Dodge Cummins Envy

[guldam]

Ok,I've had Dodge Cummins envy for quite a while now. I currently drive a Dakota 4x4 with 4. 7 liter gas engine. I tow a homebuilt 22' Tolman Skiff, and will also need to tow a horse trailer here and there. So it makes sense to me to bite the bullet and buy a Cummins outfitted Ram.



I've been looking at Craigslist for several years and have noticed that prices are coming down. Last year a 2001 2500 slt 4x4 would go in the $20k range. Now they are ranging in price from 12k to 16k. Either way the trucks are still being listed for more than KBB blue book prices.



Is KBB to be ignored, or is it reasonable accurate for what folks are selling and paying for Dodge Ram 2500 with cummins?



Seems like over $5 gallon diesel would make a lot of folks give up their trucks, and make dealers do just about anything to get them off their lots.



steveoh

 

[brianv31]

Where you are located has as much to do with value of a used diesel pickup truck as anything.

 

[guldam]

I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not sure higher prices make sense around here...

 

[DHayden]

You can find FANTASTIC deals on new right now, if I didnt love my truck I would be considering buying a new one. Too bad I cant justify having 2 Rams :{

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I bought the '04 in my sig with 57k miles and all the listed mods for $17k

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Guldam, you may be right about $5 diesel (now 4. 35) but remember what you're getting - 40-45% greater fuel efficiency on an engine designed to go well into the 6 digits, and fewer greenhouse gases. I was amused at recent gas pickup adds touting the redesigned platforms getting 1/4 to 1/2 mpg more!! Are any of them 4 ton trucks getting 18 - 21 mpg?? If I were shopping I'd still look for a 12V cummins - the ol reliable!! When you find one let us officially welcome you into the fold!!

 

[Forrest Nearing]

$3. 95/gal down here

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

You can find FANTASTIC deals on new right now, if I didnt love my truck I would be considering buying a new one. Too bad I cant justify having 2 Rams :{

I have seen a guy that after all was said and done between incentives, Moving 07's and doing insane human pet tricks to get you in the door had saved $14,672 off MSRP. This was a guy from Maine and was on one of the DIY construction forums I was reading.

 

[NCovey]

You can usually get a pretty good deal on new trucks with the higher fuel prices. Around here, if it has a Cummins badge on it, you can usually throw KBB out the window.

 

[guldam]

Drove a 99 2500 yesterday. It just turned over 99k miles. Fellow wants $11. 5k for it. Starts easy, no smoking at start or tromping down on the pedal. Needs left rear quarter panel repair and rear bumper. Front bumper has been hit also and is off kilter. Rest of truck is in good condition.

Found a wet street and put the truck into 4x4. Seemed happy. No strange noise or slipping.

Front end felt a bit vague even at 35-40mph and seemed to want to oversteer in corners. Is this normal or a sign of front end repair needed?

It's a long bed truck with quad cab. Felt huge, but I sure liked it.

The envy is worse now.

GulDam

 

[icman95]

Front ends do suck on these trucks. It's the only thing I don't like about my truck. There are lots of guys here who know which aftermarket parts fix that, but I haven't bothered yet, so I'm not the best resource on that issue.



A friend was helping his sister look for one for horse/farm work because he was pulling her trailer with his for a while. We're in CT and he searched the web for all of New England and the New York area. Either there were none available or they were too expensive. They finally found one in Long Island, NY and had to go down with a trailer to get it. This was about 2 or 3 years ago, just before fuel prices went haywire.



My neighbor just bought an 08 Chevy dually diesel new for such a reduced price, they almost had to pay him to take it. Between lowering the price and giving him a great trade in value for his Prius, he got the truck for about 1/2 price. Since it was originally around $50k, well, you do the math. If you have the cash, they're giving the new ones away.

 

[Regcabguy]

Hold out for a 3rd gen. Driveability is so enhanced over my '99,there's no comparison. Sounds like the '03-04 High Outputs get the best fuel economy.

 

[guldam]

Drove a 2003 Quad Cab, CTD today. Truck has 63k miles and dealer tried to keep a straight face and tell me they wanted $21k for it. I listened to him for a while and said blue book put the value more at 16k. He didn't bat an eye and said he was willing to talk. I've seen lower prices for the same truck.

Anyway, This truck was very, very different than the second generation truck I drove last week. For one thing it steered much better. For a second thing the Cummins was way quieter than the 99 I drove, and it seemed to have quite a bit more power.

One think I noticed was the MPG meter on the ceiling. It kept saying 8-9mpg even at 50 mph cruising. Does this computer give realtime mpg or cumulative MPG? And are these things at all accurate? I use a Navman Flow Meter on my Tolman Skiff fishing boat with Suzuki DF140 (FishyFish), and it's very accurate, and can help me find the sweet spot and get much better gas mileage. You'd think that every car and truck on the road would have a computerized fuel meter.

