A friend is looking at new trucks, Duramax and Cummins

[TPCDrafting]

A friend of mine (who turned me on to CTD and the TDR) is thinking it's time to buy a new truck. He has a '91 Cummins auto 4x4 with almost 200k on it. He is strongly considering a new Dodge as he likes the looks of them (up to '02) and the great luck he has had with his '91. He really likes my '98, we take it all the time. He is also looking strongly at GM with the Duramax. We test drove one the other night. I have to say I liked it. The quietness, quick acceleration and ride were the biggies for me. But I'm not switching. It is owned by a client of his and he's offering to sell it to him at a great price.

As he weighs his decision, I thought the tdr might be able to shed some light on the pros and cons of each. I'm talking about new trucks sitting on the lot right now, not what was good in 2000, etc. . I also am not trying to start a war nor will allow this to get ugly. Thanks for your input.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by tpcdrafting
... He is also looking strongly at GM with the Duramax. ...

A friend of mine just bought a Dmax/Allison crew cab. I think he's a diehard GM man. But he does own a Jeep and a TDI Jetta. Back when he was looking for something to commute in, I talked him into looking at the VW diesel. I guess that may have gotten him started in the diesel direction. He's going to sell the gas guzzling 'burban, which never really pulled his horse trailer too well anyway.

But, since the engine is only a couple years old, he did buy the extended warranty, bumper-to-bumper. Now I have to get him to buy some minimal gauges.

As to your friend, if the DMax is a *really* good price, he should go that way, if he really can't decide. Personally, I think Dodge is the best.

If he can't bring himself to buy another Dodge, at least be sure he buys a compression ignition vehicle that runs on #2.

Fest3er

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

The Cummins durability on the Dodge is it's greatest advantage - the rest of the pachage is mostly personal preference stuff... Your friend won't go wrong with either a GM or Ford - either of them will likely last far longer than the usual owner will keep them - and all are capable of more power than a sane person can properly use...



It's mostly a $$$ and personal preference call in my opinion...

 

[illflem]

I'm with Gary, it's a money call. The Dmax is turning out to be a good rig, biggest problem is that they're too expendsive. If your buddy can get a good deal go for it.

 

[nickleinonen]

i'm not sold on the dmax being overly expensive. i went to dealers of the big three and priced out [all 2k2's]



ford f235 diesel 6spd CC sb 4x4 second from top of line with all options except for leather. came out to $50,235 canadian did not haggle price.



gmc 2500hd cc sb 4x4 diesel 6spd sle [again second from top, all options except leather and onstar came out to $49,650 again no price haggling.



dodge 2500 diesel 6spd EC sb 4x4 slt all options avalable except leather came out to $49,550.



so they are all pretty much the same priced in my book...

 

[bighammer]

Wow, makes my old 94 seem like it was such a bargain. At the time, $500/mo for 60 mo (Zero down @ 6%) seemed excessive. I hate the thought of replacing it. The new ones sure look good, though.

 

[TPCDrafting]

Thanks guys, the "really" good deal is a y2k or '01 (I can't remember) 2500 shortbed quad cab 4x4 allison auto with everything including leather and onstar. It has a rhino liner, turn-over gn ball, nurf bars, heavy duty home-made cattle pusher bar on the front. It has only 14k miles on it. The guy has all three, frod, Dodge and GM with similar packages and his wife just won an Avalanche in a raffle, so is getting rid of this one. He claims to have paid 41k for it new and is willing to sell it to my friend Ray for 28-30k.

Ray does use his truck pretty hard. He keeps it well maintained, but does use it hard. He goes to his cabin almost every weekend during the summer. It's a 4 hour drive with a load going over 3 mountain passes, then 7 miles of dirt road and lastly 3 miles of serious 4x4 off roading to get to the cabin. He pulls his 5 horse trailer or his 24' flat bed gn with his JD 2040 on it. How his '91 auto has taken all this use over the years without major problems is beyond me, but definatly steered me to the CTD!

Oh, BTW he WILL be buying diesel, a gasser is not even an option!!!

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

If he does serious off roading to get to his cabin then I would highly suggest he go with the Dodge. I've owned several IFS front suspension 4x4's and they cost a fortune to keep running if you are going to wheel extensively. I carried a spare half shaft with me when I went wheeling because they broke that often. The solid front axle of the Dodge is much simpler and beefier for real off road use. Also, the Chevy sits a lot closer to the ground than the Dodge which is also a consideration when wheeling. Right now dealers are making smokin deals on '02's because the new body style will be out soon. If he shops around he should be able to get a fully loaded Dodge brand new for the same price as the used Chevy he's looking at. Another consideration is if he will be financing the purchase he can get a much better rate on a new truck than a used one which could make the brand new Dodge cheaper than the used Chevy in the long run. JMHO