Hey nguys i am in the market for a new diesel and i have never owned one, i can't decide between the dmax or cummins, please get back to me with some thougts about the subject and can you please tell me the other cost with driving a diesel like oili changes and fuel filter costs and i live in ny any thing to be taken care of while driving in the cold winters.

 

You can't beat the Cummins for durability. There are some with over 1,000,000 miles on them and still going. The Cummins 6 is a real diesel engine built for trucks and heavy equipment. The Duramax is a good engine but has way to many parts, isn't as durable and breaks more often.

I have one of the original 1st generation Dodge CTD's with 160,000 miles on it. It kicks off on the first compression stroke hot or cold. It gets 19 mpg which is good for a D350 dually. The new CTD's get even better mileage because the fuel system is better controlled electronically.

I wanted a Cummins from the start and I wouldn't have any other. I purposely got an older one because I like working on cars and trucks and it's straight mechanical fuel system is easy to maintain. I expect to be still driving it when I drop dead. Yeah, it's like that.

Edwin

 

Everything Edwin said, plus they are SIMPLE to maintain..even for teh mechanically challenged such as myself...

 

Cummins all the way Hoss. They've been around forever, they are up to hard work, and they just sound dern good doin' it too.

 

Both very good engines, the Cummins is an I-6 which I prefer, and as these guys have said, it will literally run forever if taken care of properly. You may also see a bit better mileage out of a Cummins as well.

I will still consider the D-max the next time, however, due to the fact that I really like the truck it's placed in. It is the only other unit that uses Bosch common-rail fuel injection, so it's the only other unit I would seriously consider.

Whatever you purchase - welcome to the site! You're welcome here, ask lots of questions and research well. Either unit will give you good service, and so will this website.

 

I really don't think you can wrong either way. I have owned four Chevys prior to this Dodge and while I have never had an drivetrain related issues with them, I could not keep the little stuff together. I was looking long and hard for three months (literally EVERY SINGLE DAY... driving my wife nuts) at the three Diesels that are offered. The D-max/chevy has a couple of pluses over the Dodge:

1) It is a little (very little) quieter)
2) Rides a little better
3) Has better leather seats
4) A marginally better Stereo with the Bose in it.
5) Is lighter and is "faster" because it make a lot of power with more RPMS. The Dodge is more like a tractor.... it doesn't scream, it just pulls.

All in all, I really liked the Dmax. But the crew cab was the smallest of the big three and it felt cramped by comparisson. Sum it up, this is why I bought the Dodge:

1) The Mega Cab was astounding in interior room. My friends 8 year old was STANDING in the back without hitting his head.
2) The interior of the Mega Cab is actually quieter than the Chevy (The Mega Cab has some additional sound deadening components over the Quad Cab Dodge)
3) The Cummins has been around for years and is the benchmark for durability. Also somewhat basic in technology which made me feel a little better about not as much to break (think Ford with the variable).
4) This was the kicker.... I have heard a lot of guys telling me that they drive their dodges to 80kmi before the have to do anything on them other than scheduled maintenance... and that includes brakes. I have yet to own a Chevy that has not required at least 2 trips to the dealership for warranty work before 30kmi. My last Chevy went in 10 times before 40kmi and still had a leaking back window. My fathers Silverado was the same way... and so were my friends. I knew that if I bought a Chevy, at nothing else I was guaranteed to be in the shop for an intermediate steering shaft. Between my last two Chevy's (99 & 04) I have had 4 of them replaced. My father has had two, my friends with Chevy's have all had at least one. Nevermind the premature rear brake wearing, bad U-joints and what I consider rattle can interior.

Sum it up, I really like Chevy's. I like the interior is the best IMO, but the looks are now boring by comparrison to the other two. And I guess I was ready for a change. Yeah, you can say that every manufacturer has some bad trucks out there, but I went through four of them and have had enough. The Dodge may not have all the warm and fuzzy gadgets of the Chevy and fords (like separate heating adjustments for each of the bottom and back of the seats), but it does have those options... and I will say that the Dodge seats are nice and toasty when heated (better than the Chevy and Ford)!

Basically if you like the little frills, don't mind the smaller cabin and don't mind expecting a steering shaft within the first 10kmi, then the Chevy is not a bad option. I almost hate to bad mouth the Chevy because I only have 1500 miles on the Dodge so far.... but I can tell you I am VERY happy with my decision thus far. No regrets at all!!

Good luck in your decision.

Travis

P.S. Don't let MPG be something you make the decision on. Once you get the truck you won't care what it gets and the difference between the two is minimal. That is experience talking.

 

You will not find any common rail Cummins over 1,000,000 miles yet. So You can not go on what the much older engine did or didn't do. I am sure the new trucks will be just fine, but when I read about how good something was, and they use that information as a bases to buy something else, well it just don't make sense. Sure there were some that has gone 1 million miles, but there were some that didn't make it to one hundred thousand miles, and yet others that made the buy back trip. I would bet the million mile trucks are just as rare as the buy back trucks.

