Which is better: low miles or newer vehicle

[ColoradoSooner]

First, thanks to everyone for your help on my previous post about the one ton that had 194,000 miles on it. Luckily, hubby decided that it was best to pass on it. Whew!

Now here's my next question...

We are considering two vehicles right now.

One is a 2012 Ford F350, 6.7L diesel with 103,000 miles on it. It was a lease. (Driven around 30k per year)

The other is a 2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD, LMZ Duramax with Allison transmission. One owner trade-in. Has 81,000 miles on it. (Driven less than 10k per year.)

Both have clean Carfaxes.

Both should do great at hauling our Passport Elite 23RB.

The 2012 is more expensive but not by a lot.

Thoughts?

[BirchyBoy]

This is something that I struggle with. Having bought two older vehicles in the past 2 years (1999 GMC Yukon with 163k miles, 2002 Chevy Blazer with 83k miles), I swear to myself that I won't do it again. They are nickel and dimeing me to death it seems. It's the little things that can add up quickly as well as the big things. Both of your prospects have good power trains, but it's the other bits (suspension/steering/etc.) that will probably need money.

Out of the two, I'd probably take the Ford. It has only slightly more mileage but is quite a bit newer. I'd spend time looking at potential repair costs for known issues with either, though.

[Seabee]

The '06 with the extremely low miles all day! It doesn't have all the emissions crap on it. Personal preference though.

[GMcKenzie]

The '06 with the extremely low miles all day! It doesn't have all the emissions crap on it. Personal preference though.

I agree with the above. The 06-07 are still the best Duramaxes (IMO).

Beyond that, I do worry about ex-leases. I know lots of people buy them and it works out, but I always worry that folks leasing don't take as much care as those who own their vehicles.

But either will do the job fine. It might come down to which you like sitting in best.

[Desert185]

I'd go with the Duramax, sez the guy with the 300,000 mile Dodge having no issues. "Emissions crap", for one thing, as Seabee says.

In little airplane flying we say if the engine has 400 hours on it, it will more than likely go to TBO (time between overhaul). Mileage or time isn't necessarily something to be afraid of. To quote an aviation engine guru, "Its not how hard you run your engine, its how you run it hard."

But like life as you reach retirement, you'll never know how successful you've been until you look back at your career. When you finally sell the truck is when you'll know if you made the right decision in buying it.

[cblong]

I used to have an 08 2500 and loved it but I kept hitting up against the capacity problem. as soon as I got a truck with more capacity I got a new camper to use it all up. I would get the newer 350 that way for now you have more than enough truck and when you start dreaming of new campers you can upgrade and not run out of capacity. ;)

[jsmith948]

Buy the Ford!!!!!:D

JMHO - but the Isuzu with lower mileage will probably work.

[Ken / Claudia]

Also find out the hours on each engine. The ford is just a push of the trip button and it shows hours. The GMC I do not know how to find them. If you can figure if the ford sat idling daily, not so good compared to been driven daily. Only one friend has a 6.7 ford in a f450. He is paid to transport horses, when on days off at the PD. His 2013 as of several weeks ago has 117,000 miles. Says it still is the best truck he has had to pull horse trailers.

[C130]

I'd say that the F350 with that many miles on a lease was definitely a corporate lease otherwise it would have cost a ton to lease it for the average owner. That can be good or bad but I'd want to know who leased it and I'd want to see the service records. I got a loaner truck from my Ford dealership a couple of years ago that was beaten to death and it was pretty new. I was told the guys bring their corporate trucks in for maintenance and take the loaners out to the oil fields, construction sights, or wherever and treat them the same way as their full time vehicles. The loaners were actually from a leasing company and the representative told me they charge them outrageous prices for all the damage they do but they don't care.

I'd want to know when/if the brakes were replaced, coolant flushed, transmission fluid changed. This alone could add up to a couple thousand dollars right off the beginning if needed. I recently traded my 2011 F250 in and it needed all of those items done within about 7000 miles and I doubt the dealer did it before selling it.

My point is I'd be very careful on a leased F350 and not buy it unless I knew the history. There are too many diesels that have been well taken care of with less miles for probably around the same price. As far as the emissions crap, I'll take my 6.7 any day over the non emissions trucks but I know they are great also. The Ford 7.3 is probably one of the best diesels ever made as far as durability. The 6.7 is extremely quiet, good gas mileage, no diesel smell, and tons of power. The 6.7 is a great engine as far as I'm concerned.

I'm still not a fan of buying newer model used diesels when you can buy a brand new one for $10,000-$12,000 more with a full warranty. I know that's still a lot of money but typically the interest rate is lower and you can even add a 100,000 mile warranty for around $2000.

[theeyres]

I would usually go with lower miles but 80,000 or 100,000 is not enough difference to consider. I'd keep looking. Lower miles, to me, would mean 40,000 or 50,000. If you plan to buy one of the two you are considering, then take the one you like the best...most comfortable, the stuff you want, etc. Ford, Chevy, GMC, nobody will ever win that argument.

[old timer]

I find it hard to buy a used vehicle. The reason is simple you never know what or how it was taken care of. I know folks dont have the money to buy a new truck but it's worth it in the end. I hope you chose the right truck and it gives you many more years of service

[bsmith0404]

The 06 Dmax was one of the best made. My dad used to buy a new truck every couple years. Went through an 02 and an 04 Dmax, but will not get rid of his 06. Isuzu has been building diesels engines since 1936 and has been building the Dmax engines since 1998. An 06 with low mileage was probably taken care of very well.

As far as the Ford, I'm not well versed with the different years/changes made. In 2010 they started building their own diesels in-house in conjunction with an Austrian company AVL. It's basically a consulting firm for the automotive industry that specializes in diesel engines. My understanding is the venture has been pretty successful.

As others have mentioned, I'd be leery of a leased diesel, especially a 3500, they went with a heavy duty truck for a reason and it wasn't highway driving.

The downside of the 06 is the payload on the older trucks, 2011 and newer have a great capacity.

If you're not worried about the lower payload, I'd buy the 06. If that is a concern, I'd keep shopping. You can find a lower mile used truck in any of the big three that was not a lease if you take your time and keep looking. Also, consider a DRW, in many areas you can find a nice used one a bit cheaper because the market for them is limited compared to SRW trucks.

[shov]

I am partial to the Duramax, as a current and previous owner. I also own an 2006 LBZ, for the same reason as mentioned above, no emissions crap. Many spend thousands of dollars to have it all removed to remove the problems that come with it. The 06 and early 07 Duramax are worth their weight in gold for resale and probably will be. Don't get me wrong, "if" I were going to trade up it would be for a brand GM, and suffer with any problems the emmissions add ons gave me until the warranty was up. A side note, maintenance history would be a critical factor in my decision as well... Good luck with your search