Advice Needed

[grd]

Hi all. I am new to the forum and have never owned a truck before. I now need one to haul a 24' horse trailer. I had been looking at the Duramax/Allison combo but yesterday a friend told me he was selling his 02 F350 dually with the 7.3 Powerstroke at a very attractive price. The truck is one owner with 144k miles-well maintained etc. I need advice as to what issues there may have been with this model year/engine/tranny and what I should be looking out for/asking before I go ahead. I will have a dealer run the VIN to see the service records butn is there anything else?

Thanks

[Dave]

Take a look at this link it should help you figure out what to look for

What to look for when buying a USED 99-03 PSD

[Southpaw]

I will go ahead and say what most of us here will say--
GO FOR THE PSD!!
the Duramax/Allison combo is very good, I won't badmouth it, but I prefer the Ford.
with the right mods and prventative maintenance, it will run like a top for years and years to come!!

[vitalidle]

Here is some info to look for What to look for when buying a USED 99-03 PSD Also the oil pans are known to rust out if its been driven in areas where they road salt in the winter. Crawl underneath and take a look. The 7.3 is almost bullet proof. Is it an auto or standard trans. Really the only weak link is the tranny, and as long as you don't go hog wild with hp the tranny holds up well Good luck on your new purchase.

[vitalidle]

LOL you guys are fast!!!

[RedneckGirl]

I'd say go for the Ford...a Duramax just can't compare when it comes to engine longevity..the 7.3 is a great long life engine

[grd]

Thanks for the tips. The link was very helpful. I drove the truck yesterday. It drives well;tracks straight and the shifts seem smooth and precise. It is absolutely immaculate inside and out - looks almost brand new. It turns out that my friend is the second owner and bought it with 110K miles. While he has changed the fluids regularly he has no idea what happened before he bought it. I am taking it to the dealer for a pre-purchase inspection. Assuming that they don't find anything should I be concerned about the unknown prior history or the fact that it has 144K miles?

Thanks

[grd]

Forgot to mention. I can buy the truck for $14.5 if that makes a difference

[vitalidle]

You can ask for an oasis report from the dealer, or if you become a premium member here you can have one run. It is a report for any warrenty work done to the truck by ford. It may or may not show you any history of problems

[Deeno]

If it's a 4x4 I would say that is a pretty good price. I would go for it