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Truck purchase advice

McHenry2500 said:
Buy the cummins if you can get a "good deal" on it. Ordering is great if you can wait 6+ months.

I doubt anybody on this forum will tell you they regret the diesel purchase.
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If you read other postings in the forum you would see it does NOT take 6+ months for an order. On average it seems to take 2 to 3 months depending on the trim level. Also, with the chip shortage any truck without all the wiz bang electronics have been coming off the line a lot quicker.
 
ramblinChet said:
If someone purchased something for $10,000 in 2004 and then sold it for $10,000 in 2021 they actually lost $3,100 since the purchasing power of the US dollar declines with each successive year. If you would have sold that same item for $14,100 in 2021 you could then claim you got all of your money back.
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Wrong.

If somebody purchased the truck in 2004 for $10K, put a couple hundred thousand miles on it, and sold it for $10K in 2021, they lost nothing. All they did was pay operating costs.

But more to the point, show me how that works with a gasser........ I'll wait.....
 
Aboutree50 said:
Get what you want. It's a big purchase, don't settle. A gasser or diesel will both handle that trailer well.

Diesels are more expensive upfront as well throughout the lifetime of the truck, whatever you get once you sell it will be a wash compared to a gasser. Diesels get old as a daily driver real quick, specially modern ones.
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WTH are you talking about?

My '21 is a pleasure to drive as a daily driver - more so than my '04. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever about the drivetrain that has "gotten old". Bluntly, I enjoy daily driving it more than the gasser. The zero effort torque just makes driving around effortless and easy.
 
With a 2500 and the Cummins, just pay attention to the payload sticker...most of the them are under 2,000lbs. That won't leave you much room(legally) once you've got the trailer loaded and hooked up, family in the truck and other supplies in the bed. Some will argue that exceeding that number is OK as long as you don't go over GAWR...but if you want to have no worries about being legal with a diesel, you would have to go 3500 SRW at a minimum.
For maintenance, the oil and oil filter is basically a wash due to almost double the change interval. You will have the added cost of fuel filters which I have seen are $100+ and also DEF.

There are plenty out there pulling over 10k with the 6.4 Hemi and the 8 speed, it performs very well...it's just thirsty like any gasser.

From what I've seen recently, if you don't need your truck sell it now and order a 2500 and wait for it to come in. Order it from a high volume dealer and fly/drive wherever to pick it up or have it shipped to you, you will save quite a bit that way right now. If you just have to have it now, then do what you want.

I personally skipped a Cummins right now due to cost, it would have to be my daily, and our current trailer is just under 7k. I drive 9 miles one way and I would barely get it warmed up especially in the winter.
 
You pay more up front for the diesel but it is fact you will get all of that money back (and some) once it's time to sell.

Last year before the inflated vehicle pricing madness I was offered $18k for my 1999 Cummins 2nd gen with 172k miles. Once i bring my new truck home, i'll end up listing the 99 for low-mid $20k's and I'd be willing to bet i get asking price.

A gas 2nd gen in similar condition is worth $7-9k max.
 
Truth is, the choice is absolutely a personal decision based on individual circumstances. Most people don't "need" a diesel. Some don't like the way they drive - particularly the hot rod kind of drivers that want to mash the pedal to the floor at every traffic light. They are a lot more expensive up front. There's a good chance you'll recoup that if/when you sell/trade it but it's not a guarantee. Out of warranty maintenance "can" be a lot more - much higher probability of needing to replace injectors, etc after a lot of miles - pretty much at the point that the gasser is pretty well worn out.

OTOH, if you're pulling, nothing compares. IMHO they are super comfortable to drive these days. They are effortless, smooth, and to me it's a much more relaxed experience whether I'm hitched or not. If you're only keeping it 5 yrs, then it's all under warranty (so long as you avoid the CP4 fiasco in particular). For resale, my personal experience is that they really hold their value. Will you get it all back of you buy new? Who knows. You usually take a 15-20% hit the moment you drive your truck off the lot. But I just traded in my '20 with about 4k miles on it (6 months old) and got what I paid for it on trade on the '21. Fact. And the '04 I bought used in 2009 with over 140k miles on it is worth almost exactly $10k more than I paid for it today. I was offered $20k for it, and I paid just over $10k. Yes, I got a super deal when I found it. Live in PA, found it in FL, flew down to buy it and drive it home. Then I put about 200k miles on it. There is absolutely zero possibility that it would be worth half that much if it were a gasser.

