I'll add my .02. My current ride is my 6th Dodge w/ Cummins. Put over 100k on every one of them, except the 04.5 which I just got 8 mos. ago. Only one of the 6 has ever been in the shop for a problem. That was the 01 when the VP went out at 74k. So, I've driven approx. 750k miles in a Cummins with only 1 problem. Your choice obviously, but I know what my 7th will be.

 

I worked at a GM Dealer here in Missouri for 2 years. Of the mechanics in the shop, there were 5 Dodge guys 1 Ford guy and a Chevy guy. We all agreed that we worked at a GM shop for job security. It was in 01-02 time period. One of the mechanics almost got fired for going and buying a brand new Cummins. The others all drove Dodge gassers.
At the time there were several Duramax's in and out of the shop. We didn't sell a whole lot of them, but I know that there was only one Cummins traded in on a Dmax in those 2 years and that guy came back in 2 months wanting his Cummins back. (It was long gone.) He ended up trading it back for a new Cummins.
There was also a large company that builds trailers and delivers them all over the country. (Doolittle Trailer Mfg.) They had 3 cab and chassis with large 5th wheels. Every one of them had been in for some kind of major tear down, and one of them was in at least every other week. Cylinder head twice, oil pump, turbos, etc. These trucks were ALL stock. Doolittle now has 3 3rd gen Dodges with the same setup The Duramax isn't a bad engine it just isn't that reliable from my experience. The chevy LT's do have nice interior though...but lots of rattles in my dad's.

 

Well, here is my input.

I was in a similiar situation last March. I had not even considered Dodge and figured I would end up with a Chevy or Ford. The Chevy was nice but it had three things against it: injector problems, $3-4k higher price, and ugly front end. It has the most car like ride and feel. This could be good or bad depending on what you want.

I was scared of the Ford 6.0 but I drove a couple anyhow. I think the Ford was the worst riding, worst handling, noisiest one of the group. My Dad has 3 Ford PS that have held up well but they are all 7.3s.

Then I tried Dodge. Boy was I surprised! It rode great for a HD truck. Turned great. Reliability of the CTD. Price was less than Chevy and equal to Ford. The quad cab was just the right size for me. Easy to find a 6-spd. I now have 10k+ miles on it and it hasn't been back to the dealer. I average 15.5mpg towing my boat, 18-19 on my commute, and 20+ on the hwy. I love it! To be fair I have a problem that I need to take it in for. The transfer case is very slow to shift from 4High to 4Low and back. It has always shifted and is quick from 2X to 4High.

As everyone mentioned, all of them have there quirks, but you need to look for reoccuring problems. The only reoccuring problems I see on the Dodge are relatively minor or are fixable/avoidable. The only common problem I have had is the oil smell in the cab. This is a known problem but there is a fix that many have succesfully done. There is also the vibration problem but this is easy to test for. Just drive the truck before buying. Run it up to 75mph and see if it has a problem. The death wobble seems to be related to those who add front end lifts and/or run bigger tires. It also seems to be fixable with proper alignment. Some have reported poor mileage but most of those seem to be early 600s.

Most people are very happy with there trucks but don't post messages saying so. If you are looking for advice on a problem you post a message. That is why many posts are about problems. Of the website forums I visit I would say this one has the highest percentage of positive comments. The percentage of happy owners is very high. This is another reason I bought the CTD.

OK, I better stop. Basically, go drive them all. Buy the one you like most. I just wanted to reply since I think you incorrectly came to the conclusion that Dodges have worse/more problems that the others.

FB

 

I have been following a bunch of truck forums to get a grip on some of the problems out there. In the past I have owned mostly Gm's. I did buy one new dodge back in the late 90's. The service and after warrany service was unbelievably good. That set of wheels got stolen. Since that I have owned Gm's. (all gasers) My last new truck was a Silverado LT. What a piece of junk. 22 warranty claims. Very poor quality, workmanship, and customer service was no there. With out a question my next new truck will be a Dodge diesel. There are not to many dealers out there that will give you a loaner to go where ever, when you are waiting to have your oil changed. My Dodge dealer will. My chevy dealer did not even want to give you a loaner when I was geting warrany work done on my new truck.
It is totaly your choice.
For me there is only one choice, Dodge.

 

I now have well over 30,000 miles on my truck, and the only problem was that my air conditioner froze up on a trip.

Otherwise, perfect.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Dodge Ram Diesel, and, as of now, that's all I ever want to drive.

 

I come to this site when I have a problem, not to brag about my truck and I think most of the other guys are the same.I worked for Ford for over 20 years and get a nice discount on Ford products but after a few lemons I traded in on a Dodge and have been smiling ever since.As for Chevy they have ben giving diesel a bad name for years, but to be fair the duramax is the best they have put in so far but it has a long way to go to catch a cummins.I would place a Ford in front of Chevy any day.My 04.5 has had the least amount of problums of any new car or truck I have ever owened but at 6000 miles it has a way to go to prove it self,now my 91 cummins has held up with only normal care except for a trans at 150000. not all its falt, I lost oil and cooked it.I have a lot of friends that drive Chevys and some are happy some are not none of the happy ones drive diesels but I don't know of any onhappy Dodge guys that are so uppset to switch to a Chevy or Ford but if you look hard enough you mite find one.Spend a little time and look in the dodge ,Chevy and Ford lots you will find a lot more Fords and Chevys in Dodge lots then the other way around. Best of luck in what ever you pick it sounds like you are doing your homework try talking to guys that make a living with thier trucks and see what they say I allready know.

