Found a 01 1500 Quad cab for sale at a local dealer, they are offering it to me at $10,985. It has 63,700 miles and is a one owner. Nothing wrong with it mechanically or cosmetically. Carfax clean. Blue book on it is 14,985

Tow Package
Spray on bedliner
5.9L
Auto
4wd
cloth seats

It didnt say sport anywhere on it. Doesthe 5.9 make it a sport?

Is there anything i should look for? Specific axles under it? Disk brakes on the rear?

Is there anything that the rams are known for mechanical-wise?

 

The sport 2001 model will have a different front end to it and quad headlamps (four bulbs, two for highs, two for lows). A regular Ram will have only two dual element bulbs that do both highs and lows. The 5.9 was available in sport and non-sport models.

When/if you test drive it, make sure the transmission works flawlessly. If not, talk the dealer down. A tranny will cost you at least a couple thousand if it is starting to go bad, and if it wasn't treated well, well... lets just say the stock Chrysler automatic transmissions in our Rams usually don't hold up to much abuse.

Thats the main one to watch out for. Then of course the typical common sense car rules apply, such as if it makes funny noises/doesn't ride right/blah blah etc., get it checked out by a mechanic you trust before you buy at the very least. Then talk the dealer into doing the repairs or, better yet, talk him down the price of the repairs and do them yourself/have your mechanic do them and make sure they're done right.

Disc brakes in the rear would be nice, but not necessary. A spray-in bedliner adds to the value of the truck, one of the reasons I bought mine. Very nice to have.

Some of the others here will have more pointers for ya, but that in a cut down nutshell IMHO.

 

Thanks man, i appreciate it.

Anyone else?

I forgot to mention it is an SLT. The 5.9L and the 63k miles are pulling me in. I'll take it on another test drive tomorrow and see if it tranny skips at all.

Does the price seem too good?

 

To high on the price. I got my 99 SLT with 125000 miles for 6200 from a dealer same set up as yours with a cap. Trucks are not selling well right now. Try to get him to 8500. Pay 9000. That truck will sit on the lot for while. It might have been there for a month or two already.

Dont let this forum scare you about the tranny. Remember this forum is mainly for help on problems, & upgrades just like most car/truck forums.

Jeff

 

That sounds high for that year to me. You can probably expect to do the tranny around anywhere from now to 100k miles but it seems like not many of use get much more than 100k out of them. Also check the pleneum gasket. To do this look down the TB with a mirror or something and see if oil is pooling anywhere. I'd also check the ball joints and all that. Check all fluids and make sure they look like they should. Like said it's probably a good idea to take it to a shop to have them look over it.



If I was going to spend that kind of cash on a truck right now I'd buy NHLBills truck instead.

I spent more than that when I bought my 01 and I've had it several years but I still think thats really high. You would probably be lucky to resell it for $10-11k. They just don't have a good resell value. Thats why I still have mine as I'm not willing to take prices as low as people are buying them for.

 

Oh if it has a rear LSD maybe ask to pull the cover if you put new fluid in there for him. Make sure there are no chunks of metal laying in the bottom of the diff. This is a super common problem as these factory LSD's are junk.

 

Do you think i can get them down that low? They are already 3k below blue book value. They are already using that as a step.

Listed Price: 13999
after incentives, 11999
i told them i would walk out the door with it if they gave it to me for 10000
then their last, 10985

 

Then you say look....10000 or I am off...always more trucks out there.

but make sure you take it to a mechanic....I had mine checked out found 800 worth of little problems so I talked them down because of that.

 

I told them today that i wasnt going to get it. I may try back in a few weeks if it is still there.

 

Like I said always more trucks....some people post them here also...many of us (I hope) treat our trucks like babies so you never know!