Duramax in the driveway, just considering it...

[Diamondpilot]

I agree to a point Chris, but we must remember that this is a SERVICE truck, and most service trucks idle ALOT. A 2004 DMAX should have an engine hour meter built into the odometer.

Taking the hour reading and multiplying by 35 will give you a ballpark equivelant for hours vs. mileage. An example would be 2000hrs. x 35 = 70,000mi. Personaly, if the truck had 6500hrs or more, I would pass.

Good point Ryan. Just got back from a 350 mile trip in my Titan about a hour ago. Anyway when I filled it up in Dayton, OH I was logging the mileage and at just over 33,300 miles it has averaged 34.8 mph for its life according to the dash computer.

Chris

 

[sandman2234]

I made an offer on it and the VP said I wasn't even in the ballpark. Then he said it might be ok, if the offer was without the air compressor. Since I didn't know for sure if the compressor and cutting tanks mounted went with it (nobody said and I really don't need it) I didn't figure them into the price. Now it is a waiting game to see if they have a better offer. Either way I am not going to worry about it.
If this one falls thru, a 97 powerstoke SRW 3/4 or 1 ton and maybe even 4wd will be next to look for, unless Daddy decides to downsize to an S-10 like he is thinking. Then I will go for his 2500 ext cab with 40k miles on it (2003 Dodge Cummins)
David from jax

 

[om21braz]

FYI, not a utility body, but a 04 2500 reg. cab 2WD w/ Duramax diesel pickup w/ 165,000 miles is valued @ trade-in $ 7700.00 per Galves. This is an average actual sale price at the Galves auction as of Nov.1. Another thing, is the 8th vin digit a 1 or a 2? A one designates the engine as LB7 series and 2 as a LLY series - seems most folks lean to the LLY as injectors seemed to be less of a problem and far easier to replace.

 

[crbr]

The 2004 2500 Silverado Duramax might have been a nice truck at one time, . Any comments???
David from jax

The early 2004 Duramax has an LB7 engine. The LLY (later 2004 production engine) is not any better on injectors. It is a slightly modified LB7 engine. Read up on the inherent problem with the LB7 and the injectors. Been there with two of the LB7 engines (2001 and 2002). Both suffered multiple injector failures. My personal opinion is that I would not take an LB7 engine if someone offered to pay me to take it.

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/tdpforum/index.php has a lot of info.

 

[sandman2234]

Thanks everybody for their valuable input. Company rejected my offer right off, then said well maybe without the compressor... (?). I said ok, since I figured they would strip it off anyway. No news for a week or so, so I asked and they said it was worth $1500 more than my offer, so I agreed to pay that and then they said plus $2000 for the compressor. I told them what I thought of their way of doing it, and pretty much washed my hands of it. Now they are paying to have everything fixed so they can get top dollar for it. Go figure....
David from jax

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks everybody for their valuable input. Company rejected my offer right off, then said well maybe without the compressor... (?). I said ok, since I figured they would strip it off anyway. No news for a week or so, so I asked and they said it was worth $1500 more than my offer, so I agreed to pay that and then they said plus $2000 for the compressor. I told them what I thought of their way of doing it, and pretty much washed my hands of it. Now they are paying to have everything fixed so they can get top dollar for it. Go figure....
David from jax

And you work for these people? I would start looking for a new job. I had a employee like that in from 97 to 99 and I knew with that type of mentality and if they were treating me like that the company would not last long. I was right. I left in April of 99 and by December they were bankrupt.

Chris

 

[sandman2234]

Burning up vacation and they know what I think about the truck deal. They are banking on my not being able to find a better job before I forget why I was looking. Slow season coming up so they have a little time, but that couple thousand is going to cost them in the long run. I hope they spend a bunch of money fixing it up and then still can't sell it.
David from jax

 

[Diamondpilot]

Burning up vacation and they know what I think about the truck deal. They are banking on my not being able to find a better job before I forget why I was looking. Slow season coming up so they have a little time, but that couple thousand is going to cost them in the long run. I hope they spend a bunch of money fixing it up and then still can't sell it.
David from jax

I would not buy it on principle at this point even if it was 1/2 price. They will hang it over your head for the rest of your employment.

Chris

 

[CurlyDave]

I think it is a bad idea to buy anything from my employer.

The only exception is if they have a public auction and I buy something there.

 

[sandman2234]

I have purchased a garage full of machines from previous employers, with the only drawback being that they know I have it, and sometimes want me to "moonlight" a few jobs to get them out of a backlog, lol. Usually pays a LOT better than doing the same job under their roof.
This company's attitude has always had drawbacks, and I can easily do without the truck, as I have a pickup (1500 series) and if it really became a requirement, I could go resurrect that 1971 Ford F-350 that was parked out back because I didn't use it enough to justify keeping insurance on it. Driving jobs are rapidly getting harder to find that pay worth a darn, and their is a line a mile long for the good ones. I have worked into a nitch at the current company and am making a decent living, but it could go away in the stroke of a pen if I tick my dispatcher off. Luckily he sees things my way, including the truck.
Good help is hard to get....
David from jax