I am planning on purchasing my first diesel truck very soon and have come across a 2001 Ram 4X4 Q-Cab,Cummins with 176,000 miles on it. The guy wants $18,500 for it
Is the mileage or price considered high for this truck?
Also is the Cummins a good choice of engine for 2001? What should I look out for to determine that the engine is good or bad?

 

I would look to see if it had a #53 block. 176k miles is a lot but we have a member on here that has around 418k on his 01 so don't worry about it.

 

How do I tell if it has a "53" block???

 

Here, take a look at this:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ht=53%2A+block

There was a post a while back that had a picture of the 53 on the block, try a search and see what you can find.

 

That sounds like alot to me. I bought my truck which is just about like that for 20,000 last fall and it only had 87,000 miles on it. But like they said, check to see about the 53 block if it is a reasonable price for your area.
dave

 

You might also take a look under the rig too. I've seen a lot of people try and hide a problem by pressure washing the engine off up top but not wash the underside. So this might give you a clue to find out if he abused the truck.

Look for large dents, scraps and so forth under the truck. It will tell you a lot about the person that own it!

This is my $0.02 worth of info to help out...

 

Well I was thinking that it sounded like too much also. I have checked around and it seems that all the other diesels of that year around hear have alot less miles for that same money.

 

That's a bit high on the price. It would be ok if it were in excellent condition. But if in excellent condition, why is he selling it? Diesel fuel prices are lower, mostly, than gas. Anyone with a diesel needs to keep them, b/c gas isn't going down anytime soon.

Check Kelly Blue Book or Nada guides.