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New Tow Rig...2500HD Questions


Kblagg

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I've read through the tow rig poll thread several times and decided to make the move to a Diesel 2500HD.  Currently looking at 2016-2018 Silverado LTZ 2500 and/or Sierra Denali 2500.  I'm new to the diesel world, what are some things that I need to know.  I'm seeing that they hold their value much better than your traditional gas trucks.    From what I've seen, the 20%+ discounts like you see on 1500s and other cars/trucks isn't going to happen on a 2500 series truck.  The pricing between new and used doesn't seem to have much variation.  If I went used, I could get one with a basic lift and wheels for roughly the same price.  What is considered a good deal for a 2500?  How much of a discount can I expect to be able to get through negotiation?  Any gotchas that I should be on the lookout for?

 

Here's a few that I'm looking at.

2016silverado.png

2017denali.png

silverado.png

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we just bought a18  2500ltz DMax for my wife. sticker was 65 we got it for 55.  me? I am a Ram Diesel guy.  I have a 13 6.7 with 200hp tune.  my Ram cost 43 new I bought it for 37k.  it was a good deal..I rsearched.   they do hold their value well.

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15 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

we just bought a18  2500ltz DMax for my wife. sticker was 65 we got it for 55.  me? I am a Ram Diesel guy.  I have a 13 6.7 with 200hp tune.  my Ram cost 43 new I bought it for 37k.  it was a good deal..I rsearched.   they do hold their value well.

Good to know, Thanks!  Did you look at the Denali?  If so, why did you go with Silverado LTZ vs Denali?

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we were actually going to buy another Ram, but my wife said..let' stop by the chev  dealer it' on our way. thought it would be more since I had a friend and family discount but itwasnt. also the Chevy seemed to ridebetter. no we did not look at Denali.  Denali is GMC right? cant imagine much diff.

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check out www.laurabuickgmc.com.  They are just outside of St. Louis.  I flew in and they picked me up at the airport.  No fuss .. best deal.  Beat my best Wash DC area deal by 3k.  They are one of the largest volume GMC dealers in the country.

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I don't have as much HD experience as many on here, but here's what I learned while looking for my Duramax a year ago.

If you're going with a GM truck, don't rule out the 3500s in your search since they'll ride the same unloaded as a 2500. The only real difference in the 2500/3500 Duramax is a couple of overload springs on the 3500, which won't engage until you squat the bed a couple of inches. I test drove both to see if I could tell a difference, just to make sure.

Also, if you have any plans for a 5th wheel trailer in the near future, the 2500 payload will max out really quickly. Not a big deal though if you're just pulling the boat. Both 2500 and 3500 hold their values really well, but the 3500 could have a slight edge for resale later on due to the extra payload capacity.

I started out looking for a 3-5 year old used diesel, and quickly realized around here I wasn't going to save that much $ by getting something used with 80k+ miles on it. Could be just my area though, since the Prius is still king here.

Since you asked about pricing, I put a ton of time into the search but also got a bit lucky as I was able to find a leftover 2016 Chevy 3500 with the options I was looking for at a high volume dealer out of state, and they were motivated to move it. Got it at 21.5% off sticker after some negotiating since I knew some of the specific GM to dealer incentives they were hoping to hang on to. Was definitely worth the negotiating and quick trip to pick it up.

 

Edit: I'd be just as happy with a 2500 for what I need but since I started my search thinking a 3500 wouldn't be a good fit for me as a daily driver, figured I would pass it along in response to your initial questions.

 

Edited by NWBU
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If you go with a 3500 they come with 18" wheels that has a little softer ride and let 10 psi out of each tire, the ride is better than most would expect. IMO people that complain about the ride have only been in one that has max air pressure and on 20's where you don't have much sidewall. I put 35" tires on mine and run 60 psi in them, I have no complaints about the ride being too stiff. I rode with a guy that put 10 ply tires on his F150, it ruined the ride of the truck.

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Just bought a 2500 Denali with the Diesel engine last weekend.   I’ve only got 100 miles on it but love it already. No 1500 type deals out there but still got it for 65k with a 73k+MSRP as I was a fast cash buyer and gave the dealer an hour for a decision and only worked with the sale manager.   I hear of people doing even better but it’s rare and only in certain parts of the country.     I’m in seattle. 

176C1EB5-7FF4-48BA-BE76-A738B5555A94.jpeg

A0135045-65E4-411D-9E5C-B31BD6EDAA21.jpeg

BC67FC53-70E8-44B2-8531-0C61C1E454B2.jpeg

Edited by RCorsa
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8 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

we were actually going to buy another Ram, but my wife said..let' stop by the chev  dealer it' on our way. thought it would be more since I had a friend and family discount but itwasnt. also the Chevy seemed to ridebetter. no we did not look at Denali.  Denali is GMC right? cant imagine much diff.

Chevy and GMC are basically the same truck internally but the appearance is different.  I like th look of the GMC grill the best and the Denali is really nice.   You can get a Chevy high country which is equivalent but it looks a little like an old ranchers truck.    I like the Denali look better as it’s more modern.  

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Unless spec’d oddly or aftermarket stuff done the high country is the same as the Denali.  They came out with it because Chevy folks wanted a high end Denali type trim level.  Everything about the two trucks is the eaxat same except the front end is different with Chevy and GMC and the interior on he high country is more pebblesd leather whereas the Denali is smooth and has white Stitching for a more sporty look.  Plus I think the “high country” badging is not my style 

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I'm not a fan of the brown leather in the High Country.  The only thing that I don't like about the Denali's is all the chrome.  That's one reason I'm leaning towards the Silverado LTZ because they have a package with basically no chrome and everything body color matched.  The midnight edition (third pic in the OP) has me intrigued.

