anyone regret going 3rd gen?

[DBentley]

I love the 06 mostly because its new and a cummins . I do regret buying the 96 in 03 because a used vehicle is almost always a money pit. I will never buy used again. I put so many 1000s into it and then the rot got it. Even a few year old one will need battery,brakes, tires,front end work,shocks,and who knows if the fluids were EVER changed.

Cant beat new.

 

[Sasquatch]

DB:

I hear you.

I've been a TDR member, almost since the beginning, and used to live just down the road from the TDR editor in Atlanta.

We used to compare notes, and one of the things that always tickled me was the amount of time TDR members (myself included) would spend tossing cards into chamber pots -- agonizing over really small, not to say "insignificant", stuff.

A case in point, for me, was always the endless hours folks spent discussing oil, oil filters, oil recirculation systems, etc. , etc. , ad nauseam. These engines are so 'effing tough, we could run them on sand, and they'd probably outlast the crappy Detroit sheet metal they're surrounded by.

That's the bottom line, as far as I'm concerned: The engines will outlast the trucks -- typically by a factor of 4 or 5 times.

My Cummins engine -- as is the case with most of the engines prayed over on these boards -- looked like it had never been driven, when I recently had it opened up for (among other things) a blown head gasket that resulted from jumped timing. Since I had always run Rotella w/3000 mile oil change intervals, and done all maintenance, religiously, the motor was super clean. That engine will probably deliver another quarter-million miles before it needs to be rebuilt, despite the fact that I've used it as a test-bed for every after-market power-boosting pop-top on planet Earth.

Anything but a Cummins would have rolled over, flipped me the bird, and given up the ghost years ago.

But the truck, itself, is completely shot. The upholstered seats are squashed flat, the body is rusting, the paint's flaking off in sheets, the interior carpeting is a breeding ground for as-yet-unidentified molds and bacteria, the windshield's cracked (yet again). This old beast is ready to be retired, and it doesn't owe me a plug nickel.

There comes a point in every vehicle's life -- even "big green," my ten year love affair with motorized steel -- when you've gotta disconnect the life support, and get on with your life.

(Enter "Big Red")

 

[DBoyd]

No regrets but I kept my 12valver too.



Bob







Hey Bob

So did I. I just had to have something I could actually work on without being a computer guru. Just my opinion, but I like the 12 valves the best altho I did go ahead and buy an 06 so I wouldn't have to mess with pollution controls.

Don

 

[ParsonsDRW]

Forest



like the 3g the best had a 02 and a 97.

 

[Bob4x4]

Yup... . you can bypass just about everything on the 12 v and drive it home,the electronic trucks not so.



Bob

 

[AKaiser]

I love the 06 mostly because its new and a cummins . I do regret buying the 96 in 03 because a used vehicle is almost always a money pit. I will never buy used again. I put so many 1000s into it and then the rot got it. Even a few year old one will need battery,brakes, tires,front end work,shocks,and who knows if the fluids were EVER changed.

Cant beat new.

I would agree about buying used if you're going to put mega-miles on one, which I suppose a good percentage of us will. For my money, if you can get a gently used truck like I did, you MIGHT be money ahead. I say "might" as I probably could've had a near-no miles 06 for the same money I got my 29K miles 05 for. Big deal. I just rolled over 50K last Friday, and that's since I picked it up in late Oct. The engine and transmission on this thing should last forever, and if kept in a garage, the body should last a long time. My list of things to do will probably include a Kelderman Air Ride, front and rear, to protect the frame against bad roads. Living in the salt zone, you have to deal with potholes and rust. Keep a clean truck and protect it from bumps, and the whole thing should last a long time.

 

[Sasquatch]

I agree with what you've said, mostly, but I have a feeling you know, too, that 50,000 miles is not really a test. Nor is 100,000 miles, for that matter. In my experience, if you're not an over-the-road hauler, it's the years AND the miles that end up kicking the pucky out of Detroit sheet metal. I don't care how careful we are with our trucks -- unless they're "trailer Queens" -- they're gonna be losing their appeal after the years get into the double digits and the odometer rolls over, say, 200,000. And it's very hard to garage these beasts, especially if -- like me -- you've got a long-bed truck with brush guard, winch, etc. hanging off the bow. That puts the truck at over 22', and longer than the standard garage...

These trucks just wear out, and -- when they do -- they become WAY less fun to drive, because everything about the truck, from its appearance to the quality of the ride, is about half what it was when the truck was new. Meanwhile, the Cummins under the hood is barely broken in.

I didn't realize how worn out my truck really was, until I climbed into a new truck and "remembered" what I'd been missing: The solidity of the ride; all the new creature comforts; the refinements that produce better handling and braking; the all 'round relaxation of the driving experience. Tooling down the road and listening to tunes without fighting the wheel, shifting your weight to avoid the seat frame, or wondering if that knocking you hear is your lift-pump about to grenade into a dozen fragments, or just a bad injector.

I was the guy, for years, arguing that the old 12 valves were superior because they were easy to work on (blah, blah, blah), but -- truth be told -- if any of us breaks down 20 miles from nowhere on a cold night, we're gonna dial 1-800-TOW-MY-BUTT just like everybody else, regardless of whether or not the 12 valve we're driving is a piece of cake to fix in our home garage.

There's something to be said, too, for having a truck that's under warranty for the next three years. A nice feeling -- one I'd forgotten all about.