Get what you want. Don't let people scare you or tell you a Cummins is a bad daily driver. A HD is a bad daily driver if you're in a city. Doesn't matter what the drivetrain is. If you're not, they are both fine. I just wouldn't buy a '19-20 at the moment.
 
gimmie11s said:
You pay more up front for the diesel but it is fact you will get all of that money back (and some) once it's time to sell.

Last year before the inflated vehicle pricing madness I was offered $18k for my 1999 Cummins 2nd gen with 172k miles. Once i bring my new truck home, i'll end up listing the 99 for low-mid $20k's and I'd be willing to bet i get asking price.

A gas 2nd gen in similar condition is worth $7-9k max.
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Gas second gens were turds and second gen Cummins were pre emissions. Not exactly apples to apples when he wants to buy a new truck.
 
Rockcrawlerdude said:
Gas second gens were turds and second gen Cummins were pre emissions. Not exactly apples to apples when he wants to buy a new truck.
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Yes it is apples to apples. See my later posts. Try trading in a 4k mile '20 after 6 months and getting every penny back if it's a gasser......

Try it on a 3rd gen. the CR5.9 certainly was not "pre-emissions" (though it was pre-DEF). Same thing holds true.

Or let's try this. While I find the KBB values are often overstated with the gassers, and significantly understated on the diesels....... In my zip code I just got the estimated value on a 2016 Bighorn CCSB equipped identically with 150k miles. Both same color, options, everything - except the motor.

Cummins: $26-32k, with a $29k trade value
Hemi: $20-25k, with a $23k trade value

While that isn't the entire cost of the cummins option, I've found it's also not super accurate - but even KBB shows a dramatic difference in used pricing for a 2016. Unless that is, you're saying that the 2016 gassers "were turds".... JK.
 
obivolkenobi said:
Hey everyone. New to the forum though I've enjoyed lurking for the past few months.

We're looking to purchase a travel trailer later this year. Will be be roughly 36 feet long, 9-10,000 pounds. I'm planning to trade up from my F150 3.5 L Ecoboost to a Ram 2500. Truck will be used to tow the trailer 5-6 times per year and will also be my daily driver.

Enter the chip shortage and inventory crunch!

My plan had been to wait until the fall and trade in for a 2500 gasser, though now I'm questioning whether there will be any 2500s around then with the specs I'm looking for. I've been in contact with a dealership nearby with a truck that's built the way I want, except it has a Cummins. They are obviously not wanting to budge off the MSRP (though they have been willing to come down 2,000), but have offered me an insane deal on my truck.

What do you think? Should I sit tight and wait until later in the year, or should I take advantage of my current trade in value and pull the trigger on the Cummins? I realize I'm asking you to use your crystal ball a bit, but any advice is appreciated.
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I was in almost exactly the same scenario except that I bought a bigger 5th wheel. No regrets on buying the cumins. Luv it. Gets Berger fuel economy than my eco boost did unloaded, let alone the fact that it can literally pull a house.
 
Cost me 8k to get into a 2021 2500 Bighorn after building with Mark Dodge, and selling my 2016 2500 Bighorn on the private market.
 
NADA on my 2008 Laramie Mega 6.7 is $6500 more than the same truck with a gas engine. Cummins was a $5k upgrade at MSRP. YMMV.

Right now, i’ve got folks tripping over themselves to buy it and will likely get back 2/3 of what I originally paid new 13.5 years ago. These are once a generation times in the used car market, but the dealers have been clear they want it because it’s a diesel.

My only issue is I cant sell it until I figure out a used car solution for my 16 yo...He may be driving it for the summer...
 
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