I looked at a 03 GMC duramax, cc, duallly, 4x4, 32k on the clock. Somebody talk me out of this thing before I buy it on tues.I can get it for $25k, not to bad I guess, just mine is paid off, and I like no payments. But, the new one is NICE. Someone please help, otherwise my 97 will be setting with a for sale sign in her.

Jeremy

i almost did that once.......... keep the 97 and live it up

A set of injectors for a Dmax costs $3000. The Dmax is called something like Durabux to indicate that it is a pretty expensive beast.

It may be nice, and I might like it, but I won't buy one because it appears to be dangerously expensive.

Do you really need that one? Doesn't your '97 suit your needs anymore?

What if you make your sig come true and invest like $3000 into your '97? You would probably get much more for the money than the Dmax could give you.

You would still save like $23k on it. That's a lot of money.

What if the tranny on the Dmax fails? What does it cost to fix an Allison?

Otherwise, if you want something new, think about a Cummins.

When diesel hits $4.oo gallon after the next hurricane how much more will it cost you to drive that dually?

take your truck and have detailed, pretend its new and put money(expected payment) into savings and when saved up buy AMG block or maybe 6L85 when they become available(overdrive device). if you like your truck and it does what you want keep it.

buy it...thats a helluva deal for $25k....I'd say go for it...but its all up to you

Sounds like a deal and you would love the crap out of it till the first couple payments come, not to mention the higher insurance. If you do buy it don't sell your old one for about six months or so just in case you change your mind.
I sold my '04 GMC and dropped back to trucks I can actually own. I sure like the new ones but I don't regret selling the 04, especially on the 1st of every month.
Sounds like a good enough deal you'd be able to get your money back on the 03 though.
That's my .02

Aside from being rediculously overpriced, expensive to insure, repair and maintain, here's a Durabux story that was just related to me the other day....................

My buddy's neighbor runs a blacktop coating business with his brother.
They both decide what they needed were two new D-Max crewcabs for their business.
They bring home two loaded up trucks and all's well until one truck starts to really suck fuel. I mean REALLY SUCK FUEL!
Then it starts to leave puddles of fuel on the driveway.

They take it back to the dealer, which was several miles away, and by the time they got there, there was about
2" of raw diesel puddled in the front of the bed, and the entire undercarriage and tailgate was drenched with fuel.

Turns out, I was told, the fuel return lines are plastic, and to make matters worse, they run through the heads, and have been known to fail.
The crankcase was filling with return fuel and running out the front/rear seals, and anywhere else it could escape.
The aerodynamics under the truck carried it up into the bed.
Not something I'd want to shell out $25,000 for.
Besides, you already own one of the best trucks ever made!
(grin!) The '72! 67-72's rule!

Mike

BTW, the dealer fixed the line, changed the oil, and said drive it, you still have warranty. It'll be AWW-ITE!

They gotta come down lots more in price, and repair parts got to be lots cheaper for me to go get one at any price, other than being newer what advantage to YOU does it bring to the table, are you towing heavy, define heavy 1st, if willing to put in some work the 6.5 will pull plenty stong for you.

Been there done that....fixin to go there again. :rolleyes: Traded my(paidfor) 93 6.5 in on a Brand new 02 D-max. Great truck and loved it. Drove it a year and traded it for a cheaper house payment. :eek:

I love my 97 and will probably die in it someday. And its paid for. But I still miss my 93 sumthin fierce....

But dont listen to me...I am thinkin about buyin a 2003 crew cab.....and its not a Dmax.


Just remember...its only money........then you die.

I'm gonna be the jerk off here, If its an LT3 I would get it. A truck like that loaded up with that few miles in these parts would be fetching $30K+ with out even trying. Its only money, you;ll make more tomorrow:rolleyes:

I will be towing a skid loader with it a couple three days a week app 10000 lbs with trailer. This is rough on the 6.5 in the hills. Also, the baby seat will fit easier in the cc, where now, in the back seat of the 97, the front seat will not adjust enough to lock, not very comfortable or safe. If I am able to get 16 mpg, I will save about 1000 a year on fuel. I have continually put at least $1000-1500 per year in repairs on the 97, a warranty seems real nice. I thought sleeping on the idea would help, but I don't know. I Still will have the 72 stepside to play with either way ):h

