This year I landed a job that requires me to travel a lot, my current daily driver is a mustang which obviously wouldn't be ideal during the winter months. I'm wanting a 3/4ton diesel with low miles (preferably less than 100,000) so I started looking around. I know nothing about diesels so this is where I need help, I'm thinking most 7.3's are well over that mileage so I looked at 6.0's. After multiple google searches most people said to avoid them, but some say they can be bullet proofed. Is that something to look into? Is it worth buying a used truck and fixing it up? My next option would be the 2008-10 6.4, what's your opinion on those? I've read some bad things about them as well. Or should I avoid both, bite the bullet and pay up for a new 6.7? Thanks in advance! All info will be greatly appreciated!!

 

7.3s are very reliable, but the trans sucks. The 6.0 can be a very reliable platform with basic bullet proofing, studs, hpop, ficm, and the 6.4 can be awesome when fully deleted, but then comes the melted pistons issues, 6.7s have their own problems as well, ****ty factory turbo, random dpf issues.

 

If you don't wanna put much money into go 7.3 I've been looking into 6.0s and bullet proofing will cost you around 4-5k and Idk about the others

 

Thanks for the replies! Still not exactly sure what to do though. I'd want a really really slick truck either way I go. I'm not sure if there's many 7.3's out there that are in really good shape and low mileage. Then buying a really nice 6.0 and spending around 5 grand to fix it, is it worth it? Would it cost more than that since I wouldn't do the work myself. I can afford a brand new truck, so should I just do that and have a warranty for a while? I plan on keeping whatever I buy for years so I'm trying to get picky lol.

 

The thing to remember is that if you drive a lot (30K+ per year), your warranty will be gone a lot sooner than normal. If you are handy with a wrench, you could bulletproof a 6.0 for around 3k. While I personally don't like them (7.3 glory boy), they are very durable engines when taken care of. Either the 7.3 or the 6.0, you will have to dump some money into to get more power and better mileage. I don't like the 6.4's for the simple reason that you can't get much better economy out of them when not towing......a lot of power, but not much mileage per gallon. The 6.7's are a beast, but strangled by the emissions crap required by federal regulation.

The mid 90's trucks had a problem with underperforming brakes. At least my stepdad's 94 and cousins 95 did. They were both dually's though. If you buy a used truck, take it to a good diesel shop and have them take a look at it. If you buy a new one, get the extended warranty for peace of mind. Good luck in your decision.

 

I'm guessing I'll be driving 20 to 25,000 miles a year depending on how long each job lasts. The job I'm on now is over a year which isn't very common when you're a boilermaker. I went to a ford dealership today and looked at some 14 and 15's, I'm looking at 58-62,000 if I were to buy a new truck. Do you guys have any tips as far as negotiating a deal? I've never bought a vehicle from a dealer before.

 

Whatever you do, don't get hung up on monthly payments. And a good idea would be to talk to your preferred bank about a loan before you walk in there. Salesmen/women and the finance a-holes do not say the same things. Also don't let them try to sucker you into the "I'm trying to help you out" deal. Depending on how shady the salesperson is, I'm sure there are some other guilt trip and/or tricks they might try to pull.

I would go on the Ford site and build what you want then look for it around your area to see if any dealers have one. After you figure out what you are wanting to go look at, write it down and do not let them take that paper so you will have it if you don't make a deal. These Super Duties are expensive, but the warranty should take care of any worries. I personally don't get the GAP insurance through the dealer. It always seems to be more expensive than through my insurance.

My dad was a boilermaker years ago before he got into the plumbers and pipefitters union. Now he's a pipefitter. Good choice in trades. There's always work somewhere for a welder.


Disclaimer***I know that not all salespeople and finance people are out to completely screw people. However I have seen enough of them to not trust any sales teams. Everybody has to make money I suppose.

 

There are slot of people on here who are much more knowledgable about this stuff, so please, take this with a grain of salt. I own a 2011 F350 dually, two 2012 F350 duallies and. 2014 F350. All the 350 have over a 150,000 miles on them and the only thing I have done so far is oil changes and new tires. All have the 6.7 and these trucks work for a living. I've had nothing but great luck so far out of all 4 of them.

Again, just another opinion for you sir.

 

I'm definitely gonna talk to a few banks and see what they will do. I also did make a few trucks online and got a decent idea of what I want and the price tag. Welding is a good skill to know, it's kinda new to me. I'm still in their apprenticeship program but I stay busy and make a fairly good living. Thanks for the info and tips!

 

Thanks for your input. I'm leaning more and more towards buying a new truck, the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the steep payments lol. Paying 10% and getting a loan for 6 years is probably still gonna keep my payments in the $850-1000mo range. I'd hate to do a huge down payment so I can still keep my savings.