Risky buy or not?
 

I'm looking at a 2005 2500 5.9L with 109K miles at a local dealership with a great reputation. I really like this truck, it looks great and well maintained, carfax checks out. But there are many mods, most of which I love, like the a-pillar gauge cluster, banks exhaust, AFE intake manifold and cold air intake. However, the tranny appears modified because it has a larger pan, the diffs have after market covers, and the truck definitely has a tune because it will "roll coal" if you step in the throttle hard. Is this a risky buy at $24K or a sweet deal?

If your concerned about it it's worth the time and a few bucks to send in an oil sample kit. It's all in how you look at it. For those that think they "need" more power they might be happy to have the power "upgrades", as they wont have to pay for them out of pocket. The trouble is you just don't know what your getting when buying like that.

Seems on the high side for an 05 but it's all relative to location and many other variables you didn't talk about.

You haven't said where you intend to register, or if you intend to stay there forever. It appears the mods would not allow the truck to pass emissions in places like Kalifornia, so if you ever intend to move the truck to such a state, it may be very expensive to 'fix' the truck back so it passes smog. Just a thought.
Back to morning brew . . . [coffee]

Definitely not California. I live in VA currently, going to be in rural PA for 9 months, then most likely moving to WV or staying in rural PA, so I should be good for no emissions test.

Thanks for the help, guys, but I found an '05 with only 40K miles for about $30K. Its stock, one owner, clean carfax, no rust. It's a DRW, which I don't need, but maybe I'll grow into it and get a trailer at some point.