You can not go wrong with either truck! There are good and bad with both. And no two drivers needs will be identical, so test drive several of each before you jump into one or the other. Try to get 100 or so miles on them. (I know GM had a weekend test drive, I don't know if they discontinued it or not!) Use our information as an aid, and not as the gospel. (As many owners would brag about their vehicle even if it was pretty much junk! I have met guys like that, and this is not limited to any specific brand!)

I talked to a Tundra owner that states he will never buy anything but Toyota, yet his truck has been back to the dealer 5 times in a little over 2 years. He has been without his truck for more then 8 weeks total! (About 33,000 miles on the clock now) He was saying how much better his truck was then mine! 80,000 vs 33,000. 5 trips vs 1 trip. (I blew up the turbo by manualy shifting the automatic with well over 400 rwhp covered under warranty ) He has never hauled or towed, I have over 24,000 miles towing 10,000+ lbs. Yea, his truck is better, oh yea, it works harder to .

Good luck regardless what you decide on!

 

hey guys i have a question i love diesel trucks and want one extremely bad but i don't tow anything and may plow once in a great while, is the diesel worth it, are they better than the gas version. any advice would be valuable.

 

Whao! Easy Buddy. Pass on Gas, diesel is the only way to fly. I can see your interest in the DMax, but you'll find very little support here on a gasser of any brand. Are you 100% sure your not going to end up with a boat, camper or any other trailer someday?
I would say a conservative estimate here is that 65-70% of the members here don't need a diesel, but man are they cool! (and quite powerful).

It's one of those things that once you have one, you'll wonder how you lived without it and more than likely never go back.
Just get over the additional $4,500 in purchase price; the resale on these things is ridiculous. Gas powered trucks are pretty much disposable in my mind.

 

I have had both a 3rd gen dodge and am currently driving a GMC. I would see which dealer has the better service department in your area. I prefer the Cummins over the D-max but my dodge dealer stinks.

 

The word resale is key - you may not need a diesel, but compare residual values on a truck with 200k on it and you will find the diesel is still worth much more than the gas.

What VPI said is also key - I would be more concerned about the dealer is you do not have local options (other close dealer you cna visit) for service and parts support.

 

Cummins!

If you buy a diesel its the only choice. Not knockin' Chevy, cool looking truck, but it's not a Cummins.

Take a look at this one:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video...ze=1.6MB&dur=57

 

NEVER touch a durash** they dont have near the low-end power as the Cummins and are just an inderect fuel injected gas engine (i.e a gas conversion )
if you look at alot of the owners reports on them they dont last at all if your working with them.
this one guy i read about had always pulled with cummin but when the Duramax came out (with all its hype) he tried it, 74000 mi later NO-GO the engine blew and when the dealer finely got done with the run-'round and set him an appointment there was a bunch others with the same thing wrong. anyway i think the heads had blown and he was down, and what he was doing was pulling for a living so it hurt him for the down time.--this was just what i read so dont know how true,but if your gunna spend money on a truck theres nothin the dodge cant do that the chevy can

but...anyway the duracrap has never had the rattings the cummins has or the performence or long life the cummins has (avrage cummins is 400,000)
cant beat that with a freakin stick!!

oh and the duramax is an ISUZU engine....need I say more???

 

im not brand loyal at all,,,,,,i drive a dodge currently,and drove a 02 dodge before this one...my 05 with 35 inch tires ,stock,gets 17 mpg..my buddies 05 duramax with 285`s gets 16 mpg .no notable difference on mileage.loaded,about the same difference.....id say drive both trucks,whichever you like best,buy it.dodge service and standing behind their product,in my opinion,stinks.chevy seems to be backing their trucks better...if you like a straight shift,nod to the dodge,,if you like auto,nod to the chevy........as for diesel or gas,,if diesel stays way higher than gas,,gasser gets the nod.if they stay close to the same,,,diesel all the way..........ive heard plenty of folks say they would never own a diesel(and never have),,,ive never heard a diesel owner say they would go back to gas..........buy what you like best,period.........................bama

 

[QUOTE id say drive both trucks,whichever you like best,buy it.dodge service and standing behind their product,in my opinion,stinks.chevy seems to be backing their trucks better...if you[/QUOTE]

about chevy standing behind thier prodict, not every dealer is the same but we have better luck with the dodge getting dealer serviced than the chevy and had the same bad luck at all three diferent chevy places and they alway have wrecked something (small) but still.... than its always "oh...ah that was like that"....yah right (they cracked the inside pannels of the front doors) and we have had small tranny problems with our 1-ton Express ever since warenty. and the shudder at 55mph or 4th gear is "under tolerance"
if thats standing behind thier product than i dont know how worse another place could be