Would "you" buy this truck? Please post your thoughts.

[Markstein]

Hello. I'm posting in hopes some people will give their thoughts on this. My
work is selling one of their trucks. It's a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7L V8 white
single cab. It is in excellent condition (looks brand new...no issues running at
all) and has been properly maintained by the mechanic at work. It was driven
by one of the office people whom I know pretty much babied it it's entire life.
All highway miles. Never towed anything..., heck he never even had stuff in the bed as it all
looks brand new.

The issue I have is it has 230,000 miles on it which is of course a major turn
off. They started off asking $8000 and people would come look at it and
leave. They are now asking $6500 which is still too high in my opinion.
However, I was speaking with the boss about it and he mentioned that I,
being an employee, may be able to purchase it for $4000. (which is better but still high to me)

The only issue the truck has ever had was a module related to the
transmission as it was having issues shifting at some point in its life. The
mechanic changed the module and it has never had a problem since. Nothing
else has been changed on the truck (except for routine maintenance related
things).

I wouldn't plan on doing much with the truck. I definitely would not tow with it.
Just thinking of using it as a daily driver since I live pretty close to work and
maybe throw a dirt bike or 2 in the back during the winter months. So if you
were in my shoes, what would "you" do? I'm definitely indecisive..but $4000
would be relatively cheap....it's just that mileage that concerns me!

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[dexter]

You work with the people selling it?

Are you getting any sort of warranty?

This is how I would think about it. You are spending $4,000 for about 3-2 years of remaining life after that you might be able to get money on it as a trade in for a new or used vehicle.

It all comes down to price.

 

[Markstein]

Yes I work with the company selling it.

No warranty unfortunately...it is "as is". The thing is, my current little daily driver I used ( an old 90's toyota Corolla but only 100,000 miles on it) is down right now and needs to be repaired etc. So I'd imagine there goes $1000. If I purchased the truck then I would junk the car or sell it very cheap so essentially the truck would cost me $3000 as I'm pretty much already going to spend $1000 anyways either buying something or repairing the old car.

At least with the truck I know all the seals/rubber etc. aren't worn out as it is only 7 years old vs the current daily driver which is 26 years old...

I'm really not worried about making any money if I were to sell the truck down the road. I'm more concerned about it leaving me stranded somewhere like I said, it's condition is pretty much brand new "except" the high mileage. No weird noises..nice and smooth ride. But you know something is gonna give at some point. Decisions...decisions...

 

[Neil E]

No one can make the decision for you, and it pretty much a crapshoot with any used vehicle. With the advantage of knowing it was taken care of, I wouldn't have an issue spending of around $5k for it. It will have issues, but it should be pretty dependable for a vehicle with that many miles on it. But the gas mileage will suck, especially compared to your Corolla.

Good luck!

 

[Markstein]

The decision is most definitely up to me...I'm only looking for people's thoughts to help me decide. Your reply is definitely very helpful with whatever decision I make. I've never owned a Dodge...( I've always had umm... those diesel trucks that start with F..lol) so I know nothing about the dependability of the ram 1500's (though this particular truck has obviously been very dependable so far). Thanks for your input!

 

[ramportin1]

I'd say at 4 grand its a good buy. Just my opinion

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[Markstein]

I'd say at 4 grand its a good buy. Just my opinion

Thank you for your opinion. So that's 2 that say go for it. By the way...your avatar is hilarious.

 

[Midknight]

Would you be upset with yourself if someone walked in and bought the truck for $4k right now? If you said yes then buy it. Or atleast flash the cash for the amount you would spend and see what happens.

 

[Booms]

For 4 grand, even if the motor blew up and you had to replace it, you're still coming out ahead.

 

[Markstein]

Very valid points. Thanks everyone. I think I'll go with the "flash some cash" route first just to see if I can get it a bit cheaper....

 

[pacofortacos]

2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive in the big question - unless I missed that you stated that.

Regular cab gets old quick, but is doable if only 2 people in the truck.

KBB.com and see what it is worth where you live. Look at private party and also trade in values. Here is would be 2500-5000 depending on a few things.

 

[69GWC]

230,000 miles ! Nope noway.

 

[Dalt10]

2013 with high miles is worth $4000. Even if you put a motor in it you are still good.

 

[rwhjr]

As long as you’re willing to do major repairs it’s worth it.

Financially it’ll probably work out regardless due to such a low cost of entry.

But as I said you just need to be ready to put the effort in bc things will break.....including things like the engine and transmission. It’ll probably be more mentally stressful than anything as long as you can get over that IMO.

 

[Markstein]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I would definitely need to get over the stress factor BUT I'm only 10 minutes from work and the truck would be used to go the store or run errands around town. About the furthest it would travel is 1 or 2 hours during the winter for some good dirt bike riding. And like I said earlier..im already going going to spend 1000 on getting my current commuter repaired so I could junk that and put it towards the truck. I'll offer up some money for it and see what they say. They also know I've saved the company thousands of dollars over this past year so they better hook me up lol.

 

[kurek]

Regular cab gets old quick, .

When's that supposed to start kicking in? I'm still waiting for mine to get old..

 

[tron67j]

I would never buy a vehicle with that many miles without having a mechanic give it a once over, including compression and other tests on the engine. It may be well cared for but looks are not the only thing to consider. It may cost a couple hundred but you either buy with confidence or walk away knowing you are not upset when someone else buys it. Bottom line, taking a chance for 4 or 5k and having problems could make it a 6 or 7k truck, and lead to inadvertant hard feelings between you and your company.

 

[buddy guy]

In 2012 I bought a 2004 Ram with 330,000km (over 200,000 miles) on the 4.7 litre. The owner had done required maintenance and put a ton of highway miles on it. The truck ran great, motor had a compression test & was strong still.

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[Dodge 1500 4X4]

I would go for it the fact that you know the history, and I assume it will pass all state inspections for Emissions, how's the tires how's the brakes, there is a guy on here that has over 400,000 on his and its running strong.

 

[Travelin Ram]

What does the mechanic say? If it was a good value I think he’d be first in line to snap it up.