Im looking at a 2000 3500 diesel with an auto 4x4 is there any common problems with these models? what should I look for? hes only asking $8000 so it sounds a little fishy
thanks Trash

 

First question that comes to my mind is how many miles? The next thing I'm wondering is how may owners the truck has had. If it has had multiple owners, it is much harder to know what was done to the truck, as far as repair work and maintenance, which you want to know as much as possible. The other thing you want to know for sure is does the truck have a chip or programer, or did it ever have one. I don't think I would buy a truck that ever had either one.

The obvious weak link in those truck is the automatic transmission. If the tranny was never rebuilt or upgraded, plan on doing so sooner or later. Other things to look for are your front end; tie rod ends, u-joints, ball joints, brakes, all the normal wear items that need to be replaced every now and then. Also any oil leaks or drips. Just the obvious visual appearance of the truck on the outside and interior will tell you a lot.

My two cents.

 

also look up under the truck...is the frame rusty? is there a lot of visual rust in general? take a peek under the seats and look for mud or rust, could be an indication of a previously flooded vehicle. here's what i normally do when looking at any vehicle. as far as dodge ram 3500 specifically, the above post pretty much covers it all.

first I do a slow takeoff and drive like grandpa to make sure it shifts smooth under slow conditions....and then i take my hands off the wheel (keep 'em close tho) and slam on the brakes (make sure nobody's behind me). If the wheel pulls either way then the front brakes (or something worse) need replaced. After I stop, I hammer down on it and see how much power it has and if it shifts smoothly and correctly. if its a 4wd i'll put it in 4wd and go forward in a serpentine fashion....then i'll put it in reverse and do the serpentine maneuver. if you can feel the "push-pull" of the 4 wheel drive you're good. if you hear any weird noises, that's bad.

next thing i do is run it hard for awhile and make sure it doesnt overheat. then i pop the hood and look around, smell around a bit and see what everything looks like under the hood. if its all rusty under the hood it means the truck hasn't been well maintained (except the exhaust, those will normally rust after a good while).

make sure the paint all over the truck matches up perfectly....if one part of the truck's paint looks newer than others its a sign of a previous crash, or simply could've been a scratch but always assume the worst.

if it has a turbo, make sure it works. i test drove a truck that had a turbo but i never heard it and definitely didn't feel it.

look up under the dash for any loose wires or any indication that any factory wires have been cut or modified.

now comes the front end test....find an empty parking lot with no cops around, lol. get going up to about 25-30 mph and jerk the steering wheel sharply back and forth, make sure it doesn't make any weird noises.

make sure there aren't any vibrations while driving. if the dealer claims a vibration or a wobble is a wheel out of balance, make them balance it and drive it again.

another important thing to check no matter what the weather (i tortured a dealer with this one when it was 90 degrees out) is to make sure that the heat and a/c work....so turn the heater on for about 2-3 minutes and make sure it blows hot....then switch to a/c and make sure it blows cold....keep the a/c on for about 15 mins to make sure it's not like mine and goes out after about 5 mins then, u have to turn it off for awhile and then back on.

if it's a private seller, ask him/her why they're selling it and if they've had any problems out of it. if you're lucky they'll tell the truth. if you're a good judge of character you can tell if they're lying. if they break eye contact or scratch their nose during the story of why they're selling it, its a scientifically proven fact of lying. but, theres always the chance something shiny caught their eye or a bug flew up their nose lol.

long story short....run the truck through the wringer til you're satisfied that its a mechanically sound truck. then shell out the $$$.