2015 Laramie 1500

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denis Laouenan

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Miami
Ram Year
2015
Engine
Hemi 5.7
What to do? I have a 1500 Laramie 2015 Silver that had 175k miles and ran perfectly well, I had just replaced the front axles and front diff internal shaft, Engine running strong with no ticking what so ever. The truck went seats base high in salt water. In the following days everything interior (carpets door interiors, electrical harness, A/C block, evaporator, heater, dash board, consoles all have been removed and treated, body and inside doors was treated with penetrating lubricant. Mechanic part is like new, Engine was still running I turned it off. no water went in engine gearbox etc. It has been 8 months now and under Florida heat still no signs of rust anywhere except outside the exhaust pipe. The seats fans and motors are fried, some electronic modules must be fried. (seats for sure). No insurance claim so title is still clean. My issue is I have absolutely no time to rebuild and can't foresee having some for a long time. Question is what to do with the truck (?). I found new seats on ebay for under 4k but I don't want to invest any money in it if I can't rebuild. I will need a new truck in the coming months and I might buy the same. Is it worth keeping for parts knowing it has a clean title and it would use lot's of space in the back of the house. Is there a market for such truck and where? How much you think I could get from it?
Thanks in advance,IMG_9329.jpgIMG_9330.jpgIMG_9331.jpgIMG_9335.jpgIMG_9336.jpgIMG_9338.jpgIMG_9499.jpg
 

Jeepwalker

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2012 Reg Cab, 4x4
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5.7 Hemi
I mean ...if you flushed out the doors/frame/rockers and everything else conceiveable with fresh water, let it dry, and THEN did the oiling, that's about the best you can do. The problem is only 10% of the people out there are going to be really thorough. The carpet should have been soaked in fresh water, like in a kid's pool, and let drip out (then soaked again in fresh water) to work out the salt. At any rate, no matter what a guy can never thoroughly get all the cracks and crevices where salt water can get.

Still, you did the best you could and more than most people probably would. Personally I wouldn't worry about it. What are you going to do? Sell it to someone in the salt belt. It's probably 5x cleaner now as it sits, than most 2015's up here. They rust up somewhat quick in the salt belt. I've mentioned this in other posts, but my neighbor's truck is a 2013 (only 2 yrs older than yours) and the rockers have rust holes you could put your hand through, rust holes around the rear wheel openings, cab corners you could stick a couple fingers through (probably pick away enough rust by hand to stick your hand through the cab corner). By next spring it's going to be 3x worse. So in that context your tk would still be far nicer than what many owners around here or other areas in the N. would have. And if the penetrating oil mitigation procedure you did is effective, your truck will likely outlast most 2015's in the north ....lol.

Be honest, sell it a couple grand cheaper letting the prospective new buyer know it was flooded up to the seats but you've been driving it w/o any problems. If they walk, that's not the kind of buyer you're looking for. Sell it with a written understanding there is absolutely no warranty whatsoever. Or maybe, better yet, sell it to a shady dealer for on the questionable side of town cash outright, no questions asked. Take a couple grand less, let them get a 'good deal' and let them deal with the truck. If the guy asks about it being flooded, shrug your shoulders ...or go to the next shady dealer down the street. Someone will buy it. Trucks don't last forever.
 
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Jeepwalker

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It would be nice if a new owner could take it into a clean fresh-water lake when it wasn't muddy, let it soak a while, have a nice salt-free bath, then pull it out with a smile on it's front grille. Then re-oil after it's thoroughly dried (a few days in dry weather). Then things were reset nice and clean.
 
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Jeepwalker

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Think about guys who back their trucks into the water to unload their boat. I've seen with my own eyes truck owners who somehow managed to get their truck pretty far down into the water. How is that any different than your situation? It wasn't in a *flood*. There's gotta be a ton of trucks out there like that, and they didn't take any special mitigation procedures like you did. But it's great you are being conciencious about selling it.
 

Socalramfan

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Trade it in and purchase another truck. Let it become their problem.

Things will rust, and electrical connections will be effected in time.

It sucks, but I’d write it off.
 
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