Factory Warranty or better MPG?

[Weetabix]

Laconic.

[Precision]

I just went through this same question with my father.

My parents were very seriously looking at a 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 with the 6.7l Diesel and 2+ years of warranty. After much research and some gnashing of teeth, they chose to buy a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 with the 5.9L and no warranty.

Several Huge reasons.
the 5.9 has a HUGE history of not being shit
the 5.9 has no tattletale
The saved several thousand which would more than pay for the difference in any likely repairs.
No oil generation issues
No active regeneration

In my opinion, your case is more than a choice between mpg or warranty. The factory setup is KNOWN to cause increased wear, increased likelihood of long term issues. The PDF is know to completely KILL your engine with damn little warning, thus leaving you DOA in a random location with a random payload etc.

I did read of one owner who took out that filter and pressure washed it every 10K miles (with every fuel filter change) to avoid said situation. Others claimed BS, but...

As I understand it, each active regeneration cycle consumes 6-8 gallons of fuel AND pushes a pint to a quart of fuel past the rings and into the oil. This plays hell on oil viscosity, greatly decreases oil life, greatly increases wear cycle unless you short cycle oil changes and could blow out seals if your oil quantity grows too much. All of this goes away with EGR and PDF deletion. However if your locality checks for emissions the fine is quite steep.

In about 2 years I will be facing the same question. I think I will be buying a well maintained 5.9L as I can't afford new and I don't want to deal with the PDF issues. If I end up with a 6.7 it will be post warranty and I will IMMEDIATELY chip and delete.

I like the Smarty chip fwiw.

[JAG2955]

Yeah, I've been looking at the Smarty, based on Chris's recommendation in my previous thread. Precision, what if you had to buy new? Would you lose the warranty for the gains?

I wish that the used car market hadn't been shit in my locale. I would have loved to save some cash by buying a used one, and it looks like it would have benefited even more by having the 5.9 vice the 6.7.

Now I just suppose that I should figure out how much a complete rebuild of the engine and transmission would be, and base my savings off of that.

[Precision]

Yeah, I've been looking at the Smarty, based on Chris's recommendation in my previous thread. Precision, what if you had to buy new? Would you lose the warranty for the gains?

I wish that the used car market hadn't been shit in my locale. I would have loved to save some cash by buying a used one, and it looks like it would have benefited even more by having the 5.9 vice the 6.7.

Now I just suppose that I should figure out how much a complete rebuild of the engine and transmission would be, and base my savings off of that.

If I could afford to buy new. I really think I would go through the break in period of 15-20k miles and see if anything goes sideways and deal with the stupid. Then if I had no significant issues, I would do the deletes and chip it while setting up an automated savings program from my checking acct. to offset cash needs for loss of warranty.

In reality, next time I would go here and buy a used truck. Dad's truck is our second one from here.

http://www.gibsontruckworld.com/

They have fabulous trucks. They ONLY sell trucks and all trucks are checked and repaired before being available for sale. Check them out. People come from out of state every day to buy from them.

[HTRN]

I wish that the used car market hadn't been shit in my locale.

The "gently used"(IE cars 2-3 years old) market has basicallly had prices skyrocket - everybody blames Cash for Clunkers, but they only destroyed much older cars, generally, and the amount they crushed wouldn't have made such a large impact. The real reason is the credit crunch - people that used to be able to afford to lease a new car every coupla years can't get the loans anymore, so now they're buying cars that have been previously leased.. This affects both supply(they're not generating as many cars for after lease sales) and demand. Considering that they're was a huge glut of after lease cars before this started, the change has been very dramatic.

[blackeagle603]

Yeah, the cost of new diesels is so high now I'm seeing older ones appreciate significantly. I paid about the same for my first house in '86 San Diego as what a 4x4 extra cab King Ranch powerstroke sells for now.

The local market for my '02 diesel Excursion in 2008-9 was dipping under $10K toward 8-9k. Now I see similiar condition and mileage north of 13K. Some of that is the market for the 7.3L. Our family is growing up and going out so a truck would probably make more sense for us but crikey, the prices!

Looking at that GibsonTruckWorld site. I think I'm in love.

Stock #: 35206
Engine: 8cyl. 7.3L
Transmission: Automatic
Wheel Drive: 4X4

Color: White / Gold
Package: Lariat
Mileage: 88,941

$25,995

[Precision]

Dad should be on the way home with the new (to him truck) right now.

Mom took it for a test drive and did something to the injectors, which they fixed for free. Took a week, but hey. They also got Gibson's 12 month 6k mile warranty. Its a 50/50 warranty but still not bad for an out of warranty truck and its included in the sale price.

Gotta love mom. She DEMANDED dad get a 4x4 after he got stuck twice on the last turkey hunting trip. They went from looking for a new 3.6L gas 2WD crew cab to buying a used 5.9L diesel 4x4 megacab. I may have had a slight bit of influence.

[JAG2955]

Rise....rise from the grave! I'm necroposting this, because I've come to another decision point:

Check Engine Light came on yesterday on the drive home (27K miles). I swung by AutoZone to get them to read it. P2000, NOx absorber efficiency below threshold. I immediately called to make an appointment at the local stealership. The soonest they could get me in was Monday. I cruised the net, trying to find out the cause of this. Looks like the leading issue is soot buildup on the O2 sensors. I may be mostly to blame, because I drive with a very light foot. Hey, diesel is expensive! So in the meantime, I've been sure to really hammer the pedal when I get on the highway to try and blow the soot off of the sensors. But, it does seems like this is a known problem for the 6.7L engine with the emissions control garbage. I checked with the auto hobby shop on base, and they recommended taking the truck to Wilmington to the Ram dealer there, which is not full of scumbags like the one in Jacksonville. So on Friday, I've got an appointment to see what they have to say.

In the meantime, I contacted Diesel Addiction, which is a highly reputable diesel performance shop nearby. They can do the physical deletes (EGR and a whole new exhaust) with my unused Smarty for around $1000. The guy knew about the issues with the soot buildup in the emissions systems, and basically told me that 95% of the warranty work was for emissions systems, so if it's gone, you're rolling the dice on that remaining 5%. He claims that his clients get a 5-6 mpg increase in both city and highway driving. Not sure if I believe 5-6, but I could definitely believe a 3-4mpg increase, so it should pay for itself in time. It should also increase longevity and the time between oil change cycles. My future living destinations have no emissions inspection for diesel trucks, either. It may be time to pull the trigger on this.

One of my co-workers and her husband actually just got rid of a 6.7L 2012 due to this exact issue, so I'm not terribly hopeful that I'll survive this issue without getting rid of the DPF, NOx canister, and EGR valve. On the bright side, it'll feel like my truck is raping Mother Gaia every time I push the pedal to the floor.

[Weetabix]

On the bright side, it'll feel like my truck is raping Mother Gaia every time I push the pedal to the floor.

Her mouthpieces say no, but her eyes say yes.

[Aesop]

On the bright side, it'll feel like my truck is raping Mother Gaia every time I push the pedal to the floor.

Didja see what she had on? She was askin' for it, I tell ya!