Hvytrkmech

I remember when you could buy a nice day cab tractor dripping with chrome and aluminum for that kind of money. They are certainly pricing themselves out of business with those prices.

zulusafari

Yeah, but what does it cost for that same daycab dripping with chrome today? Seems to me that everything is going way up. I bought my house and land for $57,000 in 1999. I paid ~$18,000 for my truck in 2004. My wife will never go along with buying a truck that is priced that close to a house unless there is a REALLY good reason to have it.

hamilton71801

I completely agree. I would rather have lots of good used toys, ie 4 wheeler, boats, tractor etc than 1 new truck. A new truck payment would go a long way towards fun toys.

signature600

Man...we only pad $42K for our 07 Freightliner M2...and it handles a load quite a bit better than any 1 ton

Chris

Road Traveler

Yeah I know I have been shopping them!! In a way that is very sad that a regular pickup has been pushed up that high, I told my wife I never wanted to see a truck get to 50K well we have blown right past that number with no end in site!

EClancy

its just rediculous now. $$60k for a pickup truck??!! i know my first house will cost less than that. but ya know what...people will keep buying them. i live near a college and you wouldnt believe the kids who live in the dorms and drive 1 ton duallies back and forth to school, and leave them parked in the schools parking lot all week. In the last 5 years, the number of kids driving big diesel trucks has grown 10 fold. granted a few number of these kids might come from farm and use the truck when home, but someone who is from long island and lives in suberbs just drives the truck as a status symbol, and will never use the truck for its intended purpose, yet those are the poeple who will buy a $50k pickup truck.

Road Traveler

Yeah, man they have speed bumps in Long Island!!!!!!

smokindog

Chris,

Which engine did you spec for that truck? I would probably have bought one to replace our Sterling, but they stopped offering Cummins Engines because DC owns Mercedes and Detroit Diesel. I was afraid of the MBE9000 because none of the techs at our dealer had any experience at the time.

I think I'm going to try to get a new KW T300 this year with an ISC in it. When I priced one last year it was at $48K with all the goodies, add my custom van body and I'll be just under $60K with a 25,500 GVWR. I don't understand why anyone would buy a pickup for any more than $40K under any circumstances. You just don't get enough truck for the $$$.

Road Traveler

well Im not Chris but I also am afraid of the MBE9000. I have been told some of them are fine and others are not? I can't remember which model it was but didnt the ones in the early Volvos have problems?

Yeah for the money you spend on them and they way we work them it is crazy to spend that kind of money on a pickup. That is what really got me to looking at the Pete 330 and the Kw300!

signature600

I need to go check for sure...since it's pre-emmisions, Freightliner's website is a little vague as to exactly which model it is. I do know it's an MBE900, 230/660. We bought the FL over an IH for a couple reasons, but mostly because of what DTR memebr "Monty" had said about the Mercedes and Freightliner...Also, my best friend works at the local school bus garage, about 47 buses, and told us to steer clear of the newer DT466's since we need it to run consistently, day in and day out. Said they have intermittent low power problems, and some other minor issues, mostly related to the VVT chargers...but lots of minor issues can become a BIG PITA!

I like the little Mercedes so far...it's a lot peppier than our 215/605 3126E, even with a 1/3 less gears. There is power all over the place, and even with 1500 miles, the mileage seems to be a little better than the little CAT...granted they do a little different duty. I also like the FL truck too. I knew after driving our 99 FL80, that if the M2's were the same or better I'd love it, and they are! It drives a heck of a lot better than either of my Dodge's, and is more comfortable!

So far, we're all very happy with the purchase...but I can't say we put XX miles on the truck each day...some days it's 10, others it 200. That's probably a little different than most people who'd buy a truck like that. But when we need it, we need it!

Chris

SOhappy

Saturday I spent a few hours behind the wheel of my little brother's restored 1976 GMC 1/2 ton 4x4 regular cab pickup helping him move. Really nice truck, for it's age. But that's the point. I couldn't believe the difference when it came time to drive mine again. Every system in the 2003 Dodge is FAR SUPERIOR to the 1976 GMC. . Not only does my 2003 Dodge have way more power, but it is far more comfortable, quieter, safer, fuel efficient and reliable. It goes without saying, there is not one category (except nostalgia) where the '76 would beat my '03. It's just a totally unfair comparison.

So here's my point: I'm guessing that '76 cost around $8,000 new. Just out of curiosity, I checked the government inflation calculator and guess what? $8,000 in 1976 was worth $26,000 in 2003 when I bought my truck, and I paid about $28,000 for it. Comparing apples to apples, a regular-cab long bed gasser would've been around $20k new. So......not to rain on this parade, but I think we are definitely getting more bang for your buck when it comes to buying a new truck these days.

Grit Dog

The key is looking in the right area. In NM,for instance, and somone correct me if you got a good deal in Albq on a truck, none of the dealers will sell their trucks for less than sticker and some want more than sticker and won't budge on price.
I went in to a GMC dlr, ready to buy a NEW DMax last year, cash in hand, and the absolute best they'd do is $2k off the sticker. Another dealer had a Mega Cummins Laramie, used with about 10k mi if I remember correctly. Sticker new was $50k +, they sell for about $40-44k in other geographical locations. This place wanted $48k, no bargaining, laughed me out of the place.
Funny part is, many people pay full retail sticker price and around here there must be an abnormally large % of them that do, b/c the stealers are very proud of their trucks.

Road Traveler

Yeah that is one thing that I have learned and noticed from traveling all over the country. I buy out of the state as well. There are even tons of differences in used dealer auctions. Like you can move stuff out of the NE to the W and make a killing on it because one areas junk is another areas treasure!!

Yeah NM, TX, OK and a few others are huge truck states so you get stuck full price. I have found really good deals in Ut, NV, NC and upstate Ny just depends on how you work it, plus some places dont mind go back a few grand on holdback!

dieselJon

If you think that is bad...take a look at this..
International CXT Pickup
A guy at our church drove one like this for a weekend as a promo for a friend. Gas tank holds near 100 gals , 10 mpg , oh and International makes the duramax's . But this puppy was LOADED. Backup cam (for those that cant use mirrors), Leather interior, 15" LCD tv and more than I can remeber at the moment. The only complaint was that it rode rough. I guess they never rode in a 1st gen before

Base price for one was like $95,000

dieseljon

Road Traveler

International makes duramax???? When did Isuzu get rid of it??