diesel or gasser

Retterath

Veteran member
Dec 24, 2013
1,440
1
South Dakota
I will be getting a used duramax but my question is how many miles is to much? I know they go for many miles but you will hear on some gas vehicles that after they hit 100K they start to nickel and dime you on repairs or that's when the little things start to go wrong. What should I look for when it comes to mileage?
 

Colorado Cowboy

Super Moderator
Jun 8, 2011
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Dolores, Colorado
The lower the mileage, the more you are going to pay. I would look for something around 50k miles if you can. The 2013 F350 I bought has 32k miles on it. I have a great relationship with our local Ford dealership, I know the GM very well(hunt with him some) and told him what I was looking for. When this truck came in, he called me and I went down and bought it within 15 mins. A local business owner traded it in. He buys a new truck every 2 years. The local dealership is the only one working on it, so the service history was there.
 

Matthoek21

Veteran member
Mar 18, 2011
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Peachtree City, GA.
I wouldnt be afraid to go to even 100,000...especially on a duramax. I put that on my trucks in 3 years. I feel the newer they are with that many miles tells you they were driven on the interstate. Interstate miles are not that bad. I've got 200,000+ on several trucks before selling and had no major problems before I sold them. They seriously were like brand new.
 

packmule

Veteran member
Jun 21, 2011
2,433
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TX
I will be getting a used duramax but my question is how many miles is to much? I know they go for many miles but you will hear on some gas vehicles that after they hit 100K they start to nickel and dime you on repairs or that's when the little things start to go wrong. What should I look for when it comes to mileage?
Depends on the driver. I babied my daily driver I let go of. The problem you'll run into with that is it sold for only about $4k less than factory invoice at 4 years old.
 

MtnBuck

Member
Apr 4, 2016
135
0
Aurora, Colorado
I will be getting a used duramax but my question is how many miles is to much? I know they go for many miles but you will hear on some gas vehicles that after they hit 100K they start to nickel and dime you on repairs or that's when the little things start to go wrong. What should I look for when it comes to mileage?
It depends on whether they had all the maintenance completed on time. If there are no receipts then it didn't happen as far as I'm concerned. You can also run by the dealer and have them print out the entire history.
 

Retterath

Veteran member
Dec 24, 2013
1,440
1
South Dakota
What are your yearly checks on your diesel to keep it up and running and in good shape? Your basic oil change fuel filter? What are you guys doing for maint every year?
 

Colorado Cowboy

Super Moderator
Jun 8, 2011
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Dolores, Colorado
Basically oil/filter change (6/7K miles), fuel filters (usually annually), coolant change/flush (semi annual), Tranny service (35 to 40K miles). Most of the costs are close to what a gas engine requires, just has a lot more oil capacity, from 12 to 15 qts depending on engine.

I also buy my fuel at a location that sells lots of fuel, truck stops or large service stations. Other than Mexico where fuel quality can be pretty bad at times, the only time I got any bad fuel was in a small country store with fuel pumps in a really rural spot in Wyoming when my 1998 Super Duty was almost new. Water/dirt in fuel....ruined a couple of injectors.
 
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JimP

Administrator
Mar 28, 2016
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Gypsum, Co
Really for a diesel that is about it. They are a very simple engine except for any of them that are computer controlled which are just about all of them now. There are quite a few sensors that will tell you when something is going wrong even before you notice it yourself. You just need a code reader to figure it out. I am not sure about Chevies and Dodge but the Fords take a scanner that is capable of reading their codes and not all of them will do it.