SOME STATISTICS

I owned my 2004.5 Ram CTD from July of '04 to December of '10 (78 months). I thought I'd share some statistics with you. I keep records like a CPA at tax time, so I have a record of every drop of diesel and every maintenance dollar spent over the 6.5 years of ownership.

Cheapest Diesel = $1.639 at a Sun station in Nags Head, NC in July of '04.
Costliest Diesel = $4.799 at a Shell station in Asheville, NC in August of '08.

Average $/gal = $2.659
Total gal used = 7,525.763
Total Fuel $ = $20,360.61
Total Miles = 118,569
$/mile = $0.17
Average MPG = 15.755
Total Maintenance Cost = $9,136.38
Average Maint. Cost per month of ownership = $117.13
Average Fuel Cost per month of ownership = $261.03

Expensive, yes. But worth the cost of using a diesel ..... YES!




Approximately 62,000 miles was towing. The rest combined highway/local.

Mike
118,569 Total miles, that Cummins is just broke in. Now you have to start all over. Congratulations on your new truck. Have a Merry Christmas. Jim

Great numbers, hopefully your NEW one will produce even better numbers.

What is included in your maintenance cost?

$9K+ seems rather steep.

MountainMan wrote:What is included in your maintenance cost?

$9K+ seems rather steep.

Let's see:

2 new sets of sneakers (Michelins) at $1,200 a pop
Leaking transfer case output shaft seal @ $500.00 to repair
4 new shocks @ $320.00
new muffler & tailpipe @ $695
replace waterpump @ $1,100

That's about $5K right there and then there are the normal charges for oil/oil filer changes; fuel filter changes and changeout of all tranny, diffy and transfer case fluids at 60K miles plus a drain and flush of the cooling system at 100K miles.

It adds up.

BTW, most of the high price repair items started to hit once the truck hit 97K. The engine is still going strong, but the truck started to go south. I was going to need a brake job in the spring (all four for around $500.00) and the clutch had started to feel a little soft (another $2K).

So I decided to get a new truck and let someone else have the headaches of a high mileage vehicle.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Cummins Turbo Diesel. It's the stuff that surrounds it that can get pricey to repair.

Yes, it adds up quick!

Thats one thing I love about GM's 5 year 100k drivetrain warranty.
The waterpump and transfercase would have been covered...

I do all my own oil/filter/brakes/fluids so that makes big difference in maintenance cost as well.

I understand your thinking perfectly. You got to know when to let 'em go.
Besides that, we only get one go-around here and we better make it a good one.

Enjoy that new truck!

Mountainman

Ram also has the 5 year 100k Warranty. Jim

Stanford wrote:Mountainman

Ram also has the 5 year 100k Warranty. Jim

Thats just some bad luck on the xfer case and water pump to go out just after the warranty....

Sounds much like my luck.

Had Chevy for 9 months now had 38000 on the clock when I purchased it. I only do about 5000 miles a year so it might take a bit of time to get to the best performance when engine has run in.
Sean