Alright i am hoping to pick up my pre-approval check on monday and going to starty doing some shopping. I am only wanting a 06 or early 07 with the 5.9 in it. What is some advice to look for or kinda test while test driving these trucks. I know pretty much everything there is to know about mustangs and gas cars but am pretty much lost on diesels. And help will be much appreciated. Thanks

 

My criteria for buying my used Diesel last week was to buy a low mileage truck that was still well within factory warranty. I also checked out the receiver hitch to look for evidence of towing, a fifth wheel hitch would've disqualified and used truck for me.

I have 14 months and 21K miles of factory warranty left on mine, and I added an extended warranty to 7 years 100K miles to cover the trans, ball joints, etc.

 

The 2 trucks i am going to go look at have under 30k miles. Is there any special way to test the tranny on these things to tell if its been abused at all, you know like almost trying to make it slip.

 

You can tell if they have been pulled hard sometimes by looking at the exhaust manifold. I know mine has a nice burned look to it and the heat shild on it is discolered.

 

I wouldnt disqualify a truck just cause it was used for towing in fact towing is good helps break in the motor properly HOWEVER if they were beat while towing of course that could be bad but a truck isnt going to look nice inside and out if the motor was beat on.

I know someone that bought an 04 Dodge like mine with 260k from a guy that used it for hauling RV's from day one till he traded it in. He bought it and has been hauling cars like myself for 2 years now and has over 400k on it with NO problems well he did a clutch and tie rods but nothing major Heck that truck with 260k on it had a cleaner interior and exterior than mine at 100k!

If it was taken care of you shouldnt have anything to worry about. I mean come on if you wouldnt buy a truck that was built for towing that was used for towing why would you tow with it?

 

If you are buying a used Dodge Cummins for the warranty be aware of one important thing!!! Dodge will void your warranty in a heartbeat if the previous owner has done performance mods to the engine. Some servicing dealers will let some things slide by but others W I L L N O T. Removing an electronic performance enhancer leaves a footprint in the computer and even though you take it off the diagnostic equipment can still see it was there. Buy from a reputable dealer or take your prospective purchase to the dealer first before you sign the papers. Make sure the warranty is not going to be cancelled after you buy it.

These engines are reliable, strong and need no performance enhancement. Many people do it for their own ego trip but for the guy pulling a trailer this is the engine of choice. Leave it alone!! Cummins also does not like any air filter intake mods, they refer to them as "engine killers". My friend in Tenn. found all of this out after buying what he thought was a real good 05 from another fellow. It had a programmer on the engine and on his first visit for service all hell broke loose with the warranty police at Dodge!!!

 

I bought my 01 used with full knowledge that the previous owner had pulled a 12K fifth wheel since it was new. The best running Cummins equipped trucks I see are ones that are maintained and USED.

 

Alright so i am gonna make sure before i buy one i am going to run it by a dealership to make sure there hasn't been a programmer or anything on it. Cause i am all about that warranty.

 

My comment on the fifth wheel hitch is more about the condition and use of the truck. I looked at 5 trucks that had fifth wheel hitches installed, all five were beat to hell. I got to the point where that was my first question I'd ask when I called someone was whether or not it had a fifth wheel. If I found the grandpa truck in good shape with a fifth wheel it would not have been a disqualifier. I wasn't concerned about the Cummins, but the longevity of the transmission. If someone knows what they are doing it should be fine, but if they were trying to hotrod their toyhauler out to Glamis the trans could be weak.

 

Yeah I guess thats understandable and a good point and yeah should have made it more of a point that if it was NOT beat which generally speaking you can tell by the overall condition IE...Nice glossy paint, clean engine with no leaks or seeps (including driveline) even clean interiors. Other good things to look at would be the condition of the bed and tailgate and now while the tailgate can be easily replaced the bed usually isnt.