should i buy this duramax?

[Snowdog]

looking to buy this 2007 duramax 3500 crew, long box. 180,000 km, body ok few dings and scratches on the cab, box good. Had an inspection done at Schwabe's Auto in Edmonton came back good, needs lower balls on the front, front tires, new windshield, nothing too major. Has 5400hr for the 180k.......seem pretty high....lots of idle time? is that a problem?

guy wants $20k firm

Appreciate AO members input

IMG_2417[1].jpg

[Bound2Fish]

Definately lots of idle time. What options does it come with? What condition is the interior in? Does it have anything aftermarket done to it? Was it previously chipped or any performance mods done?

[edmutv]

Does the seller have maint records? My 08 duramax crew cab SB has 250000 km and the hour meter is at 9999(oil patch loads of idle time) I run synthetic oils and changed engine every 5000 k and and do front to back lubricant changes every year. If seller has been good with proper maint then its a fair price I think

[YeeHaw]

personally I would hold off and check out the Mitchner Allan, Richie Brothers, or even the Osman auction sales. Yes you are takng a chance on them, but look at them well before bidding, and ask the driver questions before they drive them through the auction ring. You could probably find one with les hours, for less.

[Deer Hunter]

It has just come off its warranty at 160k but if all it needs is what you mentioned, it is a pretty good deal. The engine, transmission and rear end on these trucks generally dont have problems. Is this a fleet truck, company truck or his personal rig? Do you get the feeling that it had mostly hiway miles or is the underside destroyed from gravel and heavy use? I think the price is right anyways

[Bigwoodsman]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

looking to buy this 2007 duramax 3500 crew, long box. 180,000 km, body ok few dings and scratches on the cab, box good. Had an inspection done at Schwabe's Auto in Edmonton came back good, needs lower balls on the front, front tires, new windshield, nothing too major. Has 5400hr for the 180k.......seem pretty high....lots of idle time? is that a problem?

guy wants $20k firm

Appreciate AO members input

Attachment 55802

Nope too much money for the age, mileage and hours. If you got 20K to spend shop around, check out the auctions etc. You can stretch your dollars and find something better.
If you are set on this unit, then start at 12K no more then 13.5K IMHO.

BW

[Fordpilot83]

it looks nice. hours are about 1500 too high for the mileage. in my opinion if you can afford a 20,000 truck..ie, loan or lump sum. go put that on a new truck. no problems. 0 km and warranty. im sure its still a good truck but i would go newer.

[buckbrushoutdoors]

I'd say 3-4 thousand to high. That truck should be mint for that price and kms it has.

[JB_AOL]

idling = BAD...

Do the math, it's only averaged 33km/hr. Basically the motor will wear out ALOT faster than any other piece of drivetrain on the truck. Guess which is the most expensive piece.

IMHO, I'd go older. find a classic body style, there is alot out there with low miles and low hours. just have to look.

Don't ever buy an oilfield truck unless that is what you are using it for (or maybe a farm truck).

(I bet dealership offered him $13-15k on trade)

[Snowdog]

it's the LT trim, cloth in good shape. It is a lease return to a small leasing company, the owner was a finanace officer for Wilco const, he liked quadding and going camping in the bush, had a truck camper in it lots, he was good on maint but put a few dings and scratches in the body (according to lease agent/seller). My FIL has the same truck but the WT trim (power nothing) and the old body style and 1000 less hrs he was offered $19k at a dealer.

I go to the auctions all the time (my FIL bought his at mitchner, i bought my wife's old car there too) but for a diesel i like to have it on a hoist and drive it myself before i buy.

thanks for the input guys.

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

idling = BAD...

Do the math, it's only averaged 33km/hr. Basically the motor will wear out ALOT faster than any other piece of drivetrain on the truck. Guess which is the most expensive piece.

IMHO, I'd go older. find a classic body style, there is alot out there with low miles and low hours. just have to look.

Don't ever buy an oilfield truck unless that is what you are using it for (or maybe a farm truck).

(I bet dealership offered him $13-15k on trade)

Most people i talked to seem to think if the maint is done the engine in fine to idle lots, it the water pump, power steering pump, etc that wear out, i had Scwabe's chek them out.

[JB_AOL]

Yep, and that's their opinion.. Just like this is mine..

think about it.. The pistons/injectors are still pumping (sometimes at low idle but most times high idle), which causes wear. Compared to a low hours truck (all else equal), you can pretty much garuntee the high hours truck will be going through parts faster. but if the price is right (which I don't think this one is).

