I have been seeing more and more people joining and thinking of buying a 2ndgen. Here are some tips, and you can use the general principles for buying any car.

HERE IT GOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST RULE: Test drive first. Get it out of the way. When driving say something like, "I was expecting more throttle response." And tell the owner, we will have to look at a couple things when I look under the hood. This allows you to drop the "Death flash" or "plenum" bomb on the guy.

1. Mileage: And a bit of plenum
If its not mileage on these trucks, it seems like time is a factor as well. I guess Chrysler uses biodegradable metal. But look for a truck that has under 70K miles on it. Once 100K hits, things just start falling apart at a very fast rate.
HOW TO USE MILEAGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE: Ask the owner about the plenum. If he does not know what that is, then you have a good leverage point. Ask him about the use of the truck. More stop and go driving is better for you. The more the engine heats/cools/heats/cools the more the plenum will warp. If you can spot a bad plenum, then you can get about 600-1K off the asking price (degrading the condition to fair). Spot the plenum by taking off the throttle body and looking down with a flashlight. If thee is oil there, then it is leaking. If the owner will not let you take off the throttle body, just take the air cleaner off and move the butterflies to take a peek with a flashlight or dig camera flash.

2. Service logs:
If there is not paperwork, then it has not been done. PERIOD. Look at what has been replaced. When I bought my 1996, the guy never told me that he had a new tranny put in until AFTER I paid him. I was happy, though, because that is a new MAJOR part. It will also tell you how much time you have until a park known for failure eventually breaks.
Some examples: Based off personal experience and service logs
Tranny and transfer case: Anywhere from 40K to 70K is average (total failure). Seals and leaks are normal throughout the
life of the truck.
Fuel Pump: 60K
Power steering: Mine blew at 48K, but my 1996 went out at 80K.
Plenum: assume all 2nd gens have a bad one regardless of mileage.

3. Death Flash:
Look at the PCM, if it says "Dealer authorized software update" then you have the deathflash. If is meant to increase longevity of the engine and driveline parts. But the downside is poor performance and poor gas mileage. Use this, and say it will cost $500-600 to get it reprogrammed.

3. Appearance: Cracked dash, scratches in paint
Chances are the dash has a crack in it. And since it is a truck, the paint will have scratches. these are small things But I leave them for the end when I am haggling. You never want to drop the "it looks like a POS" line to start off. Some guys really like their trucks. Use comments about the appearance when you are standing firm on a price.

4. Settling on a price:
a. GO BY TRADE IN VALUE, not private party blue book.
b. Mods do not make the value higher. You should be able to get the truck for around the trade in price. When you look up the trade in price, there is a high number and a low number. Appearance and what is wrong with the truck is what determines what end of the spectrum it is. However, a WELL TAKEN CARE OF truck can get maybe 1-2K over that price.
c. Private party prices should not really be used for a higher mileage vehicle. Ensure that you print out the private party value for good and fair (rough). That is your LIMIT if the truck is unbelievably good. I paid 10K for mine because of the warranty and the aesthetic additions. That was 4K less than the blue book 3rd party value in January of 2009 when I bought it. I was closer to the high end of the trade in value.

5. WARFARE: if someone has a truck that was lifted, has headers and exhaust, that does not bring the price OVER the 3rd party high price. It just helps the guy get a price a BIT closer to that price. Also, be careful with exhaust systems. If you are an emissions state, ask for the smog inspection. Before you buy, tell him to get a CURRENT one. Just because he lifted the truck, got new rims did a couple of performance mods (chip/tuner) does not mean that his 4K investment means 4K over the 3rd party price. It means he has a bargaining chip for the higher end of the Blue book price.

If you REALLY want to go hardcore...get the BLACK BOOK price. That is what the stealership uses to screw you. Just call up any dealership and tell him you are thinking of trading in your truck, and give him the description of the truck you are thinking of buying. They will say "3-5000." Knowing what the dealership values your car will help stop you from GROSSLY overpaying.


After looking at the truck, if it is a beautiful truck, and you just GOTTA have it. Do not feel bad about paying closer to the 3rd party price. But it should have ZERO major flaws, miles and some things you would have done. Be careful about buying a truck with major engine work. If they have a lot of go fast parts, or a big lift and tires...it means they beat their truck up. Or at least had fun.

