LoL you know what? Come to think of it, the one I looked at had Laramie badges, and when I went and drove it, the first thing I noticed was that it was definitely not a Laramie. With the sliding rear window and obviously OEM carpet, I would bet it was an SLT, but the leather seats were obviously re-covered and not stock. The front end wandered, a lot, but for $21k it still seems like a great deal. Unfortunately, never having owned a diesel before, I don't have a reputable mechanic I can take it to to give it a thorough once-over. Still on the fence.

 

Post a link to the truck your looking at, let me take a look at it. Also, what is it you are wanting a diesel for?

 

Also, since the Dodges have a straight axle, they tend to have more front end issues than vehicles without. You certainly don't want to pay for a vehicle, get it financed, not have any kind of warranty, and then end up having to put it in the shop to get things fixed, like tie rods, ball joints, etc. Even if it seems like a good deal, if there's any leaks, the steering is too loose, anything other than cosmetic, I'd probably stay away from it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and know my way around a motor, which is the only reason why I bought the truck from them. I climbed in and out of the cab, sat in all the seats, looked underneath the dash, underneath the seats, under the truck from front to back, put my head inside the motor, put my hands on it, felt what I couldn't see, etc. I ended up with black dirty hands, haha, but I knew there were no leaks, the fluids were good, took a good long test drive on the freeway and on the side streets, and went back over it. If the truck hadn't been solid, and I didn't already know where they were lying about the truck, such as it being a Laramie when it was an SLT, and knew that I could fix cheaply what was wrong, I would have never bought the truck from them. The fact that they admitted they were trying to sell the truck as a Laramie but it wasn't, speaks volumes. Don't trust anything they say until you can verify it through other sources.

 

I know plenty about mechanics in general, and have always done all of my own work; I just don't have personal experience with diesel engines. I know they are expensive to maintain. I know they are impractical, and I'm well aware of the Dodge HD steering issues. I'm buying a CTD because I want one and because I can LoL

As far as the wandering goes, I figure a Red-Head gearbox, Borgeson steering shaft, Mopar '09 upgraded T-style steering linkage and a steering box stabilizer should take care of it. For $21k, it is by far the cheapest '08 CTD I have run across in months. If it needs $3k in steering work, I'd still come out thousands ahead. 2008 quad cab

I also found this 2008 Mega Cab that already has a DPF delete done, but also has 160k miles. That being said, my upper limit is $35k, so I'm thinking I might be getting something more in the 2012, under 100k mile range. 2012 Crew Cab.

 

Hell, if $35k is your limit for not much more you can get a NEW Tradesman CTD if you find a leftover 2014. When I bought, another dealership besides the one I bought at offered me a $48k stickered CTD Tradesman 4x4 with optional steps, rear camera and a few other items for $38k. Problem with them was they only had Tradesmen or Laramies. The former not having enough "creature comforts" for my tastes but the latter being too rich for my blood.


I know with the 2015s looming to come in ANY dealer would be hot to move a 2014 right now. $12k off a new one would probably be do-able...

 

That's the exact issue I'm running into, both new and used. There are the 200+k mile ST and Tradesmen models, that are far too worn for me to ever consider, and new, they don't offer the options I want. Then there are the immaculate and babied Laramies with pretty decent miles that look like they just rolled off the lot, but they want $40-45k minimum for them. I'm not looking to spend that kind of money on a truck. I've seen maybe two SLT 4x4s in the month I've been searching thus far. It's very frustrating.

Edit:
Also, I'm not interested in any diesel truck with a DEF system, so that eliminates any CTD newer than 2012. The DPF is bad enough, but is defeat-able.

 

Diesels arent really impractical as people make them but depends how your gonna use it. I switched to a diesel from a dakota because I needed more room,tow capacity and better mpg. I did the math and actually saved more money driving a diesel than I do my dakota. 11mpg vs 17mpg city and 20-22 highway vs 16mpg highway with my dakota. Also def didnt start in the 3/4 and 1 tons tills 2014. My uncle has it on his truck and he absolutely hates it.

 

I've got no problem with the DEF system as it does what it does in the exhaust chamber and aside from being parts that can break down don't do anything to lessen the life of the engine.

My problem is with EGR and DPF which IMO does harm to the engine over time. I'll be wrestling with whether to delete or not from the time they come out with deletes for 2014s right up until my 120 month/120,000 mile bumper to bumper expires.

If I was forced to pick one emission system to keep to make the tree huggers happy, I'd take the DEF and buy the fluid for the lousy $20 at the pump to fill it every 10,000 miles over EGR and DPF. Although it would be cool to use that built in tank and injector delivery system and turn in into a ready made water/methanol system. Don't think that thought hasn't crossed my mind...

 

I'm boycotting DEF on principle. DPF and EGR are definitely bad for the engine, and will be deleted by me under all circumstances if I don't buy it that way. The price for the tuners required to do these deletes has more than doubled since 2010, which sucks. Does DEF make sense on a Mercedes E350? Sure. Keep that **** off my trucks though! The government is not going to tell me how much (many?) emissions my vehicle is allowed to emit.

 

My uncle hates it for the reason at 2 am he ran out in the middle of bfe and was in limp mode.. Only walmarts and auto stores carry def. We dont have it at the pumps.. Ill love my old second gen. No emissions crap at all and still gets better mpg than the new diesels do. Granted the engine is loud and the interior features are limited but its a small price to pay. I've worked on one 6.7 and its a total pain in the butt so many more components and things are crammed in there. I love my engine bay being clean, not all cluttered and plastic looking