On another note..
Ask yourself why would a finance officer have high idling hours on a truck? Sounds like salesmen BS to me.

[silver]

I checked out black book, typed in the unit and they figure its worth about $22000. There are other books out there, may be worth checking out.

[dale7637]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

Most people i talked to seem to think if the maint is done the engine in fine to idle lots, it the water pump, power steering pump, etc that wear out, i had Scwabe's chek them out.

The problem with prolonged idling isn't so much the wear, it is usually more related to running cold in the winter. Most diesels idle in the cold, this the engine isn't working hard enough to run hot. This in turns causes glazin of the liners/rings and slobbering. I don't know much about the duramac, but I am assuming it uses a variable geometry turbo. I have seen vgt's stop working due to cold weather idling.

IMHO run, don't walk, away from this deal. I have been there and done that. It isn't cheap. If you do a search on here I had a thread a
Couple year back about a ford that had the same issues. It cost me a ton of cash and was not fun.

[huntin]

Nope you should buy my power stroke 2005 with 132000 k for less money and hardly ever idled.

[jeff5316]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

Most people i talked to seem to think if the maint is done the engine in fine to idle lots, it the water pump, power steering pump, etc that wear out, i had Scwabe's chek them out.

My friend had a 6.0L Ford diesel that he idled all the time but done all his scheduled maintenance according to the kms like listed in the book. Well the engine gave out around 55,000kms so he took it into Ford as he had lots of warranty left and receipts for all the maintenance. They turned the warranty down and refused to put an engine in his truck because even though he went by the book and kms for each oil change he was way over on engine hours from idling so much. So if you do decide to buy this truck make sure the guy went by hours not kms if he idled that much or even run it buy a dealers service manager to see if they will still give you engine warranty because my friend had to pay $16,000 i think it was for the new engine.

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by dale7637

but I am assuming it uses a variable geometry turbo. I have seen vgt's stop working due to cold weather idling.

.

Yes they do have a VGT turbo

[Full Curl Earl]

For a comparison, my 2005 has 2445 hrs and 286,000kms. When I bought mine 3 years ago it it had about 1450 hrs and 150,000 km I believe and I kind of thought that was to many hrs for the mileage. Mine is as strong today as ever and was Bully Dog chipped when I bought at a small tow company auction for $10,000. Did not know if it ran when purchases though.
Hope that helps provide a bit of info to make your decision. Oh yeah, it's fully loaded minus the sun roof.

[Muliemaster]

Originally Posted by huntin

Nope you should buy my power stroke 2005 with 132000 k for less money and hardly ever idled.

Ha! trick question. It's hardly idled because it hardly ran??

Originally Posted by Full Curl Earl

For a comparison, my 2005 has 2445 hrs and 286,000kms. When I bought mine 3 years ago it it had about 1450 hrs and 150,000 km I believe and I kind of thought that was to many hrs for the mileage. Mine is as strong today as ever and was Bully Dog chipped when I bought at a small tow company auction for $10,000. Did not know if it ran when purchases though.
Hope that helps provide a bit of info to make your decision. Oh yeah, it's fully loaded minus the sun roof.

I think your hours may be off or they've been changed/altered. 286k and 2445 hours equates to an average speed of 116.9km/h. Even the original purchase hours are high at 150000/1450hrs @ 103.4km/hr.

[Tundra Monkey]

My 06 is just over 143k and has 3450hrs on it.

I do have a fair bit of warm up time......dang cold in the winter up here and this daily driver sleeps outside without being plugged in (espar heater).

There is an aftermarket high idle installed as the factory doesn't get it done at -30 and colder.

[GlorifiedHabit]

I just bought an 07 2500 LTZwith 185K. Paid a bit more then that. The hour meter can be reset with a quick push of the check mark button so I wouldn't trust any trucks meter. Does this truck sound like it should? Check the fluids mostlikely with all that idling the DPF will be shot or not in good shape. Check the oil and sniff it for diesel fumes.. because of the DPF fuel can saturate the oil. Check the tranny fluid. If it smells burnt its on its way out. Get it up to temp and check the tranny temp. should be under 100. As far as price goes I dont think its that bad. Its a duramax and they seem to get a premium in truck land. You're buying a truck you can pile on the miles with good maintenence