Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Buying truck any pointers of things to look for.

Looking at gettting me a truck. Plan to get a diesel crew cab 4x4. Looks like the 2008-2009 are in the price range that I am looking at.

Just wanted to see if anyone here knew about problematic things in those year models motor or transmissions.

Not really sure on the specific model. Thats why I am asking. Looking at chevy, dodge, and ford.

Thanks for any tips or pointers. Be the first diesel that I have owned.

I'm not aware of any specific to the brand red flags, but I'd start by looking under the truck. Bashed skidplates and rockers are a sign of tough off-road use. Personally, anything modified, like chips, exhaust and lift kits I would avoid. Any truck that lived with a trailer behind it is iffy. Verified service records are nice. With a truck in those years it should be easy to find a creampuff. mtmuley

Thanks for the reply, it appears most of them I have looked at have been babied. Seems most that get these big truck dont even use them .

Look for one with an oval on the tailgate.

Yep,

I understand its heated to keep your hands warm in the winter......

I just bought a new 2010 Ford F250 Diesel in a crewcab. I got 15K in rebates because the 2011 models are out now. My last four trucks have been Ford without any real problems. The 2008 and 2009 are pretty much the same as the 2010 I bought. I've also had GM trucks without any major issues.
Good luck with your search.
Bob

its true that there are alotta used trucks out there that have never been used as trucks .


other than the usual stuff you check on a used rig , its probably best to avoid ones owned by farmers , ranchers , or constuction guys and such . Those folks tend to flog their trucks more than average .


probably the most important on late model diesels , get the dealer to check the warrenty history of the vehicle.....if its been in the shop for every little thing in the book it might be a lemon thats best avoided .

Keep in mind that with diesels, you will have more maintenance cost associated with owning one. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own a Cummins Turbo Diesel powered Ram but Having to add 15 quarts of oil every change and all those filters, extra batteries just isn't worth it for me.

a 5.9 cummins takes 11 quarts . I think the newer 6.7 is the same . A fleetguard oil filter is 8 bucks at the implement dealer and they use just one...only real differnce in my book is that the fuel filter needs changed more often than a gas job.

Avoid one with a fifth-wheel ball or a well-used tow hitch.

Stay away from the trucks with mods like exhaust, gauges, big lifts, and tuners. Most of the diesel trucks you see that have lots of mods are usually driven by teenagers or raced alot.

Honestly in 55k miles I haven't found the cummins to have higher maintenance costs than my gasser toy truck, which I changed the engine oil every 3k. On the cummins at 7.5k I put in a new oil filter and top it off, @ 15k change oil w/ Mobil 1 turbo diesel (12 qts), change the oil filter, fuel filter, air filter and change out the diff oil. Auto tranny fluid at 30k. I get my oil, fuel and air filters from the Cummins dealer, prices are reasonable and they have quality filters.

My local dealership went out of their way to make sure I never use their service department, so I do all my own work. At most a couple hours work ~$150 in fluids and filters once a year to make sure I have the best fluids and filters properly installed. I only have 4 years on the truck, so original batteries. Looks like new tires at 60k, and I'll probably swap out the batteries at 5 years.

I'll go along with everything that's been said so far.

Make sure it has good tires or bear in mind the cost of replacing them. It's probably THE most expensive wearable item on a bigger truck.


fish head