What’s too high mileage for buying used diesel truck?

I've always heard that diesels are just getting broken in at 100,000 but curious what the more experienced guys say as well. What is the life expectancy of a diesel or when do they start having problems? My uncle drives semis (different I realize) and he owns a couple of rigs that have huge mileage on them. One in the 800,000 mile range and one over a million.

I'm looking for a 3/4 ton diesel as my next vehicle. But like you said, the truck that I really want is way up there in price and I'm having a bit of a difficult time justifying paying that much for a used vehicle.

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transgender mission

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That the Brokeback edition?

I know a few baws with the duramax that have over 500k without touching the engine or trans. These are work trucks that tow heavy all the time.

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4.8l.

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good engine baw. The one we had leaked oil like a gd sieve though. but Evidently that cast oil pan is a filter of sorts.

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wouldn’t touch a newer diesel that’s outside a good warranty.

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Eh. If you need one you need one. The reliability of that stuff is tremendously better than it was 10 years ago. It's so much better than on the newest stuff, I think deleting it is foolish.

That said, if you don't NEED one than buying one is stupid. They are tremendously more expensive than gas burners, in many configurations offer very little increase in capability, and operating costs exceed gas opex for pretty much any private use case.

Buying a used one without a well known service history and a shakedown from someone who knows what to look for and check for is risky. If it has has DEF in the fuel tank, the fuel system is on its way out and you're going to pay for it.

Ouch. What went wrong?

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we run zero diesel trucks on farm at all

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A wholeeeee lot of fleet operators are headed that way as well for their pickup and Cab N Chassis trucks. One major repair and you're in VERY deep to get it running again. You can put a whole engine in a gas truck (very unlikely to ever need to) for what a powerstroke fuel system change-out costs (result of a simple mistake-DEF in the diesel).

If you need one, you need it. If it's worth A LOT of money to you to be able to drag a 42' 5th wheel through a pass at 75mph, get one. If you care at all about being financially sensible, get a gasser.

In my opinion, If you aren't exceeding the load capacity of a half ton truck there's no reason to purchase a diesel. Fuel will cost you an additional +3K each year + service and maintenance. DEF fluid sucks as well.

If you want the extra tow capacity beyond a half ton, but not diesel, you might want to consider the 7.3L V8. There's a few decent deals on used 2021 gas F250's for around $60K.

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I won’t put too many miles on it and won’t be towing anything major except maybe a camper to and from the hunting camp.

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You don’t need a diesel. You want a diesel.