Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Please forgive the beginner questions, I’m not a Dodge CTD owner yet, but I’m currently looking for one. I have run across a truck for sale that, while it’s not exactly what I was looking for, could be quite a deal. Normally, great deals seem to pass me by or I’m a day late and a dollar short, so when a deal seems to be too good to be true, I tend to assume it is and just go the other way. For some reason I keep returning to this deal with more and more real consideration on my part. Before I jump into the deep end, I’d like to ask for some guidance and advice from the folks on this website who know a whole lot more about Cummins powered Dodge trucks than I do.
My neighbor (and friend) has his father in law’s Dodge CTD truck in his front yard for sale. It’s been there for a couple of months now, I’ve never really given it much thought as it is 2wd and I have been looking for a 4wd for my daughter. Just for grins I wandered over the other day and was talking to my neighbor about the truck. It is a 1997 SLT 3500 club cab 2wd 5 speed dually with 375,000 miles. See picture below.
All the sheet metal looks good with no dents or past accident damage apparent; a couple of minor dents are in the rear bumper. The silver paint is failing on the hood and roof. Tires are fine for now. No broken or cracked glass, the trim all looks nice, and it has a camper shell on the back, the bed’s been Rhino lined. It has both a bumper hitch and a removable gooseneck hitch in the bed. All in all, it doesn’t look near as beat up or worn out as I would expect a truck with 375k on it to look.
My neighbor knows I’m a gearhead and sensed my interest. He looked at me and said “You know Mike, there has been absolutely no interest in this truck, probably because of the mileage, you ‘ought to offer my father in law a couple of grand, I bet he’d take it. ”
“2000 bucks?” I said, you got time for a test drive?
The truck started just fine, maybe 3 seconds of cranking before the engine caught: hadn’t been started for a month. Seemed to idle just fine. The clutch worked fine, but it seemed to me the pressure point was pretty far off the floor: is this an indication the clutch is worn and may need replacing soon or is it normal? I drove the truck for about 15 minutes, at a variety of speeds up to 75 MPH. No unusual tendencies, no front end wandering, tracked straight and stopped straight. No unusual whining or howling during hard acceleration or no-throttle deceleration. No unusual vibrations or noises from the transmission, neighbor said it thought the transmission had been replaced at least once. Acceleration seemed on par with my 2000 Ford PSD, and the truck rode smoother than I expected a 1 ton dually to ride.
The interior is worn, but again, not to the level I'd expect from a truck with 375k on it. The heater core apparently leaked at some time, (I assume was replaced, will have to ask) so the carpeting on the passenger side is missing. The drivers seat frame is broken (I think) which allows the entire drivers seat to tip backwards way too much ( makes for fun while clutching) and the dash board is missing a couple of dials: gauges all seem to work as does the tach and speedo. Cruise isn't holding, upholstry looks fine, no holes and no cracks in the dashboard.
We popped the hood when we got back: dirty but complete and factory looking. Don’t know what modifications if any have been made. There is a significant oil leak on the front passenger side of the engine: looks like it may be coming from the timing gear case? The alternator is covered with oil, but seems to function fine.
I’d like to know more about the oil leak, I’m sure my neighbor will allow me to take the truck over to the local quarter car wash and get down thru the layers of muck to see exactly where the leak is coming from. Bad gasket OK, cracked cover, maybe KDP related?
So, am I crazy for actually considering this truck at $2000? Seems like there is plenty of value left in the old girl, 2k seems like a pretty good deal to me. Kelley BB indicates the value of this truck in “fair” condition is about 8k for a private party sell, and about 6k for trade in value. I’ll be getting the maintenance history from his father in law, just wanted other opinions as well.
Thanks again,
Mike Bennnett
Madera, CA
My neighbor (and friend) has his father in law’s Dodge CTD truck in his front yard for sale. It’s been there for a couple of months now, I’ve never really given it much thought as it is 2wd and I have been looking for a 4wd for my daughter. Just for grins I wandered over the other day and was talking to my neighbor about the truck. It is a 1997 SLT 3500 club cab 2wd 5 speed dually with 375,000 miles. See picture below.
All the sheet metal looks good with no dents or past accident damage apparent; a couple of minor dents are in the rear bumper. The silver paint is failing on the hood and roof. Tires are fine for now. No broken or cracked glass, the trim all looks nice, and it has a camper shell on the back, the bed’s been Rhino lined. It has both a bumper hitch and a removable gooseneck hitch in the bed. All in all, it doesn’t look near as beat up or worn out as I would expect a truck with 375k on it to look.
My neighbor knows I’m a gearhead and sensed my interest. He looked at me and said “You know Mike, there has been absolutely no interest in this truck, probably because of the mileage, you ‘ought to offer my father in law a couple of grand, I bet he’d take it. ”
“2000 bucks?” I said, you got time for a test drive?
The truck started just fine, maybe 3 seconds of cranking before the engine caught: hadn’t been started for a month. Seemed to idle just fine. The clutch worked fine, but it seemed to me the pressure point was pretty far off the floor: is this an indication the clutch is worn and may need replacing soon or is it normal? I drove the truck for about 15 minutes, at a variety of speeds up to 75 MPH. No unusual tendencies, no front end wandering, tracked straight and stopped straight. No unusual whining or howling during hard acceleration or no-throttle deceleration. No unusual vibrations or noises from the transmission, neighbor said it thought the transmission had been replaced at least once. Acceleration seemed on par with my 2000 Ford PSD, and the truck rode smoother than I expected a 1 ton dually to ride.
The interior is worn, but again, not to the level I'd expect from a truck with 375k on it. The heater core apparently leaked at some time, (I assume was replaced, will have to ask) so the carpeting on the passenger side is missing. The drivers seat frame is broken (I think) which allows the entire drivers seat to tip backwards way too much ( makes for fun while clutching) and the dash board is missing a couple of dials: gauges all seem to work as does the tach and speedo. Cruise isn't holding, upholstry looks fine, no holes and no cracks in the dashboard.
We popped the hood when we got back: dirty but complete and factory looking. Don’t know what modifications if any have been made. There is a significant oil leak on the front passenger side of the engine: looks like it may be coming from the timing gear case? The alternator is covered with oil, but seems to function fine.
I’d like to know more about the oil leak, I’m sure my neighbor will allow me to take the truck over to the local quarter car wash and get down thru the layers of muck to see exactly where the leak is coming from. Bad gasket OK, cracked cover, maybe KDP related?
So, am I crazy for actually considering this truck at $2000? Seems like there is plenty of value left in the old girl, 2k seems like a pretty good deal to me. Kelley BB indicates the value of this truck in “fair” condition is about 8k for a private party sell, and about 6k for trade in value. I’ll be getting the maintenance history from his father in law, just wanted other opinions as well.
Thanks again,
Mike Bennnett
Madera, CA
