Which would you buy if they were all in the same condition apperance wise. All are quad cab,4x4, hemi. I've always been told go with the lower miles, but in this case it is the older one. What are your opinions when it comes to age vs miles? I plan on buying one within 2 weeks. All are private owners. Thanks in advance for the help.

Year miles asking price
1) 2004 43k for $16500
2) 2005 65k for $17500
3) 2006 95k for $14500
4) 2007 89k for $14700 this one has a warranty for 40k more miles

 

I'd go for the 07. It's low miles, it's cheap and has a 40k warranty.
I paid about 11k for my 05 with 100k

 

I'd try and talk the 2005 down, honestly. They finally about perfected the Gen 3.0 trucks at that point the best they are going to come off the line, and from '06 up there is a whole set of other "new quirks" to deal with. Look under the "common issue" sticky on the DIY/FAQ forum here. Granted, the 3.5 gen's have some updates and upgrades that improve over the '02-'05, but you also get the (subjectively) ickier front end and tail lights.

The 40K warranty IS appealing, but, what all does it cover and/or exclude? Is it still a factory warranty? Is it transferrable? Is it something about useless that the dealer is throwing in to avert your eyes from something else that might be an issue? Accident histories? Obvious signs of neglect or abuse?

 

All the trucks are from private sellers,and the owner of the 07 says it is a bumper to bumper waranty. Haven't asked if it was transferrable, can't imagine him mentioning it unless it was.haha Thanks so far. I like the 05 too but IMO it's over priced by a couple grand.

 

I think the '05 is a little high, too, but have you KBB'd or NADA'd it? Price it with all the options. Still, that would probably be the one I was looking at first, myself (though, I might be biased towards '05's...). Seriously, though, I think the 2005 would be my first stop, regardless, unless one of the others REALLY lit my fire, appearance-wise.

Someone who has it can (and should) correct me, but I seem to recall that the Chrysler Corp. warranties were not transferable. I wouldn't count on the seller being completely up front on that, but to give them the benefit of the doubt... perhaps they just don't know. You say it has 40K miles left on the warranty. Is there a time limit statute on that, as well? Seven years from new would give it another two and a half years, regardless of if you've reached the mileage yet. If it is a third-party warranty, will THAT transfer to you? If it transfers, is there a transfer fee (could be upwards of $1,000)? What is the deductible for warranty work? Don't get me wrong, the warranty is probably a good thing, just don't jump up and down about it until you know all the details.

*EDIT* Also, since we're talking private sellers here, now is the time that you start grilling them to produce maintenance records and stuff. Obviously, the better documented it is, the safer I feel about buying a higher mileage vehicle.

 

Thanks Chet for all the advise. I have thought about most of that stuff that you said about the warranty. Didn't think about asking for the maintenance records stuff though. I have blue booked all the vehicles and the 05 is only about 500 over blue book at very good condition, but on the other end the 07 is about 3k under blue book which scares me a little too.

 

Becareful on the aftermarket bumper-bumper warranties. Most of them have a high deductible, require a deductive for every part, so, say you have a headgasket problem and it ruined the intake manifold as well. You;d have to pay a deductible for the head, and the intake because they are different parts. Some warranties are so bad they charge deductibles on every part....head, heaqd gasket, coolant, labor....etc
Also, MANY of them allow aftermarket or used parts. Just because it's bumper-bumper doesn't mean you get a remanufactured engine if the engine blows up. They can put in a comparable 89kmi engine from a salvage yard!
Just read all fine print.

With that said, I'd go for the '07 if the warranty isn't total crap.

 

The ad for the 07 says "Factory bumper to bumper". I did find one more now to throw in the mix. Another 2006 with only 32k on it for 17000. Thanks for all the replys so far. I have a week or so before I have to pull the trigger. So I appreciate all the reponses so far.

 

i'd choose '06 or '07.
I'd do the '06 if you can get them down $500 or so. least amount of miles at a reasonable price! 2007 has 3x's the wear/mileage compared.
if the 2006 is at a dealership, i'd ask them to run the vin and see if the TIPM has been revised to the newer settings. It's a simple calibration with starscan tool that bumps up the allowable current to the Tow circuit for the directionals, and 4-ways..etc other than that, 2006/07 are identical.

 

07 all the way it's a good price along with the warranty