brokenmouse

I've got an 05 Colorado that has served me very well, but I need a larger truck with a crew cab. Because money is tight I've been considering an 01-03 Lariat (or a crew cab version of my Colorado). Every Lariat in my price range (<5k) has 150k-200k miles. I know these trucks should last a long while, but I was looking for some input on what to look for on these older trucks and what problems to expect. It seems that header gasket leaks, rocker rust and transmission issues are common issues among the vehicles I've looked at. I'm leaning towards paying more for a truck from a dealer because of warranty. I'm not too worried about getting a vehicle over 100k (if it's in good condition), but buying a vehicle approaching 200k make me more nervous. Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.

jstockert

First thing to keep in mind is you're buying a 15-17 year old truck. With that being said there is one valuable lesson I've learned working at a dealer, service history is everything. If you find a 03 f150 that all service work (at least oil changes and generalized service work) was done at a dealer it will command a higher price. I've seen 01-02 tacoma's come thur our dealer with over 200,000 miles with all service work done at a dealer sell for 9,000 to 11,000 in one or two days. Nothing special about the trucks but documented service work. Non-serviced like Tacoma will sell for 5,000 to 6,000.
With that being said I don' take my truck to a dealer, I do all my work. Plenty of guys here that have well over 300,000 miles so if truck is well maintained it go for a long time. Good luck