Potential truck owner - pre-owned?

[George2021]

hello, I'm considering purchasing my 1st truck, looking into a Rebel w/ low miles, loaded, etc. What to look for in a truck w/ low miles; any red flags??? can you have a mechanic look at it??? would you be afraid of a relatively "new truck" put on the market w/ low miles???
Advice appreciated !!

 

[Daw14]

Find an independent mechanic to check it over, lots of people trade every year or two so I wouldn’t worry about the low miles.

 

[aces-n-eights]

I buy my vehicles 2-3 years old and typically they are lease returns. There may be some warranty left. Good advice above to have an independent take a look at it. Car Fax is a good idea to look for previous damage or unusual repairs.

 

[PolarisCobra]

My truck was a National Rental before I got it. I was concerned about it, but it was clean, had 23000 miles, and plenty of warranty left. I have had zero problems. Did have to take it to the dealer for two recalls, would have been no different if I had bought new. A bit over 60000 miles now, sill running strong.

I think the biggest thing to be concerned about is modifications - tuning, exhaust - that sort of thing. If done right, they are fine, but they are not always done right.

 

[runamuck]

if you're ok paying for some exorbitant shop time, you could buy one that is "certified" or whatever term they use. they have gone thru the vehicle and checked everything out and repaired as necessary..usually just a way to keep their shop in business and you foot the bill but might be worth the cost to some and save taking the vehicle to another shop and paying them to look it over..can only imagine you being able to do that with a non-dealer sale anyhow.

 

[Sportznut]

Factory Certified is not a bad way to go. In most cases it extends your warranty.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[CVX20]

In my area the good used ones are so expensive you might as well buy new and get a full warr.Saying that though they still don't want to give you **** for your trade in.

 

[mikeru]

In my area the good used ones are so expensive you might as well buy new and get a full warr.Saying that though they still don't want to give you **** for your trade in.

Are you sure about that? Right now is a great time to trade-in or sell in most areas. I've been keeping an eye on this for a few months now, and my truck is worth about $2k more now than it was at the end of last summer. The combination of covid and a shortage of computer chips has caused a shortage of new trucks. So people are turning to the used truck market, and demand is up.

 

[OC455]

I traded mine in and got a good return on it, for what I have now.

 

[Treburkulosis]

Here in Texas.

 

[Treburkulosis]

I traded mine in and got a good return on it, for what I have now.

I’ve always got an excellent return on my Dodge/Chrysler vehicles.

 

[Rado]

First Welcome to the group !
You are looking at a great truck Brand
As for low mileage have them pull a Car Fax ,
There are many Car Rental trade ins. Mine was a Enterprise rental 21k on the clock !
Test ride with the radio off so you can listen to the sound. Test all control functions
And as mentioned have a Good mechanic look it over ! Also try and get the dealer to throw in a extended warranty

 

[Quint]

I just traded in my 2015 Bighorn with 112k miles last month. The truck was mint (I mean clean inside and out with the original rugs) except for that both the dealership and I knew that it needed the cam & lifters done and ball joints. They gave me $17k on the trade-in which is right in the middle of the Blue Book trade-in amount. Fine. They are trying to sell it for $24k right now. Anonymously I then emailed the sales manager for used trucks, who told me it's a clean truck with no mechanical issues and that they didn't have to do any major work on it.

So there you go. Dealerships do try to sell people garbage for as much as they can.

 

[CVX20]

Are you sure about that? Right now is a great time to trade-in or sell in most areas. I've been keeping an eye on this for a few months now, and my truck is worth about $2k more now than it was at the end of last summer. The combination of covid and a shortage of computer chips has caused a shortage of new trucks. So people are turning to the used truck market, and demand is up.

OK you could be right.When I traded a year ago they weren't giving much for trades.I guess part of the reason also is that I get Fleet Pricing through work so I don't pay as much either.

