Bad news :(

[Tolson93]

My 2003 ram 1500 5.7l hemi is in bad shape. Do not know the exact problem but its something to do with the head. Maybe a gasket or whatever, i will find out later this week. I have had the truck for 23 days and the dealership is willing to pay only half for the whole fix. I dont think i can afford it, and i dont know if future problems would occur.. The loaner i am driving is 99' GMC sierra 5.3 vortec 134k miles. It runs and drives great, going to have a mechanic check it real good and if very solid might trade the dodge for the gmc... dont want to but i need to do what is best for a good dependable truck.. Any advice?

 

[0212353]

23 days, ouch.......did it come with any written warranty / guarantees?

 

[Tolson93]

no it did not

 

[WhiteExpress]

Man that sucks! There is certainly a downside to buying a 10 year old truck.
These things CAN happen. Head gaskets aren't a common issue with the Hemi that I know of. Doesn't mean it couldn't be the issue. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

 

[09SMOKINHEMI]

Bummer man.... hope you are able to work things out with the dealer

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3

 

[chuck]

Sorry to hear that! I hope it all gets worked out for ya

 

[Casper]

Did you buy it from a Dodge dealer? I'm guessing not, because they stuck you in a Chevy loaner. That's probably why they'll only pay half.

How did you find out something was wrong? Water in the oil? Loss of compression? Wouldn't start? There are some pretty good diagnosticians on this forum (way better than me) who might be able to listen to your descriptions of the symptoms and give you an idea of what kind of repair you are facing.

Luck!

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Damn I hate hearing stuff like this... 03+head, probably a broken spring. But that's jumping to an conclusion. The dealer should have a 30 day warranty regardless how it was sold.

 

[DDean]

I work for a new car dealer and i know with our used inventory that anything that is sold "as is" means thats just how it is. More than likely they all knew the truck had problems but inborder to make the sale they arent gonna tell you that. Is that ****** up? Yes but if they are gonna pay half for an as is vehicle thats more than alot of dealers will do. Unfortuanetly if you trade it in after only 23 days youll lose alot of money cause it lost value soon asyou left the lot. Id go back and ask them to cut you a deal on a different truck or pay the repairs in full. When the truck came in for the previous owner it had to go through some kind of inspection before it hit the lot to identify problems. Theres no way they didnt know somethin was wrong they just wanted to make a quick buck. I dunno what kind of dealership you bought from but ask to talk to a sales manager as ultimately he makes the decisions not the salesman

Also find out if the previous owner serviced the vehicle there and ask to see a vehicle report and service records. If it was a historical problem and they didnt fix it before its on them and the purposely ommited information to make the sale happen

 

[Wchnu]

Hate to hear that. I have had my 03 a month now. Making me jumpy.

 

[Redtruck-VA]

The 03/04 models had some valve spring failures. How many we will never know as we only hear about the failures and not anything about the ones who haven't had a problem. I changed my springs out when I did a cam install as with most folks and never had a problem. So my recommendation is when given an opportunity to open the engine up replace the springs. With that said if you want peace of mind then just plan for an convenient time and change the springs. You can do it with a spring compressor that is commonly offered without taking the heads off in an afternoon. Good luck...

 

[HemiLonestar]

I've had my 03 for 8 yrs and 100,000 miles. I'm not really jumpy or worried.

 

[Redtruck-VA]

If you ever get an odd stumble and misfire code, Check your springs as soon as possible to insure one hasn't given up.

 

[smiley]

Interesting I would like to know if you have asked them if they knew? I am sure they would say no but just curious as there are some honest people out there and may say we had a feeling or maybe even they were tricked by person who traded it in. I think stuff like this happens a lot and it comes down to how they handle it. If they only pay half that really should not be good enough as you paid for the whole vehicle and tell them money is an issue. They have a lot more capital and times like this is where they can win you over for life because as others have said they don't have to do it.


$miley

 

[Tolson93]

Well the salesman told me the previous owner had gotten a promotion and bought a trailer, so he needed a bigger truck. then traded off the one i have now. So, who knows if he is lying or telling the truth. I just had the loaner truck checked over by a trusted mechanic and there are a couple minor things that would be cheaper than fixing the Ram.. Everyone is saying i should probably just see if they would trade out the dodge i own now, for the loaner truck. Mechanic says it probably would be a better deal in the long run. SO guys i might not be a dodge owner much longer i like the truck but i have to what is best right now, as i can not afford much..

 

[smiley]

Four years older and another vehicle you don't know. Sounds like a bad deal to me. 5.3 is a good engine but 5.7 is better. Never put any money into any my Hemi's and neither has my dad. You just have to decide if it is worth losing. I would plead with them to pay labor and maybe you pay parts.


$miley

 

[DDean]

Between the money youll lose fixin up the loaner and the money youll lose not gettin squat back out of your dodge id just fix the dodge. Kind of ridiculous the dealership you bought from isnt helping. Is it a small used car place?? Or new car dealer that just happens to sell used stuff. Either way exhaust your options with them. There are people you can annoy to get what you want just gotta be willing to climb the ladder. As the last guy said at the very least get them to pay the labor and you cover parts. Labor is where most of the money is anyways

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Well the salesman told me the previous owner had gotten a promotion and bought a trailer, so he needed a bigger truck. then traded off the one i have now. So, who knows if he is lying or telling the truth. I just had the loaner truck checked over by a trusted mechanic and there are a couple minor things that would be cheaper than fixing the Ram.. Everyone is saying i should probably just see if they would trade out the dodge i own now, for the loaner truck. Mechanic says it probably would be a better deal in the long run. SO guys i might not be a dodge owner much longer i like the truck but i have to what is best right now, as i can not afford much..

Well it is easy enough to tell if the salesman is lying or not, was his lips moving? Then he was lying. Do what you have to do, but don't let the ******** steer you into another bad deal.

 

[Tolson93]

This is a normal dealership by the way.. They have like three locations and are a good size. Tom Clusiau's is the name of the dealership if anyone was interested in that.Yeah at the moment i am waiting for them to contact me. Also, this loaner truck was checked out by a mechanic who is very good and we trust. He said for the year this loaner is not a bad truck. Just need back brakes, and a belt or the different tensioners ... which im thinking would be a lot cheaper than a head gasket, or head problems fix. I mean if coolant was already getting into the engine... does that mean it could have wore down or done some damage to the other components inside the engine? couldnt other problems occur down the road ? it is a tough decision, but the mechanic was saying the loaner truck would probably be a better deal for the long run than the dodge.. Im not hating on dodge or anything.. JUst sucks i had to have this issue when it's my first vehicle i bought... I dropped it monday and now its almost friday and they have not called me to tell me what the exact problem is.. (according to them they will contact me right away, and their engine guy is really booked up).. One last note, our mechanic did tell me that he can hear a lifter that is like making a clicking type noise.. do not know if that is a huge deal but thought id mention it

 

[Wchnu]

My two cents. It will probably be better to keep the Dodge. Any vehicle can have unexpected problems. It's like a cheetah chasing a gazelle. He keeps his eyes on one. No matter where the others are. If he jumps from one to the other he goes hungry and expends a lot of energy. It's a knife fight. But I think the Dodge is probably the best truck.