2003 hemi 2500 ram questions

[Brightyellow69rtse]

Hey guys i been gone a while just busy some of the lod guys might remember me lol but heres the deal, im thinking of getting rid of my old faithful 98 tacoma 4x4 daily driver in favor of a 03 hemi 2500ram. the ram is 2wd which im not crazy about it has 94k miles on it. the bed is beat and i mean beat lol its all pushed against the cab and the tailgate isnt the original one and its all dented up. a tailight is also broken and the bumpers got dents in it. it was a delivery truck i hear but he obviously didnt believe in tie downs. other than the beat bed it looks nice the front bumper has some scuffs on it but thats not bad at all.

i took it down the road it goes real good brakes are nice, great tires. i was thinking of taking the bed off and just hammering it back so its not against the cab anyway using a piece of wood and get new tailgate.

overall the plus's are i can tow my charger if need be
8ft bed (can get waay more firewood in there than in my taco lol)
can fit 3 people in it (ie both my kids) wife can ride the bed

only thing that really concerns me is how good a 2wd truck is in the winter ive only ever had 4wd  in a truck.

and does anyone know of a new hemi with huge miles on it? i dont know how long they hold up also anyone know the gas mileage?

oh yeah he agreed on a 6k price tell me what ya guys think sorry for the rant i dunno what to do lol i know what i wanna do but what do you ram guys think..............Mike

[mikepmcs]

A quick research on kelly Blue book says that truck wholesales for $5100 with that mileage and condition.  To me the way you described it is Trade-In value only. 
Also you didn't say if it was quad cab/auto/etc...
But the way you described it, I wouldn't buy it for that much.  Totally your dollar but it just seems too high for that condition.  Also you said it was a delivery vehicle.  I guarantee it was not taken care of physically.

Just my .02, but I say no way!
Oh yeah and the winter issue is a whole different story....rear wheel drive pickup in the snow, no way again for me. 

You can get a nice truck(4wd quad ram in the 2000 year range) that I bet was a whole lot better taken care of for pennies more.

v/r
mike

[Brightyellow69rtse]

oh yeah its a auto and a reg cab pickup no frills here truck seemed to be a basic version.  i been looking for a little while and they all seem to be double that price at least to what ive found, thanks keep the thoughts commin...........Mike

[mikepmcs]

Good then my price was right on.  I valued it at just that, a no frills reg cab 2wd 03 2500 w/hemi.

My sentiment remains the same. 

v/r
Mike

[hemirr]

I have a 03 Hemi 2500 Ram 4WD long bed.  I have 142,000 miles on it.  So far maintenance has been new clutch fan, upper&lower ball joints and tires.  I get 11.5 mpg no matter what i do. 

[Brightyellow69rtse]

OMG thats bad 11.5 i was thinking 13ish. well this truck being 2wd do you think it will be better? also have you done anything to the truck?......MIke

[gonzoe]

i got a 03 hemi quad cab 2wd i get about 16 m per gallon i wonder how heavy is the 4x4 version over the 2 w drive?

[firefighter3931]

Hey Mike....where ya been ! I was going to send out a search party soon 

On the Ram ; That sounds like a descent price. Hammer out the dent and throw a bed liner in it....good as new. 

I drive a 2wd in the snow all the time.....300 lbs of sand over the rear axle makes a huge difference with a 2wd. In fact, i've never owned a 4wd drive truck and you know where i live. 



Ron

[TeeWJay426]

Can't speak for the 2wd vs. 4x4, but my 03 Hemi Ram 25000 4x4 QC gets mid 13's for mileage, and averages around 12 when pulling my 18 foot trailer loaded with a B body. Up to 45K on the clock with no engine issues at all yet.

[pettyfan43]

I have an 04 2WD QC 1500 , I get between 15 and 16. My truck has all the bells nad whistles. My little brother works for a pool company in Tampa and he has one for a work truck, had 150k or so on it when he got it a year ago and was still going strong.

 

[andy74]

ive been driving an 04 reg cab hemi 4x4 for the last week,averaging 16mpg,so you should be in the same range-as a dealer id pay less,6k is to much

[greenpigs]

I have a 05 standard cab 4X4 HEMI and get about 13 mpg in all city driving, on the highway I was getting about 16 on average.

[Brightyellow69rtse]

thanks alot for the replies keep em commin L).......Mike

[mikes68charger]

I have an 05 Dayton 4 door 2 wheel drive. I have the 22in Viper Ram rims and I get 12.5 In Houston and 19 on the Hyway at 65 at 75ish its more like 15

[Brightyellow69rtse]

ok i checked it out real good today, new tailgate is a must. ill pull the bed off in the spring when it gets warm and pound it back so its off the cab. interior is ok it does show some wear. needs new tailights. i got under it its suprisingly low to the ground my taco is much higher lol. its got the 17" steel wheels on it. i checked inder it for any dmg or leaks everything looked great there wasnt any surface rust on it anywhere.  looks like a tow package had the wireing plug built in the bumper and a big tow hitch under the bumper. engine looked really clean and taken care of i checked the oil and tranny fluid also it looked good still a good pinkish color. A wix oil filter on it thats a good sigh no fram crap. 

some things i noticed i dont know if its standard equipment or not

it has a overdrive button on the shifter
sliding rear window
lights on the roof and one on the back to light up the bed area
i noticed a nice little storage shelf behind the seats too thats a cool idea
4 wheel disc brakes had nice michelin tires on it also

i took it out again a bit longer this time, it moves for a 2500 with a 8ft bed  i had it rolling about 20 ir so then pinned it she started spinning and kicked out to the side a good ways that suprised me only car i have that can do that is the charger and i gotta clutch it a bit for that.

its lookin good to me so far i been drivin my taco for almost 7 years shes been great to me but i think its time to step up to a big boy truck

again any info or suggestions on things i should do to the truck if i get it would be great right now id say im gonna get it hes got it put aside for me but i didnt put a depoisit on it as of yet..thanks guys........Mike