2005 GMC Diesel
 

My next-door neighbor has a 2005 GMC diesel with the Allison automatic (4-door shortbed looks like). It has 200,000 commuter miles on it.
Just back and forth to work. Never towed a thing. Are there "issues" I should be concerned with? Would you go for this truck (I'd use it to tow my Fountain 29 with twins on an aluminum trailer)?
It has leather, white, no dents or dings, polished wheels. I've never owned a diesel before and have only been a passenger.

The Duramax is a reliable engine and they are rated to go 300K miles before major overhaul with proper maint. I'd say if it was properly maintained, should be fine.

that all depends on the price

ya, 200 isnt really THAT much. but after that many miles stupid little things start to go... like window motors, steering bushings, shocks, rear end, etc etc. i would never buy anything with that many miles. well, i did actually, then i sold it. a LLY is a decent version of the dmax. but go for the LBZ (06-07) if you can. but they are all good. the LLY has been known for head gasket issues, nothing like the 6.oh ford though. the LB7 (01-04) have injector and head gasket issues, so dont buy an LB7 unless its had injectors done recently.

I had that truck in a 2003......went 170K miles before I traded it (got 8900 on trade for a new F150).

Issues from day one:
1. Water pump 106K miles
2. Wheel bearing at 132K miles (at that time we changed the brake pads for the first time also)
3. Injectors replaced under GM warranty (157K miles)
4. Gauge cluster started going haywire (160K miles). It would function, then the next start the needles would go all different directions (cheap fix just never did it)

Other than that, 3 sets of tires and two pairs of batteries in the 8 years I had it. Ford mechanic bought it and is still driving it (over 200K miles now). He told me he fixed the cluster (used one off ebay) and he stuck a used set of tires on it!

i seen 2007 one last week with 685000 untouched miles on it..besides the injectors..

Here is some math to make that guy cry......

685K miles @ 15 mph is 45,666 gallons of diesel......so at 3.50 a gallon that would be $159,831 in diesel fuel! OUCH!

I had a 05 like that for almost 5 years, never did anything to to other than 1 set of batteries and change oil...sold with mileage in the 50's though...truck did replace the LF hub/bearing, not a big deal at all...and did have aftermarket wheels/tires

Do some research on that year i was looking at an 03 Duramax and found out they had injector issues which cost $4-$5k to replace not sure if the one your looking at has the same injectors set up as the 03's but if they have not been replaced it is an expensive repair.

Probably OK….
I have a friend with an '06/'07 with over 200k, towing miles…. Still looks and runs good… He still runs a Edge tuner on it….
If it has had good history I wouldn't be too afraid… GEt it right because you won't get that much for it if you try to trade it though.
My '04.5 ply that I sold 2 years ago was great..

I bought an 05 two years ago with 50k on it, it now has 104k on it 90% of which we're towing. I love the truck and plan on keeping it till I hit 200k. Small things will start to go wrong with any truck but I wouldn't be worried about the drivetrain.

If you can pick it up for the right price grab it. Just realize you have a $ 3k bill coming at 350-400k miles.

Just my opinion, however I own a 05 LLY Dmax myself. I bought it from the original owner with 85k on it. It was used for towing heavy loads and plowing before I bought it. I had several small issues with the truck, however nothing that would steer me away from buying another one. It now has 140k on it and I tow and plow a lot with it. The drivetrain is as tight as the day it came off the showroom floor. Any truck will have issues with wearable parts. If the proper maintainance was done I wouldnt worry about buying one with 200k. My buddy has over 350k on his 03. He is on his third set of injectors, other than that the drivetrain has been bullet proof for him. This is my first diesel, and I will def buy another Duramax, hopefully i wont need a new one for a long time

+1 My best friend has an '05 2500 Dmax, bought new and has 180k on the clock. It's had regular maintenance and has had a couple of steering parts, new rotors and an axle seal replaced. Other than that, tires and fuel is all she'd had. The only thing showing any wear is the drivers seat. I swap trucks with him and tow from Dallas to Gulf Shores Al at 1900 RPM getting 13 MPG @ 75 MPH. Awesome Pickup.

We have a 06 at work, 345k tires/brakes/cpl wheel bearings, just normal stuff, but at 345k Ny winters are getting to it, as anything else, Injectors/glow plugs are the biggies, ours has a few glow plugs out, will not come out due to age/ny winter, but she keeps starting and running,

I run a small car lot that specializes in high mile diesesl trucks among other things. A few weeks ago I had enough duramaxes on my lot to point to one with around 100k, 200k, 300k, 400k, and 500k all next to each other. I just sold my personal 04.5 with only 370k on it and upgraded to an 05 with only 240 on it. The truck with 500k had a torn drivers seat, but still drove great and pulled my 15k car trailer with no problems. Today I just sold an 03 with 486k on it to a guy just so he could tow his boat with it.
The only truck I had to do major repairs to was my truck with under 200k; once you get past that point somebody else has already done the work for you saving you the money needed on repairs.
I would say stock transmissions are good for most of the life of the truck IF you don't throw a tuner on it or abuse it. You can get a performance built transmission for around $3500 which will need replaced and allow you to throw a big tune on it. Then you will have more power, easier towing, and better MPG as long as you aren't keeping your foot deep in the throttle.

Also, if you want the best price on a diesel truck, let me know. I've got an 07 duramax with 198k on it for $14,999, an 05 fully loaded 220k for $14,999 and an 04 with 330k for $8000.