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7 hours ago, Kblagg said:

I'm not a fan of the brown leather in the High Country.  The only thing that I don't like about the Denali's is all the chrome.  That's one reason I'm leaning towards the Silverado LTZ because they have a package with basically no chrome and everything body color matched.  The midnight edition (third pic in the OP) has me intrigued.

You can get the high country with black leather

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Get the 2017 or newer with the L5P engine. Much more power and responsiveness. The 2011-2016 LML’s have a CP4 Bosch fuel pump that while rare, can grenade and cause about $10k in repairs.

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that article clears up the difference. thx. judging by the article the interiors are similar to LTZ...I think.  I do know the LP5 motor was beefed up considerably from the prev  motor.  Ram uses cp4 pumps also.  don' follow Ford so not sure what they use.  best I can tell the cp4 pumps work fine.  I have not read about them being a problem in all of the Diesel mags. 

  

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1 hour ago, carguy79ta said:

that article clears up the difference. thx. judging by the article the interiors are similar to LTZ...I think.  I do know the LP5 motor was beefed up considerably from the prev  motor.  Ram uses cp4 pumps also.  don' follow Ford so not sure what they use.  best I can tell the cp4 pumps work fine.  I have not read about them being a problem in all of the Diesel mags. 

  

I am almost 100% positive that RAM uses CP3. 

Ford does use the CP4. 

The pump has not been a problem for GM owners under warranty because they have stood behind their product. I have seen horror stories with Ford and warranty. But that is a separate subject. 

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12 hours ago, MLBurns said:

If you go with a 3500 they come with 18" wheels that has a little softer ride and let 10 psi out of each tire, the ride is better than most would expect. IMO people that complain about the ride have only been in one that has max air pressure and on 20's where you don't have much sidewall. I put 35" tires on mine and run 60 psi in them, I have no complaints about the ride being too stiff. I rode with a guy that put 10 ply tires on his F150, it ruined the ride of the truck.

Pretty sure all HD trucks come from the factory with Load E tires, which is 10 ply, right?

Im tire shopping for my new F250 and watched a video yesterday about how a lot of people unknowingly put underrated tires in their HD trucks. 

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37 minutes ago, IXFE said:

 

Im tire shopping for my new F250 and watched a video yesterday about how a lot of people unknowingly put underrated tires in their HD trucks. 

Yeah no kidding.  I say that in my head every time I see a mason with an HD towing 20,000#s riding on toyo mud terrains!

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1 hour ago, RyanB said:

I am almost 100% positive that RAM uses CP3. 

Ford does use the CP4. 

The pump has not been a problem for GM owners under warranty because they have stood behind their product. I have seen horror stories with Ford and warranty. But that is a separate subject. 

yeah you are correct, I was thinking cp3 pumps. and you won't see me ever having warranty issues with ford products. am a Ram diesel guy, all else GM.  my wife wanted the DMax so with great displeasure, we now have a DMax also.  how do I explain that the Almighty Cummins beats all with a Dmax in the driveway?  oh well, boning up on the L5P.  I have read that L5P motor computers haven't been cracked yet so it can' be deleted yet.  waiting for that.

Edited by carguy79ta
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On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 8:16 AM, IXFE said:

Pretty sure all HD trucks come from the factory with Load E tires, which is 10 ply, right? 

Yes, but you have to pay attention to the load rating. A few years ago I had tire shop put some Toyo MT's on my truck, I tow quite a bit and most loads are heavy (toy hauler). When I needed another set I went to another tire shop and told them to replace my tires. They told me that they couldn't because that size only came in 114 load range. Turns out a 114 is only good for 2601 lbs per tire. That isn't much more than the truck weight and my toy hauler has over 3600 lb tongue weight, I was very lucky I didn't blow a tire. Now I have tires with a 121 rating which is close to 3200 lbs per tire. Both tires were 10 ply E rated, but many shops don't know to direct customers in the right direction on tire specs. 

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Review of the All Terain X versus the Denali....just sayin’’’

 

”Unlike the silky, smooth moves of a Magnetic Ride Control suspension, which you can find on Denali models, this Sierra All Terrain X was all left feet. We also thought the brakes were on the mushy side, which is not something you want when your rig weighs more than 6,500 pounds before adding anything to the tow hitch, which has a maximum trailering rating of 13,000 pounds.”

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2 minutes ago, RCorsa said:

Review of the All Terain X versus the Denali....just sayin’’’

 

”Unlike the silky, smooth moves of a Magnetic Ride Control suspension, which you can find on Denali models, this Sierra All Terrain X was all left feet. We also thought the brakes were on the mushy side, which is not something you want when your rig weighs more than 6,500 pounds before adding anything to the tow hitch, which has a maximum trailering rating of 13,000 pounds.”

Looks like we were reading the same article.  I've heard negatives about the Magnetic Ride suspension too though.  I would think that the brakes are the same across all 2500 models but I've been wrong before.

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On 2/14/2018 at 6:29 AM, carguy79ta said:

that article clears up the difference. thx. judging by the article the interiors are similar to LTZ...I think.  I do know the LP5 motor was beefed up considerably from the prev  motor.  Ram uses cp4 pumps also.  don' follow Ford so not sure what they use.  best I can tell the cp4 pumps work fine.  I have not read about them being a problem in all of the Diesel mags. 

  

Ram uses CP3 pumps, which are much more reliable than the cp4. Ford also uses the CP4.

 

google “Bosch CP4 issues”. There was also a nhtsa investigation.

Edited by leje0306
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