Thanks for all the tips guys!!! I may look for a lower mile truck. Anyone want to buy my Silverado LOL!!!!!

 

I have the exact same truck but mine is an 05. Love it!!!!!! Bought it about 6 months ago and have no complaints. Mine has 170000 kilometers or 110000 miles and works great. Just for a comparison, I paid 11500 in Canada and have seen them as high as 17000 around here for the same rig with a few less kilometers I might add but..... I recommend it. I had a Z71 before and there is no comparison. Dodge makes a truck!!! Some say the Z71's are better on fuel but I get 15 mpg around town and 19 on the highway. When I first bought the truck it was terrible on gas...11.5 mpg. I pulled the air filter and I think it was the original, man it was dirty. After seeing that I decided to do a full tune- up with all the suggestions on this site and what a difference. Koodos to everyone on DF. So if you do buy it, spend a few bucks and do a tune. Good luck and you wont be disappointed! PS.... I have to update my avatar...thats my old Dakota

 

If you are looking at a truck with 136k miles on it and expect 5-6 years of fairly trouble free use and you are not looking at a diesel, you are going to be sadly disappointed. I don't care if you are looking at a Dodge (best engines, worst trannies on the planet, btw), a Chevy, Furd or 'Yota...

Oh and btw, $10k for that truck is way over priced. A boy in town here bought an '05 Hemi 4x4 Laramie QCSB with 61k miles on it off the local dealer lot for $10,800 earlier this week. Ain't no way you should be paying $10k for an older one with more than double the mileage...

 

No truck is worth falling in love with, THey all kick you in the pocket book now and than.

I drive GM as part of my job and I own a 06 2500 Ram. I will never ever own a dodge with a automatic and a 1500 truck in any brand is just not a truck a 2500 is.

If you want a hemi, change the spark plugs on one, the 4.7 and 5.3 vortecks are a walk in the park, compared to the hemi.

Dodge 1500 Rams have better ground clearance than a GM, I don't even try 4wd, even in a 2500 Gm truck GM trucks ride to low to use off road.

I don't see a real advantage in day to day driving with the 5.3 or the 5.7, all thow I'm found of the hemi, booth can somke the tires and rob you when you gas up.

Thier is no real advantage or disadvantage betwean the two trucks, But in my bassied opion, I prfer the GM automatic over a Dodge, prefer the ride height of a dodge.

 

If your GM has low miles then keep it.

 

I would look at 04 and up. 03 models are not fully supported anymore by the various tuners. IMHO, the mileage /price are a little high. There are some very sweet deals out there if you take your time looking. I have had my 03 since new and still love it, but if your chevy is doing good, hang onto it until something really special pops up at a give away price.

 

Exactly hold on to your chev and you pockets will reward you especially if the chev is low mileage meaning that you have room to run up the odometer over the next few years.

 

Having driven Chevy exclusively for more than 20 years. I hear where you're coming from. For years, I loved the fact that one spare oil filter, gasket set, or just about what ever kept in the garage could serve as a backup for my new truck, the old truck, the Vette, or my Dad's boat. All had 350 small blocks. It's not quite the same any more though. Now all of the builders have to fiddle with everything from year to year and drive up the cost of life time support, all so they can sell you a new car every few years in the name of 1/2 mile per gallon increase in fuel economy. Seriously, what happen to design a good engine and run it for 20 years? Anyway...

Wife got an 07 Charger RT new and I loved the Hemi, so much so that I now drive an 06 Ram 1500 4x4 Quad-Cab. Now I have a spare filter for my three Chevy's and one for our two Hemi's. Old stuff, I'm still Chevy. Anything made in the last few years, I'm Dodge all the way now.

For reference on price, I picked up my 06 in Aug 08 with 10k miles on the clock for 15,800. End of the month, when the economy was in the crapper, and I could seal the deal that night.

Now that I'm all out of breath, if your Z71 has decent mileage and is getting closed to paid off, I'd say keep it for now. If you're starting a family, it's gonna get Lord only knows what spilt in it, rubbed on it, and loaded in it. Keep the truck until the kids are old enough to understand it's not okay to wet their britches, then get a new truck.

 

Look at an 06-08. The 5-speed auto is not the most efficient as far as power to the wheels is concerned, but are pretty reliable. The older 4 speed autos were known to fail early. i don't think you will be disappointed with a late model Ram. The Hemi is an awesome powerplant!!

 

I was a huge GM fan, my dad always drove a chevy truck. then they screwed me on warranty work, left me with my car in pieces and a bill. Now my father and I both drive Rams and I will never buy GM again