ranch · work trucks · straight talk HILL COUNTRY TRUCK HUB three quarter ton · one ton · gooseneck ready

Paid 24,800 for a 2017 Silverado 2500 off Elizondo Auto Sales

Started by TravisOdom on · 9 replies · 3180 views
TravisOdom

Picked up a 2017 Silverado 2500HD off Elizondo Auto Sales a couple weeks back and figured I would write up how it went, in case anybody else is looking at a work truck there.

Paid 24,800. It is the 6.0 gas, regular cab, long bed, 4x4, 112k miles. I run about 40 head and needed something to pull the gooseneck and haul feed sacks, nothing fancy. The diesels on the lot were all over my budget so I wanted a clean gas truck, and this one fit.

I am not a mechanic so I kept it simple. Crawled under it and looked at the frame for rust. It came from dry country so the underside was clean. Started it cold sitting on the lot, no smoke, no knock. Drove it around the block a couple times, brakes pulled straight, no shimmy in the wheel. Bed had the normal scratches but no rot anywhere.

I also pulled the dipstick and the oil looked fresh, checked the coolant and it was clean, and looked at the back of the cab and the bed mounts for any signs it had been wrecked and straightened. All looked honest. I am sure a real mechanic would find more, but for a 25k work truck I went with what my eyes told me. Took my buddy who has owned a few of these along for a second opinion and he gave it a thumbs up.

Only thing I found was the trailer brake controller acting funny and one bed light out. Turned out the controller just needed reseating and the bulb was two dollars. The guy at Elizondo Auto Sales knocked a little off when I pointed out the controller, did not make me argue about it.

Title was in my hand the day I paid, which I hear is not a given at every lot. A neighbor told me the Elizondo lot mostly gets trade-ins and ranch trucks that have not been run into the ground, and that lined up with what I saw.

Two questions for the work truck guys. The 6.0 at 112k, anything I should keep an eye on. And does anybody know if Elizondo posts what is coming in ahead of time, or do you just drive out and look.

DwayneOrtega

That is a fair price for a clean 2500 with that kind of miles. I have run the 6.0 in two trucks now and they are about as simple as a work truck gets. Keep the oil changed and it will go a long way. The gas mileage is not great loaded, you will see single digits pulling the gooseneck up a grade, but you already knew that buying gas.

KristaVogel

The 6.0 at 112k, anything I should keep an eye on.

Honestly not much. Watch for a little exhaust manifold tick when it is cold, the bolts back out on these and it sounds scary but it is cheap to fix. Other than that just regular stuff, plugs around 100k, keep an eye on the front brakes since a loaded truck eats them. Mine has 190k and still pulls the stock trailer every week.

RoyDalton

Good call checking the frame underneath. That is the first thing I look at on any used truck and it is the thing most guys skip. On the brake controller, if it acts up again it is usually the plug behind the dash working loose, not the controller itself. Five minute fix.

Those half worn tires, just keep an eye on the date stamp on the sidewall. A ranch truck sits a lot and tires can age out before they wear out.

MarcoBenavides

To answer your other question, yes. Once I got on the list at Elizondo they started emailing me when trucks came in that matched what I told them I wanted. I was after a flatbed and they sent me three over about a month before I found mine. Call the office and tell them what you run, it beats driving out every week to look.

DeanKubiak

I put 90k on a 6.0 2500 hauling hay and never touched the motor past plugs and a water pump. The one thing that left me sitting was the fuel pump around 150k, so when you get up there carry a little cash for that. Not a hard job but it will strand you when it goes. Good buy for the money.

HectorMata

I bought my last two trucks off Elizondo Auto Sales and both times the title was ready the same day like you said. The first one had a small coolant leak they fixed before I drove off, no charge. They are not perfect but they have been straight with me. Set your pickup for the morning so they have all day if the paperwork drags.

PaulaGutierrez

40 head and a gooseneck, that 2500 will do everything you ask of it. I feed round bales off the back of one just like it. If you are hauling feed sacks get a cheap bed mat so they quit sliding around, best twenty dollars I spent. Welcome to owning instead of borrowing your brother in law's truck every weekend. One thing, grease the front end every oil change. These dry out and the ball joints start to clunk if you let them go, and a clunk on a loaded truck is no fun on a back road.

ClintReyes

One more on the manifold tick Krista mentioned. If it ticks when cold and quiets down warm, leave it alone, it is just the bolts. If it ticks all the time you have a leaking gasket and that is a weekend job. Easy to tell the two apart.

TravisOdom

Appreciate all of it. Did the cold start this morning and sure enough there is a faint tick that goes away once it warms up, so sounds like the bolts and nothing to lose sleep over. Got on the email list with the office like Marco said. Already put a bed mat in and reseated that controller plug, Roy was right, it was just loose. Will report back after a season of hauling.

TravisOdom OP update

UPDATE, end of July. About four months and a long hay season on the truck now. Short version, it has done everything I needed and has not let me down once.

Pulled the loaded gooseneck all spring, hauled feed every week, dragged the arena once in a while. The 6.0 drinks gas when it is working hard, no surprise there, but it never got hot and never missed a beat. That cold tick is still just a tick, my neighbor who wrenches looked at it and said the same thing you all did, leave it be.

Only money I have put in is an oil change, a set of front brake pads, and the bed mat. Right at 25k all in for a truck that does this much work feels like a steal. I would buy off Elizondo again, the email list paid off too, they already sent me a flatbed I am thinking about for my dad.