 

[geusterman]

Yeah... and the back windows roll down so grandkids can shoot gophers. THAT is critical. George

 

[AKaiser]

It's all true, very true. Having grown up on a farm, I've seen the extremes. We used to keep EVERYTHING under roof, except when it was at the other end of the farm. Now, we've lost so much storage due to lost ground, old post and beam barns falling down from age/termites/tornados and arson, we're having to leave some equipment out. Dad's early 70s Dodge 600 grain truck is almost always under roof, and has some minor rust, but not much to speak of. The combine is kept under roof when it's not in use, and it's 26 years old. Some of our tractors, though, are showing age, and the newest one is 17 years old. It's mostly paint fading, though. The mechanicals are pretty well rust free and running well. The Cummins CTA8. 3 and the IHC DT466 engines are still going strong after 17 and 24 years respectively, though we have had to repair some things. These tractors run for a few months, and they set for awhile, to run again a few months. I think that's worse for the powertrain than an everyday work truck. Of course, tractors don't take near the beating a truck can take on bad roads and the salt spray.



Hopefully, when Dad gets the farm paid off in 4 years, and with the corn prices rising due to Ethanol consumption, we can build some equipment storage.

 

[BTighe]

i bought an 06 last may. i could not get comfortable in the seats for nothing. the interior really upset me when you compare them to the other truck makers. i felt like i got robbed. the sheetmetal was a joke. the paint want very good either. fuel milage was around 13mpg. this was city and hwy. my new 02 is getting 16+ in the same conditions. now the steering, g56, brakes, and stock power were great. the drivetrain felt like it was unbreakable. you can still do a fair amount of work on them but the electronics are way to complicating. the deal breaker that made me go back after a year, MONEY. sure the truck was quiet and had a warrenty. sure it steered better and stopped better. did it get the job done any better? no. was it more dependable? thats debatable. my old 97 with 178k spent the same number of nights at the shop as the 06 did under warrenty. now it was nice not having to shell out cash for the parts but when you dont have your work rig for 3 days, its not a gravy feeling. it took 3 days to get a clutch master cylinder installed. the part was like 350 bucks. then the tech didnt install the cheap plastic pin to the pedal and it broke while driving. took 1. 5 hours for them to get one off another truck and put it in. while you dont have to pay for the part, you pay in other ways (time, frustration). depending on how much you drive, 36k wont cover you long. the cost and availability of parts aint cool either. my other part was the payment. its just too high to justify. it was nice for my taxes this year but dang, it was higher than my rent used to be. the payment stretched me too thin when the slow winter came up and made me realize that i didnt need a new truck. i also lost the happiness that came from driving a big, loud, stinky truck. the reason i fell in love with diesels. the noise is fun in town and i dont even notice on long trips. my first love was the 12v and after a year without her i realized i still missed it. i made money on the sale of her and lost money on the new rig when she left. i my a compromise and bought a 2nd gen 24v with 29k on it. dropped the payment almost 200 bucks a month and put a smile back on my face. never felt completely happy with the 06. i guess some of us werent ment to drive the newest, nicest, trucks.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

buddy, you are speakin' my language! I just don't know if I can do it... I've traveled all over the nation for work, and I've stayed in some nice hotels... had top floor rooms in Hawaii, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but for my money, I'd rather stay in our little cracker box lenoleum and paneling log cabin!



I test drove a few brand new ones... I was all set to buy a new one till those test drives... and now that I step back and weigh everything, I'm pretty much decided I'm just gonna go buy me a paw-paw 2wd single cab 12... MAYBE a quad or club/long if the right truck pops up between now and then.



I got my 97 with 200k miles on it... in 50k miles the only things I had to replace was a water pump and a hydraboost unit. that's $300 in repairs in 1. 5yrs. now, of course I spent money playing w/ it, but you can bet I'll be playing w/ a brand new one too! I think I can take the $750/mo truck allowance and be ahead of the game within a year's time, and once the allowance "pays for" the truck, I think I'll be way ahead of the game.



my general manager has a 97 that the company bought for him, and he also has a brand new megacab they're paying for now. He says the only time he drives the mega-cab is for long road trips... He still works the 97 95% of the time even though he's got to foot the maint bill because he loves driving it so much.



I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I'm the same breed... like you said, some of us are meant to drive the new shiney pretty ones, and some of us are meant to drive the rude, loud, and nasty ones

 

[Sasquatch]

And some of us are meant to drive the rude, loud, and nasty ones for eleven years -- love them, all the while -- and then trade them when they disintegrate and buy a new one.

I got an old bluetick coonhound that's fourteen years old, and I love him, too. When he dies, I'm gonna bury him and get me a new dog.

 

[Sasquatch]

The "good news" about all the guys holding on to their ten-year-old sleds, is that the dealers are hurting: I bought my new 6. 7, six-speed-auto, 3500, long-bed for about $4,000 more than I paid for my '97 2500 in the fall of '96. That's pretty amazing, given the cost escalation in the housing (and most other markets).

This truck is loaded with features that my '07 2500 didn't have, including an amazingly cool exhaust brake, power driver's seat (with lumbar support), a very useful overhead console that monitors truck functions, enhanced towing capacity, better lights, better brakes, better acceleration, better tow-haul capacity, etc. , etc.

I like the sound and smell of a diesel as much as the next guy, but it's nice to be able to order at a fast food drive-though without shutting off the motor, and it's nice to be able to hear the radio with the window rolled down.

For those of you who are wedded to the old 12 valves, I tip my cap to you. I can completely understand where you're coming from.

Everyone's different, and everybody's needs are different.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

well, my red truck only has 200k on it, and most everything but the shortblock and the pump have been replaced... when the pump and short have 400k on them and the rest of the stuff has 275k, it'll probably be time to retire it... And I'm looking to buy a truck w/ 150-170ish on it.



I definately see where your'e coming from, but I guess you could say my hound dog is only 7 or so