Well, I drove out to Marietta Ohio today to look at the truck I had mentioned in my other post.

The truck was a real 50-footer. Looks good in pics, but up close it is covered in scratches & dings, the front & rear bumpers were both slightly pushed in at the corners. Really, scratches, dings and the like aren't a HUGE deal, I'm not expecting something perfect. It also had a receiver in the bed for a ball.

However, I have to say it was not quite what I expected. These were the major problems-

1. The guy who runs the place came out to talk to me personally (since I e-mailed them and called). As soon as we started talking about the truck, he told me that it would need ball joints, tie rod ends, and a track bar. I took the truck out and drove it and the steering was really sloppy and it wandered all over the road. I had my friend turn the steering wheel while I looked under the front end and the track bar is definitely shot. Tie rod ends looked suspicious but I couldn't tell if they were bad or not. I don't know about the ball joints, but the driver's side ones had been replaced at some point as they had Zerk fittings on them.

2. The bottom of the driver's side door was completely rusted out. I mean the metal was paper thin across most of the bottom of the door, and it wasn't just the outer door skin that was rusted out, the inside was too. Looks to me like you'd have to replace the door to fix it.

3. Rust bubbles over wheel opening on driver's side of bed.

3. Big tear in the side of the driver's seat.

4. Other small miscellaneous problems like the hood didn't pop up when you pulled the release, I'm not sure the emergency brake worked right, there was a small spiderweb crack in the passenger side of the windshield, etc.

5. And the biggest problem of all- Guy told me the absolute minimum he would take for the truck is $12,700. NADA "clean" retail value for the truck is $12,775.

At this point, I'm pretty doubtful. Should I just move on?

Overall, the guy seems to think the truck is made of gold, I'm thinking it's more of a gold plated turd. I was pretty put off by the guy's attitude and I'm really wondering if he'll ever sell the thing. He was pretty much acting like it was no big thing to have to drop $500 or more on the truck right off the bat just to make it roadworthy.


However, I must admit...this was the first diesel I've driven with a manual transmission. Taking that truck out, rowing the gears....oh, it was heaven (aside from the crappy shifter that made it hard to find gears sometimes) Now I'm REALLY jonesing for a diesel with a stick and I sure would like to find another 12 valve with a stick. The truck was pretty comfortable, rode pretty well, drove nicely, great torque. If only the guy selling it wasn't retarded.

 

my opinion is that if you like anything at all about the truck, and are willing to take it as a project, then come up with a $ number that YOU are comfortable with. offer that and then move on. i wouldn't think that $ number would be anywhere near 12. something more like 12 - frontend - seat - bodyandpaint = ? sorry, i'm not a diesel guy so i don't know what that number is. but don't pay a ton of money for a worn out truck.

 

If you do the math on this one it will be an easy decision. The interest rate on a 98 model truck is gonna be 10% or better, lets say you borrow the money on it and dont pay cash, your payment is gooa be near 300 bucks a month not including all the repairs you said needed to be done to the truck. after its all said and done your goona have 18 to 20k invested in a 98model truck. get a calculator out and it will add up quick. Do yourself a favor and go out and buy one that is a couple of years old with low miles and you will save major bucks in the long run. I had to learn all this the hard way. Anyway thats my opinion, Good luck whichever way you go.

 

www.trucksunlimitedincorp.com
Check these guys out.

 

OK there's a reason I'm looking at older trucks...$300 a month is about what I can afford. Yeah, newer trucks are great and all but I really can't afford a $400+ per month truck payment right now. With the loan I have, I have the same interest rate on everything 2003 and older (9.7%)

Diesel trucks that are 6 years old right now are running $20,000 or more. Ones that are a "couple years old" are still in the near-$30,000 price range. I can't afford that.

 

Here's a real good dealer.
My buddy bought a truck from them.
and it's in ohio
www.magnamtruck.com

I'm not trying to steer ya just tryin to help.

 

Ghunt, I understand the cash issue very well. But Im telling ya, A worn out CTD is the last thing you want if money is tight. I love these trucks as much as anybody, But if something breaks it gets exspensive in a hurry. just be patient and a good CTD will come along in due time.

 

Well, it's not the engine thats worn out on that truck, just everything else, from the looks of it...

 

ghunt81 if you got a bad feelin about it , don't buy it.
If you are getting bad vibes from the dealer and from the truck , walk away.
If that dealer wants to sell it he'll drop the price or offer to do some of the repair work for free.
My advise is shop the internet and buy a auto trader.
I wish ya the best of luck bud.

 

As much as I like early 98 12 Valves, I would WALK AWAY from that one. Keep looking, try "Auto Trader", also a 1997 CTD will be a great truck, you just need to move the seat to get to the rear seats if it is an extended/quad cab. IF I WANTED A PROJECT TRUCK, I would offer him $8,000 when he says no, walk out. If he tries to compromise DON'T go over $8,500. The truck your looking at will take a lot of time and money to make a good truck out of it. I am especially worried about the door. I have NEVER seen a door on a Dodge CTD truck that looks like the one you are talking about. Something's not right. With the front end suspension being as bad as you describe, I would expect the truck has been poorly maintained.

Ralph