Jeremy

buy it and don't look back. the increase in comfort, safety and reliability is well worth the cost. braking and handling are miles ahead of your 97 as is the power and overall load carrying/hauling ability. the convenience of getting your kid(s) in and out is icing on the cake.

got a 94, 2 96's, 2 '97s, a 98, 99, 01, 03, 04 and 05 working in hilly southern indiana (landscaping) and we always use the new ones for heavy hauls more than about 30 miles. the difference is huge.

you may not get much if any better fuel economy though.

matt

$20,000 (assumes $5,000 trade) at 7.5% interest has a 4 year payment of $483.58. That wil buy a lot of time to go a little slower up the hills.

the payments are what scares me. The truck would be paid off in 2 years, really only borrowing 9-11 grand, after dowm payment and sell my 97, but I don't have to wait on that, just have to pay myself back.

the increase in comfort, safety and reliability is well worth the cost. braking and handling are miles ahead of your 97 as is the power and overall load carrying/hauling ability.

Exactally. Safety is enough of a motive for me to buy a newer truck. Especially for someone with kids. The abs brakes on some of these 90's gm trucks are some of the worst i have ever used and really scare the crap outta me sometimes. Mine are unpluged. But nothing beats the newer systems. And believe me, that duramax is gonna be a heck of alot nicer than your 6.5 for towing a trailer that heavy that often...Just my opinion

yeah, with the help of you guys and my wife, I am going to talk to them tomorrow. We will see how it goes. I am going to Nashville Fri so it would be a good run to check it out.

Jeremy

one more thing, as referred to above, whats a LT3?
Jeremy

lt3 is a model you can get. it used to be like wt, ls, and lt but now its like lt1, lt2, lt3. theyre just supposed to be the loaded models. NOW GO BUY THAT DURAMAX. if you want to tow 10000# ALOT easier and get better fuel mileage while having a newer safer more reliable truck that is under warranty go get that thing and dont look back.

lt3 only pertains to 2006 model year trucks and up

$20,000 (assumes $5,000 trade) at 7.5% interest has a 4 year payment of $483.58. That wil buy a lot of time to go a little slower up the hills.

I understand what your saying, but I think that depends on what your time is really worth to you. If I have the time I can always make more money, however all the money in the world won't buy me any more time.

I am not saying this is justification to buy a duramax I think that decision needs to be made on more than just the time factor going up a hill. I can say I traded my 1996 in Feburary for a LBZ and I for one won't be going back. Its hard to even compare the two trucks. What was a load on the 6.5 feels like its not even there on the LBZ.

Just my .02 worth

I was just talking to one of my subs at work today. He's got an '05 dmax. He loves it. He says that it's got tons more power than the '03 that he had. (the 03 spent 14 weeks in the garage due to a bad wire harness that gm could not diagnose- caused the thing to stall then had related tranny problems). He also said that he gets 15 mpg. I get that in my paid for suburban.

Until fuel prices stabilize, I'm not shelling out big bucks for anything bigger than a vespa:rolleyes: .

Well I bought it (25,500). Previous owner is an engineer working for a suipplier to Duramax. Anal on maintance. I pick it up on Thurs. BTW it is a cc 4x4 dually 32k leather every option I can think of:ro) . Taking it to NAshville on Fri (2hr drive), so I will check mileage. Also, being involved with the duramax, he said the company is worried about the new one. GM has taken over the rights to the motor, and just turned up the computer to get the 60 horse added. Duramax is extremly worried about longevity. This truck is and has always been bone stock.

Jeremy

the added 60 horses shouldn't hurt the motor. It's 60 horses that's added to the peak hp. The engine isn't putting out peak power constantly. Longevity gets determined by the driver.

it also depends on exactly what Duramax's defination of longativity. is it 500k, 200K? what? Most people trade in less than 200K anyway so if the longativity was reduced from say 500K to 300K then I would rather have the power. Personally I think it all depends on how it is driven.

me too, I just thought it was interesting.

Jeremy

No, the 360HP (LBZ) version has better pistons, rods, block, heads, and a 6sp auto with manual shifting. It's not LB7 with a chip.

Congrats! I'm sure you'll love it. Don't expect to get incredible mileage in a 7800lb dually truck, and you won't be disappointed.