I'm looking at buying a 2003 quadcab 2500 diesel with manual trans. It has 120,000 km or 74,000 miles. The guy used it to pull a 26ft camper trailer, looks in mint condition. Asking $19,999 Canadian.

However I have seen a lot of posts on here about rusting issues with the fenders. I didn't see any rust, mind you it has that chrome finishing strip that goes on the outside of the fender. I did see in front of the rear tire where the body bends to form a small 2 inch ledge as it ends to form the wheel well, some small rusting there but assume that is from it being completely exposed to rocks etc that the tire can throw at it. I'll look under the fender to see if rusting has started on the inside where guys say there is a lip that holds dirt and grime.

Like I said truck looks mint, obviously been taken care of up to this point with those few miles on it. What do guys think about the rusting, are there good fender inserts that can prevent, and is $19,999 reasonable.

 

I think the fender rust issues were with pre-2006 the Dodge Ram 1500. It was a design flaw that caused the rust to start from the interior and work it way out to the exterior. In 2006 the Dodge Ram 1500 used hydroformed frame, which fixed this issue as far as I know.

The 2003 - 2009 Generation of Dodge Ram 2500/3500 has a more muscular chassis and has hydroformed frame.

I think you don't have to worry about that particular design flaw, but you obviously should check for rust anyhow.