It’s too bad trucks are worth stupid money right now. I 4 years ago I couldn’t find a rust free 2nd gen for less than $15k though - ended up finding mine with a little door rust on the bottom for $7k and high miles. I snagged it up.
Back in 2008 & 2009 when the economy was in the toilet.
I bought a one owner 1998.5 Ram 2500 CTD with 136k on it for $5,800
Few weeks later, I bought a one owner 2001 Ram 3500 CTD with 112K on it for $5,400
Both were 5 speeds. Both people were downsizing because of the crappy economy. Trucks were cheap back then.
You could find deals back then, all the time, for $5,000 to $6,000 with well under 150k on the clock for a 2nd gen cummins. It was not uncommon to find one with a little over 200k on it for $4,500 back in 2009 either.
I wish I would of snagged a few other deals back then, and parked them in my pole barn. I never thought they would be worth what they sell for these days. They were just 2nd gen dodges. Who knew they would bring good money later on?
My neighbor (who passed away in late 2021) had a 2000 Ram 2500 4x4, cummins 5 speed, SLT long bed, quad cab, he bought it brand new, it had 12,000 miles on it in 2021 when he passed. He only used it in the fall to pull his seed tender trailer when he was planting winter wheat, rest of the year it sat in his pole barn. His son liquidated the estate and got $32,000 for it.
I asked his son about buying it, he said he had two other guys who wanted it and they had both offered over 30 grand for it. I was like yeah I am out at that price.....
I know someone else local that recently sold a one owner, 1997 Ram 3500 4x4 cummins 5 speed, with 85k on it. He got $25,000 for it. He told me he had more then 3 people fighting to buy it at $25k.
It's ridiculous what the nice ones bring nowadays.....