Used Purchase advice

ponjohn · February 8, 2007

Hi All-

I now have position that provides a company vehicle. I have a 10 year old outback and 11 year old suburban both purchased used.

I am looking to sell both and buy one pick up.

I am all about research to a fault. Pretty much decided on a cc/short.

Undecided on gas or d-max. I get concerned about the issues with the early d-max's.

Truck will sit 5 out of 7 days, only used during the for week trips to the gym and errands. I do tow less than 10 times/year, car on open trailer. I am leaning towards a 6.0 as opposed to a d-max, even thought the diesel is cooler.

Price range is less than 20k and closed to mid teens the better.

TIA-

John

way_out_there · February 8, 2007

I was debating the gas/diesel thing for quite a bit as well, but I tow a lot during spring thru fall. I ultimately went with a diesel, but I was willing to spend more. I was shopping for a new truck for 4 or 5 months before jumping on one. At the price range you listed, a diesel truck would have to have 100K miles to be in reach. The motors are good for much more, but there are other items that will need service with those kind of miles. The 6L motor is quite capable, and if your trailer weight falls within the ratings, and your trips aren't though the mountains, you will most likely have no problems. If you spend some time searching the forums, you will find other threads asking a similar question. I looked around in here quite a bit while shopping as well, and also at the "diesel place" to get more info on the Duramax.

Good luck, have fun shopping!!!

HDdave · February 8, 2007

Well my dad has an 03 ccsb duramax, and I have an 01 ecsb 6.0. Both are 2500hd's, and for a daily driver, the duramax is the much better truck. With mine, I struggle to get 12.5 mpg, and he gets an easy 25mpg on the highway with his hypertech chip. Now since you wont be driving it very much, its pretty much a draw. It all comes down to what your pulling and where. If its a 12000lb trailer through the Rockies then I would definetly suggest the duramax. The 6.0's have a lot of power, but just not near as much as the d-max or the 8.1.

ponjohn · February 8, 2007

Thanks Guys-

Car and trailer probably weigh around 5500 lbs+/-. So no huge loads here.

I would certainly consider an 8100, the prices seem a little softer compared to the 6.0 and diesel.

Even though I would love to have a diesel, again, I get concerned about the earlier 01/02 d-max.

With this said and my price range puts me into an 03-04 with mileage, as stated.

The other arguement for either the 8100 or d-max is the allison.

john

Truckman031 · February 8, 2007

I would go for an 8.1/Allison for a couple of reasons. 1. MPG isn't a huge concern as this is a weekend truck 2. You get a great 5 speed auto vs. a decent 4 speed 3. The 8.1 could be cheaper b/c people are worried about gas mileage. Good luck

davefr · February 8, 2007

Try and get an 8.1/Allison combo. They are much more fun to drive then a 6.0 or Duramax. Duramax will be better for high mileage/heavy towing but it doesn't sound like that's your use.

There's hardly any MPG difference between 6.0 and 8.1 and even though Duramx get's better MPG, most of it is offset by higher per gallon fuel prices.

I predict 8.1's will hold their value much better going forward since they are so rare and since the price premium for new diesels has gone out of sight due to new emissions.

Machine · February 8, 2007

You're right, diesels have a unique cool factor about them, but for your use maybe a gasser would be better. Diesels run best when driven hard, and although they can sit for long periods of time, they don't necessarily tolerate it as much as a gas engine would. Additionally, short errands don't do a diesel engine justice, either. It takes me 10 minutes to get my diesels really up to their normal temps and that's when they run best. I preach this $hit, but I, personally, would still get the diesel.

dewfpo · February 8, 2007

Based on you needs and uses it sounds like a gasser 6.0 or 8.1 would be your most logical choice.

DEWFPO

ponjohn · February 8, 2007

Any feedback on the trans that sits behind the 6.0 is it in fact the 4l80E? If so, this is a strong and durable trans. Certainly not as strong as an allison.

With the limited amout of towing I actually will do along with the limited weight, below 7k lbs at most, I also think 6.0 would be best, but would purchase an 8100 if the deal was right.

As I noted above, it appears the 8100 are priced a little soft.

I hate to even say it but a used 7.3 diesel truck may make more financial sense. Very affordable and relaible back to 95 or so. OH MAN, did I say that outloud??

John

whitesnake01 · February 9, 2007

Any feedback on the trans that sits behind the 6.0 is it in fact the 4l80E? If so, this is a strong and durable trans. Certainly not as strong as an allison.

I've got a 4L80E behind my supercharged 454 and its doing just fine, despite being pushed past 265F a number of times on heavy climbs. I attribute some of my good experience to full synthetic AMSoil. As my kids can attest, we've done serious climbs with it several times, all windows rolled down and heater on full blast on hot summer days. While the Allison might be stronger, the notable differences I've seen are:

- One more gear, which is very nice

- I can tow in cruise control, even when in rolling hills. Tow mode works great.

- It is near impossible to get it to overheat. Similarily, there are winter days when you'd think the temp gauge is dead on the Allison for being stuck at 100F.

- Allison takes a lot of oil.

The Allison has grade braking, but I'm not too terribly impressed with it. More often than not, I find myself hand shifting it to slow it down on a serious decline. With the 4L80E I pretty much hand-shift both ways when I tow. Incidentally, my 4L80E is easy to hand-shift compared to the Allison. I'm sure the software for newer 4L80Es have workarounds for the issues I've got with my vintage version.