Potential truck owner - pre-owned?

[mikeru]

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.

I'm on there regularly and have seen that thread, thanks. I guess it depends on your definition of "REAL common". I'm sure you realize that forums consist mostly of people posting about problems they're having. And people don't usually post when there isn't a problem. A thread with 82 pages of people posting about a problem doesn't mean that it's 82 pages of posts from unique users. And threads often go off topic (just like this one), and some of those pages contain content not related to the topic the thread was created for. Like I said, water leaking into the cab seems to be the most common complaint about the 5th gen. But your chance of buying a truck with this problem is very small. You're making it sound like the majority of them have this issue, and that's simply not true.

 

[SOL-man]

I began looking at used Rams as well but decided to order one mainly due to my intended use: towing a travel trailer. Many of the used 1500s are coming off a lease and have 3.21 rear, which is good for riding around on the highway unladen, but not cool if you are towing. The other reason I chose new over used is cost. I am the owner that tends to keep a truck for 150,000 miles or so, which is about 10 years. If you do the math, it costs about the same per mile whether you buy new or used. For example, I can buy a new 1500 for $50000 with zero miles or a nice 2019 with 30,000 miles on the clock for $40,000. Divide cost by miles driven (for the new one 150,000 miles and the 2019 would be 120,000 miles) and you get 0.33 cents either choice. Given the same cost of ownership, I choose new over used for the obvious reasons.