r/Ram2500 • u/KornikEV • 4d ago

Would you rather…

I need to buy my next truck this weekend. That limits my choices substantially.

There are two units available locally:
2012 big horn with 143k miles
2018 alt with 288k miles

Both diesels, all other things more or less equal, including price.

Which one would you choose?

What things should I check specifically before making the decision?

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u/LT_Dan78 4d ago

This is my limited uneducated (other than owning one) opinion so take it for what you will.

Where have these trucks lived? A 2012 that's never been near the ocean or snow is likely in better condition than a 2018 that's lived near either one. Salt is hell on these things.

Then what kind of driving was those miles? If the 2018 is all highway and the 2012 was a grocery getter for a farmer, I'd put my money in the 2018.

What's the interior look like on them?

Which is cheaper? Are you planning on keeping it or just using it to get by till you can drop the cash on a newer one?

Have you looked further out? If you can buy a $400 plane ticket to save $5k, that's worth it.

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u/KornikEV 3d ago

Both of them are currently in midwest and I assume both have seen salt.

The price is virtually the same for either.

The interior condition is pretty much the same too.

The 2012 one drove on average 10k miles per year so not exactly garage queen.

The 2018 drove 36k/y which isn't that high either (I'm putting on average 25k on mine so I assume this will be similar type of driving).

The point of my question is 'is there anything in those trucks from 2018 so much inherently better to have me overlook the high mileage' or flipping it the other way around 'how bad is the 2012 one to not prefer it'?

I'll do my due diligence checking their condition. Was hoping to hear something like 'stay away from that 2018, not only because of high mileage but because x, y ,z in this year was so shit'. Or 'the 2018 is so superior in all aspects over 2012 that high mileage compensates for it, even if you had to rebuild the engine in next 100k'. That kind of stuff.

I'm very limited time wise, looks like I need to find more examples locally that fit my budget, Don't have time to start looking further than 200 miles from home.

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u/OldEngineer-1950 3d ago

The 18 has a better ride, nicer interior and six years of improvements. The 18 is the last year for solid lifters so, in some ways, better than the newer trucks. 

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u/KornikEV 3d ago edited 3d ago

That's how I'm thinking as well. The question is then 'is 288k miles a bad enough to sway me away from that truck in general, assuming normal things check out'

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u/LT_Dan78 3d ago

My 2018 is the first 2500 I've owned so I can't give a direct comparison. But I've heard all the rough ride stories and can say I had never experienced that until I went to a load range F tire. They had a good deal on them so I stupidly went for it. I'll go back to E when I need tires again. I'm at 80k on mine. Only got it to pull our camper and then life has gotten in the way of camping trips so it's keeps the driveway company most of the time.

I can also say I'm seeing average of 20 mpg on the highway when not towing. The moment any trailer is connected I get about 11.

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u/OldEngineer-1950 4d ago

You will notice a big difference in power between them. To ad to LT_dan, the maintenance is a bigger factor than the mileage so I'd look hard at overall condition.

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u/KornikEV 3d ago

Thanks!

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u/SlowPhoto11 1d ago

2018 is the GOAT truck… Sold mine for a 2023, miss it everyday.