 

I am a die hard GM fan but am not convinced of the Duramax reliability. There are a lot of them around here and no one seems to be haveing any problems with them but it is a relitivly new engine and the Cummins has proven itself for a long time now. I realy wish I could get a 305/555 Cummins in a new GMC Crew cab with an Allison. I hate Dodge autos so I got the 6 speed this time around. My last truck had the 47RE in it and it seemed like all the gear ratios where ment for a gasser. My only complaint with my early 600 is it has a bad injector that ticks unbalivably loud and Dodge just says to bad it still runs so drive it. And it does run fine but it litteraly sounds as if it is in the proces of blowing up. I reserched for a very long time before buying this new truck and realy wanted a Duramax but ended up bringing the new Dodge/Cummins home. Would I do it again?? I dont know. I still want a Duramax for the smooth,quiet engine and the Allison for a reliable tranie that the wife can drive( She cant drive my dodge with a manual). The GMC cab and interior is far and away better than my Dodge in my opinion but mayby for 06 the added room of the true quad cab will bring the dodge up to par with GMC. If they would just pull there head out of there rear end and fix my truck so it is as quiet as it was when I bought it I would be a lot happier with it. Good luck it is a hard choice.

 

I agree with the above. When I was shopping I looked at all the forums. I have had 3 Dodge vehicles and always wanted a CTD. Well after coming here I thought about looking at the Fords. I had a Ford 150 as a company truck and hated everything about it but I wanted to check into the new Ford diesels as well. What I found is that you really can't use the fact that these forums have lots of complaints as an idication of anything. People will mostly only post if they have a problem or complaint. All the manufactures sites are like that.

Test them all out and decide for yourself which you like and which fits into your needs the best.

 

Before buying mine I arrived at the conclusion that people bought Ford and Chevy diesels for 'everything else' and put up with the powertrain, and people bought Dodge diesels for the powertrain and put up with 'everything else'. The torque wars have been harder on Chevy and Ford than on Dodge, and Dodge seems to have made big strides on 'everything else' with the start of the 2003 model.

When taking a number of coworkers to lunch in the new truck they commented on little it flexed on the speed bumps, unlike the more typical Ford crew cab. One of brothers noted that the Dodge diesel is perhaps the Alaskan state truck, and that people are more than willing to put up with a diesel in that climate for the durability and reliability.

 

Kinda sounds like a plant. Why else would someone register just to post an inflamatory thread?

Who do you work for?

 

i'm thinking maybe he can't qualify for a dodge, but then who knows. and i really don't care what he buys either.

 

I have not had one problem with my truck. I had the re-flash done but I wouldn't consider that a problem...just a program upgrade. Sort of like down loading the latest version of Internet Explorer, etc.., you need the latest information available. I have no vibrations, weird smoking situations or anything else. The key to my trouble free truck, I believe, is...it's stock. I'm not out to race or prove my truck is better or faster than others out there. I just want something dependable when I go on trips. I want to get there and back without problems...and this Dodge does just that!

Good luck with your decision.

 

I think I should have paid more for my truck, Dodge didn't charge me enough!

I have had "problems with my truck, I'm not gonna sugar coat it. But with the help of this site I have been able to fix them myself or to get the dealer to fit it for free. Saved me $300.

But all of the problems are SMALL ones compaired to the reliability of knowing I have a CTD sitting ourside that I can jump in and tow 12K pounds to heck and back tonight. Buy your last pick up first, get a CDT.

 

Well, I do not post that much but my truck has 9K on it and just runs flawlessly! I was nervous buying a diesel and I was going to buy my first Ford . But after driving it and feeling like a piece of gelitine in the cab and my wife saying you want this thing that jumps all over? Then I drove the Cummins, the ride was very comfortable compared to the Ford. Yeah, the Ford has an actual crew cab, but I also like garaging my vehicles, so that influenced me too. Also, after reading on the Cummins, that diesel is well put together and can run much more than the other 2 in a lifetime. I might not keep it for a lifetime (never kept a truck for more than 3 years), but I was pleased with my research. I used to be a GM guy all the way to the heart. No more, they still got nice features and their products get the best gas milage out of all the domestics, but I always had quirks with them. This is my first Dodge diesel and I am extremely pleased. I like it, doesn't mean anyone else needs to. Regardless what you get, everyone buys the best!

 

Haven't been on the board for a few weeks, but I think the problems listed by texasredrider are kind of in the minority. My 05 is my 3rd CTD and consideration wasn't even given to the other guys. I have an F450 gas that has been a good truck, but for a D, I wouldn't consider a powerjoke. My '95 was sold with over 165K and it looked and ran great, with no major problems (radiator, waterpump & brakes), not bad for a 9 year old truck. The 2000 had the a/c compressor changed and a turbo hump hose & of course brakes, again not bad for 204K. Never had any other problems and the trucks were used to haul a 10K lb. equip trailer up and down the mountains all over the SW.
The 05 now has 8.7K on it and it hasn't been in any garage except mine. The good part is it so much easier to get up and down those mountains pulling the trailer at regular cruise speeds of 70 and getting 12 mpg, I don't think either of the other guys could give the mileage and I don't think the D-max could pull the load. If putzing around town is what you want it for, I would guess any of them will do the job, if it is to be used like a truck - I'd sure consider the CTD. Good luck. Jeff