Topic: Need advice on buying used truck

[aaronk]

My FIL drives an '03 Silverado Z71 with nearly 400K on the clock. It's a little loose but still looks good with next to no rust. Original motor, tranny and major components. I believe it has the 5.3L V8 and the Z71 came equipped with a tow package. It's a sturdy truck and at nearly half a million kilometers that's no small feat. I would imagine you could pick up a good GM truck around this model year for $10K with much lower mileage.

It might be worth your while to check out the North Toronto Auction. I see quite a few pickups and HD's show up on there in the public auction and you might get a good price on a tough work machine.

[airbalancer]

My FIL drives an '03 Silverado Z71 with nearly 400K on the clock. It's a little loose but still looks good with next to no rust. Original motor, tranny and major components. I believe it has the 5.3L V8 and the Z71 came equipped with a tow package. It's a sturdy truck and at nearly half a million kilometers that's no small feat. I would imagine you could pick up a good GM truck around this model year for $10K with much lower mileage.

It might be worth your while to check out the North Toronto Auction. I see quite a few pickups and HD's show up on there in the public auction and you might get a good price on a tough work machine.

One with 220,000 is only worth $3000 as a trade,

[aaronk]

It looks sorta like this:

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Chevrolet/Silverado%201500%20Pickup/TORONTO/Ontario/5_10335467_ON20080204114235640/?ms=trucks_vans

[airbalancer]

Mine  has the buckets and auto 4 wheel drive which that one does not have

[initial_D]

It looks sorta like this:

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Chevrolet/Silverado%201500%20Pickup/TORONTO/Ontario/5_10335467_ON20080204114235640/?ms=trucks_vans

The price on that is a bit on the high side.

[johngenx]

My neighbour has four-door F350 that has never towed anything and never had anything in the bed larger or heavier than the Costco TP pack.  Lots of trucks like that in Alberta, but thanks to virtually no wear and tear, prices tend to be high.  That said, they are still priced well below the bloated prices of a new truck and are like new.

There seems to be some serious cash on the hoods of new trucks right now, so that might be an option, or at least a bargaining chip when shopping used.

[Breeze-E]

Wow prices over here on the west coast seem to be much higher.

[jamie1]

Wow prices over here on the west coast seem to be much higher.

Thats because vehicles on the west coast live in pretty much the ideal climate. Eastern Canada uses buckets of salt on the roads. The prairies deal with bitterly cold temps and sand/gravel on the roads. Ontario and Quebec also have a much higher percentage of used vehicles for sale.

[jeeper]

I would buy a Tacoma/Tundra - they're known to be reliable and last forever

[siutiapik]

I'm considering four used trucks. I've never owned a truck before. Conditions the truck will be used in:

- towing a boat short distances and launching into salt water.
- extreme cold winters (-20 to -40).

I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts on the trucks I am considering from a used car sales lot.

Top two choices are:

2003 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 4X4 EXT CAB 5.3 V8 SHORT BOX ALL Extended Cab (charcoal) - Doesn't look like is has a hitch.

2000 Toyota Tundra SR5 4X4 EXT CAB 4.7 V8 Extended Cab (white, warning about white trucks noted) - Marks on the bumper near the ball indicate it has been used to tow. 

Also looking at:

2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SL REG CAB 4X4 4.7 HEMI LONG BOX FOG LAMPS Regular Cab (black) I prefer the above because they are extended cabs but if this Dodge is the better truck then I would rather go with this one. Has a ball, guessing its been used to tow.

2006 Ford F-250 XLT FX4 4X4 EXT CAB SHORT BOX 5.4 V8 Extended Cab (white) - has a hitch receiver.

They all have about the same mileage 155-180 KM and are for sale from the same dealership who seem to deal a lot of trucks, Canadian Auto Sales.

Asking price for the first three are all 9 995 the F-250 is listed for 13 995.

I'm not in the same location as the trucks and cannot be in the same location so I can't test drive and am relying a lot on the reputations of the year/make/model.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I'm considering four used trucks. I've never owned a truck before. Conditions the truck will be used in:

- towing a boat short distances and launching into salt water.
- extreme cold winters (-20 to -40).

