in 3 months this will be the first vehicle I've ever owned outright, broken or not. the engine has no problems and has a new water pump and cam seal/front cover gasket and has been taken care of. I briefly had an early 6.7L and am hesitant to go back. I know full well 100k is a drop in the bucket in the bigger picture of things.

thoughts?

 

One hundred thousand miles is nothing for those trucks. If you like the truck and it serves your purposes, $3500 for repairs is not bad. A newer, lower milage 3500 will likely cost about 10 times that amount, and any used truck will likely have something that needs to be fixed. The 5.9 Cummins is pretty much bulletproof, and you don't have to deal with the EPA crap that comes with the newer trucks.

 

He is my take on low mileage used vehicles at the dealers. I would say (obviously guessing here) roughly 50% of these low mileage vehicles were traded in because there were issues that the original owner was tired of. Easier to trade it in and get another new one than to deal with issues.

The way I would do it and have done in the past, if you go to a dodge dealer looking for a used one, make them print out the repair history for you before you start working any deals.

Aside from that, I would make the repairs and have a truck that is paid off before I got into another loan when I was that close to paying it off.

 

I wouldn't do anything until it's paid off either way.

 

Any vechicle with close to 100,000 miles will need maintenance. It's just part of it. The newer trucks will need even more.

 

South Bend clutch------------- Don't have a clue here

A/C clutch/blend door housing----------------Normal maintenance/breakage and we all have or had this problem.

$600 in bodywork---------------Did the truck cause this? Maybe from hitting the cone?

chrome hubcap-------- Owner induced

drivers lumbar------------------ Stuff happens, breakage

ball joints------------------ Normal replacement for any truck.

4 rear tires------------- Normal replacement

4 shocks------------those were gone at 40K miles

4wd switch------------------breakage

Out of all listed 4 are breakage , the rest is normal maintenance, I understand why you want to wait in todays economy, but look at the repair cost Vs 5 years of mor payments besides you have the best year in my opinion. Not to mention you get to start all over again on another truck. If it were me I would fix what you have and go on with life. I'm just looking at it different.

 

was looking at used 2011s, would never buy new, I am not paying interest on depreciation. if I could get into one for 10k or less I'd consider it.

time is the only variable here, I am on the road for work 5-6 days a week and repairs just keep piling up.

while I have you guys on the line, what size external torx socket do the transfer case to transmission bolts take?

 

Stop hitting things and you don't have to repair broken/damaged stuff.

100k and maintenance needs to be done-normal.

If you want to spend money on low mileage good condition stuff, go for it. But I think you'll be spending much more than you are now repairing/maintaining. Any vehicle has to be maintained. How long until your new expensive truck needs stuff? What will you trade up to then?

I don't know how you'd be getting into a diesel '11 for under 10k unless your stealing it or it is a basketcase.

 

Wether it's paid off or not, the repairs are gonna cost the same. and some of them will cost more if you wait. I can fix an awful lot of stuff for $600 a month X 60 or more months. I owe 3k on mine and I am looking forward to the payoff date and then I'm gonna drive it till it is scrap metal.

 

really gotta agree here....
I have been equally aggrevated with the blend doors.. but that was a $200.00 repair and never worry about it again...
Shock and tires are a maintenance/wear item, like wiper blades...
Ball joints wear out... how bad and how often have huge variables such as roads and speeds travelled, added weight on front end (bumpers winches)
But if you can find a dealer selling 11 models for 10K... please post.. I will buy two of them and put one out back for spare parts.

 

Same here. I have something like 6 months to go and I will keep driving it even if I'm Fred Flinstoning it!!!

 

Pay it off and keep it. Buying a new or almost new vehicle is going to put you way behind with new payments and depreciation.

I'd start saving a little money and setting it aside and start planning my first priority for repair. If you can do all of the work yourself great, otherwise, find somebody to help you or do it for you on the side that you know and trust and does quality work. If you take it to the dealer they are going to rape you. Start shopping for the best parts and buying them in advance of the job....(ie balljoints.....I bought Dynatracs and waited until I was ready to do the whole front end at once and did hubs, front axle ujoints, 08.5 steering upgrade, shocks, end links, lifted coils etc.) I knew it was above my ability to do it and I lacked all the tools, so a buddy mechanic of mine did it on the side, with my help and i payed him fairly for his time and enjoyed the comraderie while doing it.

Also, start taking better care of it. Just because it's older and has a few miles don't rag on it. Try to treat it like you would a new one. Keep up with the maintenance. These trucks should be able to go a half-million miles with just a little TLC. Mine only has 180K, but I plan to drive on for another 10 years or more and another 200-300K on top of that.

Good luck.

..

 

I stepped up from my 3rd gen 2003 to a 4th gen 2011 last year and have never regretted it for a minute (well...having a payment again sucks, but it's worth it). I would look at new 2012s, dealers in my area are offering up to $12k off. That puts a nice SLT 4x4 crew in the $37k range. That's about what I paid for my 2011 slightly used. The nice thing about having a warranty is you don't have to worry about being nickled and dimed with repairs. I won't have a payment without a warranty, can't afford both payments and repairs.

 

Unless there's a bunch of other "nickel and dime" stuff that you're not mentioning, I agree with most of the posts here.
Just about everything you posted as a problem is either a periodic maintenance item or owner induced damage. Save for the blend door and lumbar support, but those are minor.
Decide whether the bj's really need to be done. I'm at 105k on mine, bj's have been "bad" since about 60 or 70k mi when I had an alignment done. They were out of spec on caster (non adjustable), but it has yet to affect how the truck drives, handles or tire wear. My uneducated guess is that alot of the bj "problems" with these trucks, especially pavement queens like mine are alignmnet shops selling you bj replacements just because something is "out of spec" when it may not be necessary to repair yet.
If your truck was in great/perfect shape I think you could get into a lower mile, 30-50k mi, 4th Gen for your truck and $10k, but plan on a little more than that unless your 06 is pristine.
FWIW, the older 4th Gens '10-'12 models are the same basic chassis I believe, so no help there with the front end components and if you opt for a G56 trans, you get the same pos clutch, which if you got 100k out of the original one on your 06 you're doing better than most.
That said, the 4th Gens are MUCH nicer inside the cab, plus you can get the 6speed auto and OE exhaust brake, but to me they're not $10k nicer than my 07 yet.

 

thanks for the replies, truck should be paid off this time next week.

parking brake quit working today

need to amass a pile of parts over the winter and take a week off work and just tear into it.