Lots of red clay stains under the truck, and the carpets were caked with the red clay, and the truck stank of chain smoked cigars. Tobacco smoke makes me itch, so I'm inclined to shy away from this truck. Also, there was a curious 4 bolt set up in the right rear of the bed. Looks like the previous owner had a crane or davit hooked up. Tailgate is banged up and something smashed into the rear of the truck cab. Camper perhaps.

Think I want to drive a 4th generation truck now.

GulDam

 

[macdaddy]

I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not sure higher prices make sense around here...

Think twice about buying a truck from out of state, registering it at the Ca DMV is a pain in the ***. I bought my 99 in ca and certified as a cali truck moved to Wa St for two years and when I moved back it was still a pain until the asked several reps if it could be done. Remember your living in the liberal nerve center of the country. #@$%!



The engine serial number located on the driver side valve cover tells the story. Hope this helps.



Oh and if buying a 2nd gen check to see if she has a 53 in there!!!!!!!!



Mac

 

[Grizzly]

Whatever you buy, just make sure it was built in Saltillo, Mexico. They are much more reliable than those built in St Louis, MO.

 

[guldam]

Really?



Or are you pulling my leg?



GulDam

Whatever you buy, just make sure it was built in Saltillo, Mexico. They are much more reliable than those built in St Louis, MO.

 

[guldam]

When I first moved to California in the early 90's, I'd heard that it was going to cost me a fortune to register my Florida 66 Chrysler 300, and that it would have to be smogged. And so I went over four years before finally registering the car. I finally did it after getting pulled over by CHP for having a burned out tail light. The CHP officer asked me how long I'd been in the state... and I nervously said, "not long". He said I needed to register the car in California... or else. Yipes.
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So, I went down to DMV and registered the beast. It cost next to nothing to register the car since it was so old, and also didn't need smogging.

A few years ago I finished building a 22' Tolman Skiff from scratch. Everyone told me that I'd have to document the cost of materials, and provide some proof that I'd built the boat in order to get a hull number and register the boat. And so I gathered up a mountain of receipts, pictures of the build process, and hauled the boat down to DMV, since they'd have to look at the boat to verify it existed. Well, it must have been due to it being just before lunch because the person doing the registering didn't want to see the boat, the receipts or pictures or anything. I filled out some papers and gave them something like $78 and suddenly I had a hull number and registration in hand.

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FishyFish

All those years of fretting about registering the car were needless.

Then again I hear the opposite is true if you have a newer or brand spanking new car that you've bought out of state to save on taxes. You will face a big tax bill and pain.

Personally, I like California. I like the open mindedness and diversity of the "liberal nerve center of the country".

GulDam

Think twice about buying a truck from out of state, registering it at the Ca DMV is a pain in the ***. I bought my 99 in ca and certified as a cali truck moved to Wa St for two years and when I moved back it was still a pain until the asked several reps if it could be done. Remember your living in the liberal nerve center of the country. #@$%!

The engine serial number located on the driver side valve cover tells the story. Hope this helps.

Oh and if buying a 2nd gen check to see if she has a 53 in there!!!!!!!!

Mac

 

[Grizzly]

Really?



Or are you pulling my leg?



GulDam

No, I'm not pulling your leg. It's true, do a search on this forum.

 

[macdaddy]

When I first moved to California in the early 90's, I'd heard that it was going to cost me a fortune to register my Florida 66 Chrysler 300, and that it would have to be smogged. And so I went over four years before finally registering the car. I finally did it after getting pulled over by CHP for having a burned out tail light. The CHP officer asked me how long I'd been in the state... and I nervously said, "not long". He said I needed to register the car in California... or else. Yipes.

#ad


So, I went down to DMV and registered the beast. It cost next to nothing to register the car since it was so old, and also didn't need smogging.



A few years ago I finished building a 22' Tolman Skiff from scratch. Everyone told me that I'd have to document the cost of materials, and provide some proof that I'd built the boat in order to get a hull number and register the boat. And so I gathered up a mountain of receipts, pictures of the build process, and hauled the boat down to DMV, since they'd have to look at the boat to verify it existed. Well, it must have been due to it being just before lunch because the person doing the registering didn't want to see the boat, the receipts or pictures or anything. I filled out some papers and gave them something like $78 and suddenly I had a hull number and registration in hand.



#ad


FishyFish



All those years of fretting about registering the car were needless.



Then again I hear the opposite is true if you have a newer or brand spanking new car that you've bought out of state to save on taxes. You will face a big tax bill and pain.



Personally, I like California. I like the open mindedness and diversity of the "liberal nerve center of the country".



GulDam

Wow... ... .....

Youll fit right in up there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.



Say hi to Barney Frank, And the other gem Nancy Pelosi. #@$%!

 

[bmoeller]

Personally, I like California. I like the open mindedness and diversity of the "liberal nerve center of the country".



GulDam

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