I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts on the trucks I am considering from a used car sales lot.

Top two choices are:

2003 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 4X4 EXT CAB 5.3 V8 SHORT BOX ALL Extended Cab (charcoal) - Doesn't look like is has a hitch.

2000 Toyota Tundra SR5 4X4 EXT CAB 4.7 V8 Extended Cab (white, warning about white trucks noted) - Marks on the bumper near the ball indicate it has been used to tow. 

Also looking at:

2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SL REG CAB 4X4 4.7 HEMI LONG BOX FOG LAMPS Regular Cab (black) I prefer the above because they are extended cabs but if this Dodge is the better truck then I would rather go with this one. Has a ball, guessing its been used to tow.

2006 Ford F-250 XLT FX4 4X4 EXT CAB SHORT BOX 5.4 V8 Extended Cab (white) - has a hitch receiver.

They all have about the same mileage 155-180 KM and are for sale from the same dealership who seem to deal a lot of trucks, Canadian Auto Sales.

Asking price for the first three are all 9 995 the F-250 is listed for 13 995.

I'm not in the same location as the trucks and cannot be in the same location so I can't test drive and am relying a lot on the reputations of the year/make/model.

The Tundra has had issues with the frame rusting out. So look that over carefully, especially since you're near the coast. If it has a pile of undercoating on the frame, it might have been applied to conceal a problem.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/24/toyota-extends-tundra-rust-recall-to-include-2000-03-models-tot/

Otherwise they were pretty reliable.

The others are more a matter of preference than anything else. Check the ratings on Consumer Reports, but they are pretty similar for the Ford Chev and Dodge for those years.

[rrocket]

The Tundra has had issues with the frame rusting out. So look that over carefully, especially since you're near the coast. If it has a pile of undercoating on the frame, it might have been applied to conceal a problem.

No..the Tundra had issues with the rear cross member rusting, which could cause the spare tire support to come loose.  Hardly the same as a frame rusting out.   

FWIW, the Tundra has the fewest safety recalls of all the vehicles he's looking at.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The Tundra has had issues with the frame rusting out. So look that over carefully, especially since you're near the coast. If it has a pile of undercoating on the frame, it might have been applied to conceal a problem.

No..the Tundra had issues with the rear cross member rusting, which could cause the spare tire support to come loose.  Hardly the same as a frame rusting out.   

FWIW, the Tundra has the fewest safety recalls of all the vehicles he's looking at.

From the Toyota press release:

Certain 2000 through 2003 model year Tundra vehicles operated in cold climate areas with high road salt use, may exhibit excessive corrosion on the frame rear cross-member. In the worst case, the spare tire stowed under the truck bed may become separated from the rear cross-member. Spare tire separation will create a road hazard for following vehicles and increase the likelihood of a crash.

The cross member being part of the frame.

They also say this in the same press release:

In those relatively rare cases where the rear cross-member is significantly corroded and can no longer safely support the spare tire, but the rear cross-member cannot be replaced due to excessive frame corrosion at the mounting location (e.g., if the side rails are too damaged), Toyota will develop an appropriate remedy for those vehicles on a case-by-case basis.


All I'm saying is that the frame should be looked at for signs of corrosion. They were pretty good trucks otherwise and a more sensible size than the current Tundra.

[siutiapik]

Thanks guys. We don't use salt on our roads, but it is inevitable that the truck will be exposed to some salt water even if it might be a couple dozen times between July-September. From comments about white trucks and the pictures that indicate the Tundra has seen some hard miles I'm leaning towards the GMC. Is there a site where I could look up a vehicles history for any potential accidents?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

https://www.carproof.com/home.aspx

[maritime_storm]

The Tundra suffers from the frame same issues the Tacoma does, the newest one I've seen replaced was on a 2007 Tundra, so far.

[airbalancer]

They must be make a load of money on the trades
2003 GMC , you are lucky to get 4gs on a trade in, for an 03 gm watch out for window problems, heater blow, smaii but pain in the ass if they go
check out http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?s=a74e87784b62fcf1c322ef5dca5b521d&
which local indy mechainic do you have there? ask them which make is easiest to get parts

If you can price out some new trucks, large rebates out there, up to 14gs