 

[thkbaron]

Are you sure about that? Right now is a great time to trade-in or sell in most areas. I've been keeping an eye on this for a few months now, and my truck is worth about $2k more now than it was at the end of last summer. The combination of covid and a shortage of computer chips has caused a shortage of new trucks. So people are turning to the used truck market, and demand is up.

My 18 power wagon is worth almost more on trade in right now than I paid for it retail 15 months ago.

 

[thkbaron]

I just traded in my 2015 Bighorn with 112k miles last month. The truck was mint (I mean clean inside and out with the original rugs) except for that both the dealership and I knew that it needed the cam & lifters done and ball joints. They gave me $17k on the trade-in which is right in the middle of the Blue Book trade-in amount. Fine. They are trying to sell it for $24k right now. I emailed the sales manager for used trucks, who told me it's a clean truck with no mechanical issues and that they didn't have to do any major work on it.

So there you go. Dealerships do try to sell people garbage for as much as they can.

View attachment 239988

yeah I agree with this BS too. Bought my wife's used 15 durango a couple years ago. Multipoint comprehensive safety inspection. yada yada. Took it for a short ride. No issues. I noticed a loose speaker in a door. No biggy. Got down the road a couple of mile. Smelled burning oil. Turns out the valve covers were leaking and dripping oil into one of the cylinders. Both front shocks were shot. I noticed that when I got home to my rough roads. The water pump went out 500 miles after I bought it and the fan clutch was shot. So don't trust dealers one bit. When you drive it, drive it till it warms up and take it down some bumpy roads. If you buy something withouth the 3 year 36 left, get a warranty and get a deal on it. They make a pile of money on them. Tell them stories like this one.

 

[runamuck]

used trucks are going for higher than usual prices right now so you can get a good trade-in price but the net result may be the same as before the panic because dealers are not cutting their prices much right now. one advantage may be if you are upside down on your loan, the higher price would help you get out from under it. right now the big 3 are building inventory without some of the chips they need so as to keep their plants open. I think the time to buy will be when they can get chips and send a wave of finished trucks out to dealers..they will have to move em fast to catch up on lost revenue so might be a good time to buy.

 

[yellowboy]

Try and get the history of the truck if it is from the dealer selling it - IE all repairs and updates done including TSB's. I'm not talking about the Carfax. There are things that I have had done on my truck I only knew about because I read about them on forums. The dealer won't tell you about them because they are not recalls. One thing that is REAL common on these is a leaking window , 3rd brake light, and other places - look for headliner stains and musty carpet.

 

[mikeru]

Try and get the history of the truck if it is from the dealer selling it - IE all repairs and updates done including TSB's. I'm not talking about the Carfax. There are things that I have had done on my truck I only knew about because I read about them on forums. The dealer won't tell you about them because they are not recalls. One thing that is REAL common on these is a leaking window , 3rd brake light, and other places - look for headliner stains and musty carpet.

I think you're overstating how common leaks are in these trucks, but that does seem to be the biggest complaint about the 5th gens. It's good advice to look for signs of leaks, but that's true for any used vehicle.

You might want to update your sig. 5.4L engines are not an engine choice..."2019 Ram Limited, Del. Red, 4 X 4, no moonroof, (means no leaks), 5.4, (no ET), 23 gallon tank (way too small for 5.4), ARE Cap."

 

[yellowboy]

I think you're overstating how common leaks are in these trucks, but that does seem to be the biggest complaint about the 5th gens. It's good advice to look for signs of leaks, but that's true for any used vehicle.

You might want to update your sig. 5.4L engines are not an engine choice..."2019 Ram Limited, Del. Red, 4 X 4, no moonroof, (means no leaks), 5.4, (no ET), 23 gallon tank (way too small for 5.4), ARE Cap."

If you think I am overstating the leak issue go to the other forum on Ram Trucks and look up the "rear window surround crack" thread currently running at 82 pages and rising.