Test drove a Maxipad

[JoeyD]

Todd, I have wondered the same thing about the leather. I always cover my seats and thought at least with the leather you could wipe anything off them as long as you condition the leather. But then again I don't want to spend a grand on them.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by Texas Diesel
jdecampo, I dont know how much leather adds, if it said leather on the stricker I kept walking. I wonder how well leather holds up over the years?

I got my truck 10/18/97. Today, at 115K miles and close to 5 years later, the leather looks very good - not quite new, but not very worn, either. The truck has never resided in a garage, and I've never really tried to keep the sun out.

Thus, *my* leather has held up nicely over the years. So has the interior of my truck. I don't know how GM's leather will hold up, though I *suspect* it would be similar.

Fest3er

 

[CRWilliams]

jdecampo:



Now these trucks sticker roughly the same so I can't see where you got your info from. Now I know some dealers don't give a good deal and others will pay more than they should but any truck made today can be had for $49 over invoice which is a good deal.



You might want to check those figures again, even the Chevy website shows the Chevy costs $6000 more, even with the gas engines.

 

[SSchirmers]

h

Hey guys for what it is worth I just had a price quote on a new 02 dodge long box ext. cab 4x4 ctd slt loaded no leather. The truck stickered for 37,995 the buy figure was 29,695 the same truck in a chev the buy figure was35,700 both were 2500 models so driving a dodge you start out 6,000 ahead so that needs to be taken into account, Steve

 

[JoeyD]

SS, I just priced out a 3500 Quad cab 4X4 loaded with all the toys on the Dodge web site and the GM site and this is what I got. These are as close to each other as I could get. The Dodge is not a sport because GM didn't offer it and it is a auto trans.

Dodge 42,000

GM 44,000



Now I know the deal depends on the dealer and factory insentives, which Dodge has plenty of right now that will be gone when the 03 hits the streets.

 

[JGarcia]

Hey, now this is nice!!! Dodge and Chevy owners speaking nicely to each other. Let's keep up the good show of class.



JRG

 

[SSchirmers]

Jd the prices I recieved were quoted from a local dealer and are hard numbers in writing. Dodge has some good deals going on now on diesels. It is a demo program that some dealers have where they can get incentives from DC. And for what its worth I happen to like the new GM line of trucks it is just that they do not have the ctd.

 

[fj40charles]

I still wouldn't buy a DURADUD since the Cummins IS a better motor. I think most people who purchased their Dodge truck did it because it came with the better engine and really did not intend to trade or sell it for a long time.

 

[Doubleclutch]

Just a thought about the price issue- The GM guys have been waiting for a good diesel for a very long time. GM is hyping the durathing to the max, generating demand. Big demand generates big invoices.

Another thing, just read that GM has pretty much bought the Isuzu motors plant to keep from losing it due to the Isuzu financial situation. They have been pushing a LOT of $ in that direction for the last year.

Greg

 

[JoeyD]

I wasn't argueing about which truck is better, some guys like Dodge some guys like GM.

I have checked with a local Dodge dealer and they dropped almost 8K off sticker. Local GM dealer said they would drop 4-5 thousand and not that much off a diesel only gas.

I don't think either one is all superior than the other I just happen to prefer GM.

So as of now in my "hood", the truck that could be bought for less is the Dodge.



One thing to think about though, and this goes for any brand, if the dealers are dropping huge money off a new truck won't this kill the used market? Why buy used when the new one's could be had for a super deal.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Like jdecampo, I prefer Dodge to GM (opposite him), but the Cummins is considered a Medium duty engine and the Isuzu is rated a light duty, enough said.



The Cummins has a track record a mile long, the Isuzu is a new design, time will tell. Dont call it a Duramax or GM, Isuzu manufactures it (engine). The same as not calling our engine a "Dodge" because Cummins is the manufactiurer



Lets see how the Isuzu holds up over 500,000 miles, and then we can brag about the Cummins (hopefully). Any boasting at this point, with the Isuzu being so new, is silly. The Isuzu will live or die based on it's own performance. With GM selling so many, we will know how it does in a short time.



The only thing I have noticed for certain is that the GM guys live in denial re: enige problems and we (TDR) talk OPENLY about the few faults that we live with. Nothing is perfect including the CTD but I would not own anything else, and the TDR is the best owners group ever!

 

[RADdodge]

Maybe I should have bought a GM considering the "state" I'm in.

I'm trying to talk a good friend of mine into waiting for one of the new GM 4500 or 5500 trucks with the Duramax. He is a Chubby loyalist. No chance of converting him.

 

[JoeyD]

Originally posted by RADdodge

Maybe I should have bought a GM considering the "state" I'm in.

I'm trying to talk a good friend of mine into waiting for one of the new GM 4500 or 5500 trucks with the Duramax. He is a Chubby loyalist. No chance of converting him.

The local dealer in my town has been selling them for a few months. They have a nice white one out front with a dump body on it.

 

[nh2112]

Originally posted by Doubleclutch

Just a thought about the price issue- The GM guys have been waiting for a good diesel for a very long time.

Well, the 6. 2L and 6. 5L were both good diesels - they didn't have the power of the CTD, PSD, or Duramax, but they were never advertised as having it either. 6. 5L electronics gave a lot of people trouble, but take the electronics off, run a mechanical pump, and the engine runs just fine but with less power... so I'd say the engine design itself is sound. The 97-up electronics seem to be holding up very well.

GM is hyping the durathing to the max, generating demand. Big demand generates big invoices.



