As a general rule of thumb, how many miles is too many if buying a Ram? My friend says 100K is a general rule, but I have seen trucks in good condition with >150K miles.

Besides mileage, is there anything I should pay particular attention to if buying used?

Thanks

 

What model year(s) of Rams are you looking at buying?

 

I have been advised to look at the older models on account that they have fewer components and would last longer, but I have no clue about any of this.

 

Depends on how the truck was taken care of during it's life.....you could have one with 150k miles on it, and it run/drive like a champ---cause it's been taken care of. Or one with 30k miles on it that knocks and is beat to **** already. Just depends on the previous owner(s)


I was in the same boat a few months ago when I bought my 04 1500. Went and looked at a couple dozen before I pulled the trigger. I knew what I wanted....4 door, 4x4 ect and I ended up with a charcoal gray 04 1500 4x4 qc with 88k miles on it.

You just have to give everything a nice once over. Don't be afraid to look at important things in front of the seller. better to look then that find problems 200 miles down the road.........when it's yours

 

The reason I asked is so I can move this to an appropriate section, get you some additional opinions.

1st gens are pre-1994 trucks. 1994-2001 are 2nd generation Rams. 2002-2008 are 3rd generation, and 2009+ are 4th generations. Each has their own body styles, engines, etc.

Which generation were you thinking? By older, did you mean 2nd gen, or early 3rd gen, or... ?

 

jasonw - I am not sure this one has a section, it is more comparative than anything else.

B-radical - what should I make sure to check when doing the once-over? Anything to pay particular attention to?

 

Alright, suit yourself, but just know that very, very few people venture out of their sections, and even less visit the general Ram section here.

 

Trucks. How many miles was it used to tow. How often were the differential fluids flushed and how many miles was the trans & transfercase serviced at. Those are the big one's to look at in my eyes. Anyone who is serious about there vehicles keeps maintenance logs/reciepts. I wouldnt take anyone's word for it. if they say they got serviced at a Quicklube or what have you, those places always keep records so reciepts can be had if needed. Did it themselves??? Where are the autoparts store reciepts. i keep ALL of mine in my glovebox with miles written on them.
As for older being better? I dunno about all that. The 5.9L's are very underpowered compared to the 5.7L Hemi's and they get wrose gas mileage too. Plus, the 2004+ have ajustable features for the tranmission with the Superchips tuner. Adjustments of partial upshifts/downshifts...etc Blows the stock mushy shifting transmission out of the water. Ohh, the 2003+ all have 5spd auto transmissions too for a total of 3 overdrives. 1 more than the 5.9L's which allows them to get even better mileage on the highway. up near 20mpg in SOME instances.