Used pickup questions

[JJT]

Howdy, weekend farmer here. I need a farm truck to haul around stuff, including a tractor. Looking at used 3/4 ton but so many are high miles (100K+). Any thoughts on high mile PU’s? Diesel vs gas? Beyond the obvious, what should I pay attention to?

I'd be more concerned about rust, especially the frame, than high mileage. I've seen trucks with less than 50K with serious rust issues. I'm in the snow belt, so salt is a big concern. Crawl under the truck with a good flashlight.

 

[deezler]

This is just plain nuts, who would ever think that you could consider a used vehicle to be an investment like stocks or metals.

I bought a new Volkswagen (Golf Alltrack) in 2019 brand new from a dealer for $22.5k. A few months ago Carvana gave me $30,500 for it after 2 years, 15k miles, and 100+ farts into the drivers seat.

It's definitely nuts. With that kind of return on a 2 year investment, I wish I could have bought several cars to flip now. My wife's Mazda CX-9 could bring a similar return; we bought it lightly used right at the start of covid for a bargain, and then the value rose 40%. But we couldn't replace it for her needs with anything cheaper. In my case, I sold my new VW and found and old one for $4500 on craigslist to get me by for a while.

 

[deezler]

Oh, but for the OP: I'm sticking with my 2003 GM 2500HD 6.0L gasser for as long as possible. It's only rated to tow 10,500 lbs but it does that with ease. Plenty of grunt to pull 10k lbs, has 3200 lbs of payload capacity (full pallet of bricks in the bed, etc), and gets 12-15 mpg in mixed driving. A Chevy or GM with the 6.0L gasser will do you well. Soooo much simpler and easier to maintain vs a diesel engine, that you don't really need.

 

[ufcxl]

Just checked my pickup on Kelly Blue Book and it's worth $5000 more as a trade in than when I bought it used 2.5 years and 25,000 miles ago. This is just plain nuts, who would ever think that you could consider a used vehicle to be an investment like stocks or metals.

I just sold my 1999 Jeep Wrangler, bought in 2003 for $2,500 more than I paid in 2003! I wish my stock portfolio held up as good.

 

[Hay Dude]

A 90’s or early 2000’s Dodge with a 5.9L or pre emissions 6.7L Cummins would put a smile on your face every time you drive it.

A true friend of the farmer.

 

[timswi]

Stay away from the Ford 6.0 diesel. For the most part anything else is decent, gas or diesel. 100k miles isn't "high mileage" on these newer vehicles (2000's and up) especially trucks - 250k miles is the new 100k miles.

Less problems with gas, and people with diesel trucks think they're made of gold. Well, any people with trucks (period) right now think they're made of gold, but for diesel it's even worse. If you don't need diesel stick with gas.

Well, a Ford 6.0 PS is a good motor only if it's been bullet proofed early in it's life. I have a couple of buddys with them and they've been trouble free for as long as they've owned them (10+ years). On the OEM set up, not so much--Ford blew it on that one.

 

[strantor]

Well, a Ford 6.0 PS is a good motor only if it's been bullet proofed early in it's life. I have a couple of buddys with them and they've been trouble free for as long as they've owned them (10+ years). On the OEM set up, not so much--Ford blew it on that one.

You can get pretty far into the weeds on this topic; yes, it can be a good motor under certain circumstances. But unless one's willing to do the research it's easiest just avoid it. Leave it for the guys who have done the research and willing to take the chance. That goes for buying, or advising other buyers. I've done the research and still don't feel comfortable recommending anyone else buy them. Low hanging fruit. Easy to cross off the list of potential buys, and no good reason not to cross it off when there are so many other options.

 

[BryceSteiner]

A 90’s or early 2000’s Dodge with a 5.9L or pre emissions 6.7L Cummins would put a smile on your face every time you drive it.

A true friend of the farmer.

I just bought a 2004 5.9 full size quad cab. So far it's been good. Only a little rust up underneath otherwise it looks brand new. I paid $18.5k 3 months ago. it's got 153k miles.

 

[DKCDKC]

Just checked my pickup on Kelly Blue Book and it's worth $5000 more as a trade in than when I bought it used 2.5 years and 25,000 miles ago. This is just plain nuts, who would ever think that you could consider a used vehicle to be an investment like stocks or metals.

Not the first time this sort of thing has happened. I bought a Nissan F10 sporty car in 1980 when I came into some month and sold it two years later for $4,000 more than I paid for it - I needed cash for a house down payment. Inflation can be very targeted, but rarely lasts all that long. I imagine we'll see some sanity in truck prices in 2023.

 

[strantor]

I imagine we'll see some sanity in truck prices in 2023.

I hope you're right but I'm not putting any eggs in that basket.