I'm considering buying a 2000 Ram 3500, Cummins , with a dump box for my landscaping business. It has 160000 kms on it and is clean, the guys asking $16000 CA. Does this sound like a fair price? I've heard that this truck is hard on brakes and has a weak front suspension, are these allegations true? Will this truck end up costing me a lot in repairs?
Thanks

 

16k sounds like a big price. The dump bed makes it more valuable, but fuel being 4bucks and higher there are a lot of trucks on the market for way cheaper and less miles. A dump bed on a 3500 or any dually is a strain on the front end unless it has a straight axle. As far as brakes go, its all the driver.

 

When did our dollar become so weak that the Canadian dollar has become 98% of it?

Honestly I don't think that's too bad. Not great, but if it's a standard, has a solid front axle then I would look around a little longer and compare it to a few that do not have the dump bed- just to compare regular vs. what you need. 160000km isn't that too high of milage- or would it be kilometerage?

 

Hey Scott

Thanks for replying so quickly. This truck has an automatic,,with 160,000 kilometers not miles, what do you mean if it's a standard? Do you feel a standard is better or worse? I will be towing a tandem trailer with lawn mowers on it. Not a lot of weight for that truck, in my opinion. You also said if it has a solid front axle, what do you mean? Did Dodge put different axles incertain models? Could you explain more what you meant? What do you think it's worth $ ?

Thanks

 

If it is a 4x4 it will have a solidfront axle and the it will look just like the rear axle. If it's a 2wd then itshould have the independent front end. The load you are talking about wouldn't be any trouble for this truck- mine doesn't even know my 21' pontoon is back there going down the highway.

I'm not a big fan of the Dodge auto tranny. I had to have mine rebuilt. I am sure part of it was because the previous owner abused it. I have also had 3 friends with Dodges that didn't make it passed 100,000 miles (160,000km) that had to have thiers rebuilt too. If you do buy it, have regular maintenance done on the tranny- it will help.

I looked on Kelly Blue Book (and used northern Illinois as my zip-code) for a 3500 in 2wd with 100,000 miles. Quab cab long bed with minimum options and they list it at $14,330 usd. Sothe price you havemay be a little high depending on what options the truck has.

Other than the auto trans these trucks kick butt and I couldn't imagine having a ford or chevy over one.


Hope this helps.

 

Hey Scott

Do you thinking putting heavy loads onto the truck itslelf be hard on the independent suspension.? When you say regular manitenance on the tranny, do you mean regular fluid changes, or is their something else you can do?If you can think of anything else that might helpme to decide to buy or not, it would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

well in my area,Quebec,Canada 2000 3500 4x4 still worth around 18-20k
whit a dump bed its even more nicer
they sell us theses truck new to 55K so they hold value

when i bough beasty in 2006 i paid 10K for it and received 3 20k offer for it in the same shape i received it
unmolested 2001 3500 where about 30k

 

for the heavy load on the truck it depends on load center...
mine is tipping scale at 9800lbs empty whit full gear and cargo im always overloaded

 

Actually look for the weak lift pump and easy to wipe out injection pumps... Then that year might have a KDP (Killer dowel pin).

As for brakes that's funny... I've got a exhaust brake at 120K miles I'm stil on my factory pads and still got 60% left. So by the time I change them I'll have a 1/4 of a million miles...

Weak front suspension... Not really... Just keep the trac bar lubed (greased up) you'll be fine... If you lift the truck or put larger tires on it will causes serious problems though... (Bearing failures, trac bar failures, etc.)

 

It doesn't have to be 4wd to have a solid front axle. Is it a cab n chassis or a regular 3500 that somebody ripped the bed off. If its the regular 3500 that somebody ripped the bed off, then it will have weak-ish independent front. Cab n chassis's have a beam type front axle. 00 will be a 24 valve, my personal truck is an 02 2500 4x4 with 109k miles, no problems except a gas cap, my service truck is an 01 3500 cab n chassis with 210k miles on it, towing heavy loads most of the time. To get an idea of how much this thing lugs around everyday, I roll through the scales at almost 13k lbs and thats if I dont have a trailer with a machine on it. the 3500 is the oldest truck in our fleet, and the only dodge. Their replacing our 6.0 litre Fords at 150k miles cause they wear out. There are no plans to replace the dodge yet.