Aim for a price around the trade in price.

Trade in price of my truck right now: 7,875 (excellent)
Third (private)Party Price right now: 10,505 (excellent)

A fair starting offer on my truck would be about 9K give or take. But I could sell it to someone for 10-12K if they do not know what they are doing Especially considering the warranty is valid for another year. So that peace of mind costs a bit more. 15% above the trade in price is decent. Just try to get closer to the trade in than the private party price.

If the truck is in excellent condition (good paint, garage kept, no rust, no leaks) then grade it that way. Just refuse to pay the private party price. And ALWAYS use that blue book value for guys with lots of MODS. No one will get their money back on these trucks...unless they sell to a sucker.

Remember, get under the truck and look for problem rust and leaks.
Class 1 leak: puddle, but no visible dripping. You can see where the leak is but no drops falling
Class II leak: You can visibly see dripping at a very slow rate.
Class III leak: It is pouring out like a sieve. Chances are that it could be dry, just look at puddles or stains on the driveway. Smart guys park the truck in a different spot when they are selling.

Also, show up early. Nothing like seeing someone adding a quart of oil as you pull up. Or trying to fill wax into a scratch in the paint that resembles the word "DICK." Nice trucks attract crazy women.

--Dan

 

i work at a dealship we use black book and NADA which can be found online for free... kelly blue book is junk

also look at oil psi and the tires to see if they are wearing correct(one of mine ball joints were done at 44,000miles)

 

A few things i noticed, if you said it "smells like oil to me ", i would say" it's a friggen engine what do you expect it to smell like" and as far as mods , depends on what mods, if he did a aftermarket intake manifold or heads ,or whatnot, id pay a little more for those from what i know how much $ and time is involved. And lifted and big tires causes more wear on suspension and tranny, just make sure they regeared, it could be a mall cruiser if your lucky, But good overall, just dont want to be low balling to be low balling

 

smell like oil thing was for guys not allowing to take the TB off.

And as far as mods, I said that they are not something to get your money back on. Yeah, you can pay a little bit, but not much. Maybe 25% of the cost of the PARTS.

I would pay extra for a hughes F-1 though. Since it actually CURES a design flaw. Lifts wear components...just like you said.

I also mentioned black book in my write up. But then you are going severely CUTTHROAT...like a dealership.

The reason i say trade in, is because that is what a dealership will pay, and if you want private party, you will be sitting on it for a while until a sucker walks by. Most of the times, people sell because they are getting a new car and the trade in is next to nothing.

 

I agree, if someone came up to me telling me all these things, I would tell them to hit the road coupled with a foot in the *** lol. I also wouldn't say the fuel pumps go out at 60k on a Dodge. Our pumps are generally pretty good, with the average around 200k or so before they start taking a decline. Chevy fuel pumps are a different story. The plenum is definitely a viable leverage point. I would just ask if it has been replaced, if he pauses and looks at you funny, it hasn't been replaced. Good post though! Someone will find it useful!

 

After they visited this site and still had to have it!, I would just go all in expecting to replace above mentioned in the near future sometime, but there are those rare occasions of one getting lucky, I think his name was HALFIMIL???< not sure if i got it right...also they gotta take "Your" word about above mentioned if they dont have a clue to what any of it is, and your not blowing smoke up there *** for a discount, ya know? Not saying this to cause anything just a few things i noticed IMO.

 

i think this is a great idea man, send a PM to silver or jason and have them put a fresh copy in the faq section.

 

good info...

and i agree with asking for recipts....when i bought my truck it had 4.10 gears front and rear, fresh rebuilt tranny, and new fuel pump...and i didnt know this until a week later when i called him and asked if the rear end has been changed....thats when i saw all the recipts.

 

You dont got to take the TB off to see the plenum blown. Just take the air cleaner off and take a small flash light/ camera w/flash and shine and look or take a pic for the owner to see. Its best to do that.

 

I don't think this needs to be in the DIY, but if a decent number here think we do, I guess I can add it.

However, it needs to be proof read and reorganized. I attempted to do so, and gave up after doing the first 1/3. There are far to many grammatical and spelling errors for this to be in the DIY, not to mention the organization of the ideas within.

Not bashing, a lot of good info, just needs to be presented better to be made an "official" DIY.