I thought about keeping this topic to used but let's open it up to all, new and used. What do you people think about what the market has in store for diesel vehicle value in the future. When I bought my truck I specifically sought out an early 07 not the 07.5 with all the junk on it. Among many other benefits, I thought that this would secure me a higher resale value if I ever decided to go that route. Now I'm not so sure. With the price difference between diesel and gas this can't help. Let's here everybody's insight.

 

When i bought my truck in 03 the $ of diesel was not an issue due to the fact that i have to have a diesel truck to pull my trailers so i just have to suck it up and pay the price, I plan on keeping my truck till the wheels fall off of it or the wife gives me the ok to buy a new dually?!...Right..but if i did not need a diesel i would not buy another new or used.

 

There seems to be more people saying they wouldn't buy another one. My current truck is the last brand new I will buy. Honestly, if I needed to replace my truck I would not be able to buy one of the new 08+ emission trucks. The mpg makes it totally pointless, unless you need the capability and won't/can't buy used.

 

When i bought my dually and the price of diesel was realistic i could drive it cheaper than my 2k S-10 4 banger so it was a no brainer. Now i am putiing more miles on the 4 banger at least my dually will last me longer but which would you rather drive?? Should i put the 5th wheel hitch in the S-10
A short time ago i bought what i think will be my last cummins truck a 96 12 valve low mile one owner i think it will last me for a very long time .
I would think with the new trucks being so complex,bad on fuel and expensive to buy,repair,and maintain that the pre- 07.5 trucks will hold their value well that is one reason i grabbed this last one.
I think 8-10 years from now having a few 94-98 12 valves will be like owning a few big block mopar roadrunners is today very popular and worth some coin. Have you got about 30-50G i can use ???

 

First of all, any vehicle for personal use will always be a liability. And it makes no sence to think just because the cost of fuel has gone up that you should go get a small car to drive. Most people pay more for the small cars than they would have paid to drive what they had.

But back to the original question. It's really a guess. If you say to yourself you bought this car or that truck because the resale value is better than your most likely just trying to justify why you paid too much. From what I've seen, it looks to me that the older diesel trucks like mine are hold thier resale value very well. I've seen my same truck sold for more than what I paid for it 4 years ago. The only true way to get anything close to coming out even is to drive it till it needs to be hauled to the scrap yard.

I've seen many folks simply have bad luck and have a water pump go out one week, then maybe need brakes the next. Fix them both and then try to say that it's costing them too much to maintain so they go out and get a 72 month note at $500 a month. Now that don't make sence. How about someone that leases a vehicle for 48 months at $500 a month, then buy it out for another 48 months. 96 months of payments to have an 8 year old car when your done? I may be crazy but I aint stupid.

And every time the price of fuel makes a quick jump, we go through this same discussion and all the V10's can't be given away.

 

I talked to the guy who owns the twin to my truck. They were both on the lot at the same time. He really works his, has 30-35K miles, still on the original fuel filter, never changed the tranny or diff oils, dents all over the bed. I purchased mine in Sept. 05 for 27.5 +ttl. He purchased the twin about 8 months later for 23-24+ttl. Its paid for. He just got a loan on his truck from the bank for $26k so he could buy another trailer. I've got almost 70K on mine and have done ALL of the required maintenance. Its nice to know that after almost 2.5 years I could still get $21-$23K if I sold it.

 

I think resale will suffer as long as we have a combination of high fuel prices in general, combined with high diesel prices relative to regular unleaded. It won't stop all buyers, of course, but it will deter quite a few who would like to buy a diesel, but don't have to buy a diesel.

The new, smaller diesels coming down the pike will also tend to put the hurt on the big boys.

 

Heres how you have to look at it. Diesels get about 30% better than there counterpart. So at this point lets use $3.50 gal. for fuel. 30% x 3.50 is $1.05 The price of diesel has to be $1.05 more than gas to be a looser. Hope this makes you feel better.

 

My sightline on this is that on kbb.com, or nada.com, my truck with a 5.9L gas V8 still comes out to around $3800 LESS value than my 5.9L diesel, with the same mileage. Which is essentially saying that the $4500 or so that was spent on the engine by the first owner essentially has not depreciated over the 12 years of service life. Cost of fuel and maintance aside, the engine system alone has held it's value quite well. What does the future hold? I don't anticipate it appreciating, but it's not going to have the bottom drop out either.

New truck? Well, I prefer a little more basic unit overall, if I really needed to pick up a newere truck, I would have to think long and hard about the new-body-style 2007.5 Chevy Silverado 2500HD with a 6.0L gas V8, 6-speed automatic, 4wd, with 20k miles that was on our local dealer's lot for $21,990. Chances are one could buy it for under $20k, and even if they took a real hit in depreciation, they would have a low-cost & maintance truck for a long time that would give good service. It didn't have a scratch on the bed, and the hitch had never been used. Soemhting to think about, since I typically buy older rigs in general.

 

Just wondering: Where does this idea come from that it cost more to maintain a CTD than a comparable (Dodge or Chevy) gasser (if that's what you- and others on here- were insinuating)? If you maintain both of them by the book, and left in stock form, I contend that it shouldn't cost any more to own a diesel than a gasser. Even the slightly higher current fuel costs are offset by slightly better mpgs. Let me know if I'm wrong...

 

OK, you're wrong.

Price service parts and fluids and you will see why. While you are at it, assume a failure or two over the life of the truck, and price the parts/labor cost of things like clutches, transmissions, injection components, etc. I think you will find the heavy duty nature of a diesel impacts prices significantly.

 

IF I maintanted my 12 valve by the book, I would be replacing the fuel filter every 15k, oil changes (at $50+ each in my driveway) every 5k, doing a valve lash every 25k miles, and then we go from there.

Newer gas engines are comparitivley low maintance, and for the lack of pulling that I do, I would wind up lower on the maintance side of things. When you add these rigs up, they are very expensive to operate, in terms of cost per mile compared with a lighter duty truck. I keep records on such things, though I haven't created an excel sheet on it, and it proves itself out year after year. The fuel mileage savings, in the end, has been a wash. Especially now that prices have risen considerably.

And I wasn't "insinuating" anything. Insinuating: tending gradually to cause doubt, distrust, or change of outlook often in a slyly subtle manner www.m-w.com

 

I guess I need to interject a couple of qualifiers:

1. You're doing your own maintenance.

2. You're getting a new truck every 7-8 years or about 100k miles.

But wouldn't a 3/4 ton gasser require twice as many oil changes (but half the amount of oil), fuel and air filters at least yearly, differential fluid, tranny fluid, t-case fluid and coolant at about the same rate and amounts as diesel?

I guess I spent far more money on the many gassers I've had over the years than I have my diesel, but the diesel was the only new vehicle I've ever owned.

(Sorry, "insinuating" was the wrong word, maybe "alluding" would've been better.)

 

I think I paid about $75 to do my last oil change with amsoil which I will run for about 30K so don't say it costs more to change the oil on a diesel. If you buy the right stuff it won't.

 

Tha's true but it doesn't take into account the $6-8000 initial premium for the diesel. This is extra expense that also needs to be offset with other savings before the purchase could be considered cost effective. Not that this can't be done but the higher the price of diesel the more years it will take for the diesel to pay for itself. The onger you run it the more chance of incurring other expenses like parts replacement, which being diesel, will be more expensive.