Hey guys,

So I am in the process of getting a super duty. I curently drive a Nissan Xterra lifted, body armor, tires, exhaust, fully synthetic (most done myself). I have driven all ranges of super duties in my work life, manuals, autos, gas, deisel, the works.

I am looking for a 250 or 350, crew cab, SRW, probably deisel, either long or short bed, xlt or higher.

My question is what are your thoughts on getting a new truck '11 or '12 vs getting a used one, 06' or newer?

i know deisels are great engines and designed for long hauls and heavy loads so they can do many many miles if treated right, but the rest of the trucks components wear out a lot sooner. So is it worth it to even look at a truck that has 100K+ miles or should i look for fewer miles? With that, if the truck is older and has low miles is that worth to get because the pervious owner might have done a lot of stop and go city driving, not good for deisel engines.

i know some might say this is a dumb question, but what are your thoughts?

thanks!

 

I'd say there are a few very key factors in your decision.

First, your budget. If you're comfortable spending the money on a newer truck, go for it. I got sick of making car payments, so I cashed out my 08 Tacoma and bought my 03 Super Duty out right. It's nice to not have that car payment anymore. And even though I don't have a warranty anymore, I am comfortable that the amount of money I am saving monthly is more than enough to cover any routine to moderate repair work that may come up in the future.

Second, your mechanical ability. Don't take offense to this, but most of the modifications you talked about with the Xterra seem like simple remove and replace type jobs. That being said, when buying a used truck, you really need to know, as best as possible, all the trouble spots to look for. You mentioned 06 models. Those have 6.0 Powerstrokes, which I am sure you have heard had their fair share of problems. Read up and get smart on that particular engine, and when you start looking at those trucks, know what the common points of failure where and find out whether the seller has taken care of them or not.

Finally, what are your goals with the truck? Are you just going to buy it and run it as is? Or are you planning to do some mods? (lift, tires, chip, etc) Figure out what you want to end up with, do the math and the research to see how expensive/difficult the road is to those goals, and go from there.

Mileage, in my mind, takes a back seat to seller attitude/care of the truck. A sub 100k truck might look great on paper, but if the seller decided to push the time between oil changes, run a chip without gauges, or towed extensively with it (even for less than 100k), I would avoid it more than a truck with 100+.

I chose an 03 7.3L, for a few reasons. First, I knew the 7.3 had a very strong reputation for longevity. Second, the truck was close to my goals (lift, tires, bumpers, etc). Third, after looking over the truck with a very smart 7.3 owner/friend, I knew 90% of what repairs would need to be made immediately or in the near future. And finally, the price.

Mileage did play in my mind, but with 183k on the odo, I was confident at the time of purchase that I could get at least another 50-100k out of it before I would need to look for another vehicle or start looking at major repairs. And considering I only put 25k on my Tacoma in 3 years, I think I have close to a decade before I need to start worrying about that.

 

great input, thanks! that really helps a lot. I thought I had done enough research but i guess i need to do some more on what engine i really should get.

thanks!