Greg

I couldn't agree more - but not only did they hype the hell out of it, they hyped it a lot more than their production could keep up with. So now you have an engine that "everyone" wants, with dealers being allotted 1 or 2 above and beyond what customers have ordered (if they're lucky. ) So Mr. Needs A New Diesel Truck goes down to the GM dealership to buy a new Duramax, and when he starts haggling he gets laughed out of the showroom because the salesmen can afford to turn away buyers who don't want to pay what they're asking.



Besides, from reading signatures on the 6. 2L/6. 5L/Dmax 6600 site, it seems most people who buy them get extended cabs with Allisons and short boxes. I'm sorry, but if a full sheet of plywood can't fit in the bed with the tailgate up, it ain't a real truck! I still don't like the idea of a truck, especially a diesel, with only 2 pedals, anyway.



In the past 10 years or so we've seen a shift from diesels being marketed because they have power roughly equivalent to a gasser and because they get twice the fuel mileage, to diesels being marketed because they have huge amounts of power with the fuel mileage almost achieving parity (less so under HEAVY loads. ) Gassers are catching up in longevity, too, so we diesel guys may be losing another reason to buy. Besides, does engine longevity really matter when most truck buyers won't keep it long enough to notice? Only the most hardcore will ever see 300K miles, or spend thousands to get double the stock power (or more), and everyone else is more than happy with what design engineers figured would be enough.



Face it, it's a fashion statement or trend to own a diesel these days. Have you ever seen a soccer mom in a PSD Excursion trying to negotiate a drive-up lane or parallel park? Even those safari-ready, body-armored Land Rovers you see lined up at the grocery store make more sense - at least they have a chance of being charged by an enraged, wounded shopping cart! That needless demand makes it more expensive for those of us who want a diesel for a reason (mileage, power, etc) to get one, and think of what it must be doing to the price of diesel fuel.

 

[nh2112]

Originally posted by Texas Diesel

Dont call it a Duramax or GM, Isuzu manufactures it (engine).

Actually, Isuzu doesn't manufacture it - it's made by DMAX LTD, a partnership between GM and Isuzu. Isuzu IS the world's largest manufacturer of diesel engines, however, so if it was made by Isuzu that sure wouldn't be something to avoid mentioning. If their engines were junk, you wouldn't see so many NPRs, NRRs, etc, running around.

 

[JConley]

As I recal, GM own's about 60% of Dmax LTD.

 

[JoeyD]

They just bought up the rest of it.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

I read that cummins is the largest manufacturer of diesels over 50 hp. Worth researching I guess. Had another ford guy tell me today about ford owning cummins.

Alright now my spew. I am not brand loyal. Never have been never will be. I dont talk bad about other trucks most of the time. Isuzu makes very very good diesels. If chevy had left the aluminum alone I would own one today. Inline 6s fit my personality better. Longevity is what Im all about. I have 150k on mine and I plan to own it until its grave. As for holding value it books just under 19k at 5 years old. I looked at ford and its worth even more so I figure with original purchase price it was a wash. The dmaxs have proved themselves to me so far. Im waiting for longterm reports. I want to see what the hotshots get out of em.

I grew out of bragging when I was a kid. I like em all. Some work better for me. I cant afford most of em anyways. If I could get another ctd for 25 id be a happy man. I will wait for the 2003s to be a few years old. I found for the miles i put on it is not cost effective to take the first 2 years of depreciation. As a footnote. This is only the 2nd vehicle I have ever owned that didnt get into negative equity. The first one I couldnt sell cause no one wanted a ford straight 6 p/u. I get offers on this every other month. That is why I love my CTD.

 

[RKohn]

I don't know if leather is worth $1000...

but those 2-speed Butt-warmers are PRICELESS!!!



Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[Hohn]

Cummins value

Well, I just bought my first CTD in August. Sticker was something like $38-39K. I paid just over 32K. I gave the stealer a little something for his trouble in finding me the EXACT truck I wanted.



I new that the new models were on the way and that the fat incentive were out there. I would normally never buy a new vehicle, but I figure this would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own the dream CTD. The CTD is one i figured would be OK to buy new-- marry the thing and you can run it a LONG time. Durability is the reason I wanted the 6 speed (that and the extra power and more fun).



I wanted an HO QC 4x4 with 3. 54LS, and camper package. Basically, I wanted everything heavy duty you could get. Color didn't matter much nor did fluffy interior options. I gave them a lot to work with.



They couldn't find a single ONE in all of GA! They ended up doing a stealer trade with one up in Johnson City TN. Flame Red is the last color I would have chosen, but it has grown on me.



Owning a CTD has been the realization of a dream come true for me. I remember as a teenager in 1989 lusting over the possibility of owning one. I remember the ads that has the silver colored 1st-gen and touted the "160 hp, 400 lb-ft of torque" they had with the Getrag 5 speed. Man, I wanted one! My Dad had high hopes then that they would offer the CTD in a full size van-- that would have been his dream setup.



Every morningn I drive my dream to work! It is lacking some options, and I am glad of that. I doesn't have the sliding window, since all they do is leak, and how often are you gonna open that thing on a QC anyway? It also doesn't have a CD player, since you always pay too much for an upgraded factory stereo. DEFINITELY have to go the sound shop for that-- double the quality for less money!



The 1500 Miles I have put on my truck have been pure joy (minus the ceremonial first scratch. What the hey-- it's a TRUCK! It's SUPPOSED to get used!