It's been 15 years since my last automobile purchase and I've never bought one specifically in Washington. I'll soon be spending around $10,000-15,000 cash, probably in a private deal. I'm in the market for a strong towing capacity 4x4 pickup from around late 1990s to early 2000s in excellent condition. Probably diesel. I've never owned a diesel. This is for a pending long distance out-of-state move, where I will be hauling a lot of personal property in a cargo trailer. Also advice in towing, capacity, towing trailers, etc. since I have no experience there.

Any and all relevant advice from shopping, buying, licensing, what to look for specifically in brands and models, or tips on if you know of one for sale are all appreciated.

Edited to add: To clear up any future confusion, I also just really would like a good reliable pickup that will serve me well on this move, and for the next decade of casual put important use moving and hauling as needed. I've wanted a good pickup for a decade, and to my mind it makes sense to get one now versus spending thousands of dollars on rental vehicles when that money could be put toward a truck.

Thanks!

If it is just for a move, why not rent?

If your buying from a private party don’t transfer the title in Washington. They will hit you for tax. Buy here, but register in your new state.

I've considered the options and prefer to own it after spending the money. Renting once will cost 20% + of simply owning.

Hmmmm I do love owning a rusted PNW truck.

Rusted? You must not have seen any 1990s-2000s trucks from New England.

Hell they come rusted off the lot in New England >.>

My thoughts exactly . . . I laughed when I read UpDog's post. I've always marveled at what great shape the vehicles are in here in WA!

In fact, this reminds me of about 15 years ago when I took my Honda Accord to the dealer for an oil change. When I went to pick it up, I saw that they had put the wrong oil into it -- it was a different weight than what Honda recommended.

I asked why, and the answer was, "we use this weight because it works better here in the Pacific Northwest, with the big temperature swings that we have here."

Fucking asshole . . . so it's 40s in the winter, and 60s in the summer, and that's a big temperature swing??

EDIT: Sorry for the thread detour, LC! Now back to buying a truck!

Yeah, rust isn't an issue in the PNW.

You want to discuss rusted cars, anything in the midwest or out east where snowfall is heavy and icy roads are combated with SALT and you can talk about rust. Every car we owned had a rusted out floor.

Sunrise Auto Sales in Eatonville

lookup on Facebook, great customer service

for one:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/ctd/ ... 85388.html

If you see a vehicle being sold by a dealership check the sales tax rates in their area before heading out. 2% isn't much when buying consumables but can add $200-$300 to the price of a $10k-$15k vehicle.

Never buy a vehicle from a small private lot. They are generally bad news.

If buying private take the damn thing to a mechanic before you make an offer on it. A couple hundred bucks paid for a good inspection could save you thousands on costly repairs that you don't know the vehicle needs. It also gives you info to bargain with the seller and get them to lower their asking price. Seriously, don't cheap out on this part.

Don't expect anything fancy. $10k-$15k is a very low budget for a quality diesel truck. Not to mention the turn of the century trucks are some of the most sought after. The Ford 7.3, the Dodge 5.9 12 or 24 valve, the Chevy LBZ motor with the Allison transmission. These are all going to be very high priced or very high mileage due to their reputations for reliability.

Remember that even though diesel engines tend to go for a lot of miles, other parts on the truck itself wear out a lot faster. A diesel engine with 200k miles may still have a long life ahead of it, but when is the last time the tranny was rebuilt? Have they done suspension/running gear maintenance? (shocks/bearings/u joints) Have they been good about changing fluids? (brakes/steering/differentials/transmission)

Don't buy a truck that has been chipped. Generally that means they drove it like an asshole or spent a lot of time towing with it.

Where has the truck lived? Has it been west coast all of its life? Or is it an east coast/middle America rust bucket?

How many owners? Less is better. 1 owner is best. A 1 owner truck was generally loved and treated right. Too many owners means too many assholes have sat behind the wheel.

Don't buy a lifted truck if you don't need it. Lifts and larger wheels/tires put extra stress on the running gear and wear it out faster. In fact, if you don't need 4wd look at 2wd diesels. They tow just as well and will be significantly cheaper than a 4wd.

This is just the stuff that came to mind immediately, there's more that'll come to me later.

You sure you want to buy a diesel with only a $10k-$15k budget? That's awfully light for a diesel truck. Have you looked at maintenance costs on diesels and trucks in general? They are significantly more expensive to maintain than cars.

IMO up your budget or rent a moving truck then purchase a vehicle in your destination state. Preferably a state without sales tax. That's my $1.05 on the subject.

Something to consider is all cars 2010 and newer in WA have to be California emission rated.

I was a Chrysler Tech from 99-02. Those era Cummins trucks were pretty damn solid. Problem now is every redneck wants $11k-$20k it seems for one with 300k miles. Or people snatch up the older 12 valves for Cummins swaps. I like the old 80s-90s Ford 6.9 and 7.3 IDI diesel trucks. Not that powerful, but simple. Probably a bit old for what you want though. I looked at a nice F-250 7.3 IDI last winter with 180k for $1,500 and it ran like a top. Should’ve bought it for a hunting rig. I have a ‘19 Silverado 3500hd Duramax I love. It’s got a ton of power and decent fuel economy.

If you know anyone who works at a car dealership, sometimes they can run the VIN and get a little info. Like if it was a former rental truck, which dealership it came from (good way to avoid east coast and Canadian rust buckets). I wanted a used Chrysler 300 SRT8 a couple years ago. Gave VIN numbers to one of my buddies that’s a tech for a Dodge dealership. Only 1 was from WA, 1 owner before trade in, never a rental or wrecked. So I bought that one. Now my wife drives it. Recently had a friend buy a used Ram 1500 that’s a few years old off a used car lot. Had issues shortly after purchase. Was a rental truck it turned out. Those things get beat to crap.

^^^This^^^