Sorry to hear of your bad luck with the new CTD.

ALL of the diesel trucks have had teething problems when newly introduced.

When the 24V was introduced in 1998.5, the injection pump and lift pumps were lemons (which is responsible is hard to determine). The fuel system was unreliable. But in 2002, most of the trucks have been very reliable. The VPs hold up pretty well, and lift pumps seem to last longer.

When the Duramax was introduced, it TOO had its share of problems, mostly in the common rail system. As time has passed, GM has worked many (but not all) of the bugs out. While Allison is a fine tranny, it's not perfect and has it's own weak areas. Bravo to GM for advancing technology, and trying to make AL heads work on a diesel.

The teething problems of Ford's new 6.0 are infamous with those of us who track the diesel market. The 2004 engine is VERy different than even the 2003 engine. But that new TorqShift is also a VERY nice tranny, even if it often doesn't receive any power to transmit.

The bottom line is that every manufacturer HOPES for a new product launch to go well, but they are never perfect. The first production year(s) of a new model ALWAYS has (have) the highest number of lemons and teething problems.

This is the reason I prefer to buy a vehicle that has been on the market it present form for a while-- most of the bugs are worked out.

So when I had a choice of which truck to get in Aug of '02, I went with the proven second Gen , faults and all. At least these were a known quantity. While I thought the new Dodge was a GREAT design, I understand that we humans aren't perfect, and felt that DC would have a few problems in the first year. I felt that getting the new '03 was an unnecessary risk, so I got a leftover '02. It was also cheaper (nice rebate).

While I prefer the Dodge, I can tell you that I would also be pretty gun-shy about getting another one if I had the buyback nightmare happen to me. So far, so good for me.

In the end, I still feel that a new Dodge stands a better chance of holding up in the long term than the other two makes.

If there were no Dodge, I would probably go DMAX over PSD. I think GMs quality (while still needing improvement) surpasses the Ford quite a bit-- and the way Ford is treating it's 6.0 customers has really made me hate that company.

The nice thing about the GMs it that you don't have to buy an ugly Chevy to get the Dmax. You can get a really nice GMC. I just wish the switchgear and stuff didn't feel so cheap. The ride quality is certainly the best.

While my Dodge is certainly rough around the edges, and certain to have annoying little things go wrong (back up switch, etc), it shines when it really counts.

Since there is NO perfect truck (where's the Dodge CrewCab????), I had to choose what combination of compromises worked best for me. For me, that's a CTD with the NV5600.

Justin

 

Cummins diesel,advantage dodge,allison tranny,ford torqueshift,advantage gm and ford.Price advantage dodge about 5k apples for apples. My biggest gripe with dodge no gauge package optional.In the end I bought a dodge diesel H.O>,with six shooter manual,and believe overall got the most truck for the money.