Poohbair said:
Poohbair,
Wait, back up, because you missed it. It is a non issue because everyone has a different income. Not all of us have million dollar homes and drive BMW's because not all of us are extremely wealthy. The payment issue only matters by what the payer makes, which is not the topic here.
Tim is exactly right. You can dump 10K into a K30 now and it will be lucky to be worth half that tommorrow. I have 20K+ in my K5 and probably couldn't get 10K for it, even if I held out for months. THat is the trend with fixed up older vehicles, you are lucky to get half of your investment back, especially if it isn't even a classic, like our beloved 70's-80's trucks.
Tim is also right that the newer diesels are depreciating at slower rates than gas equipped rigs. Yes, an older rig depreciates even slower but because there is no demand for them and they aren't worth much in the first place. 10% of 10 dollars is only 1$. Take a new diesel truck that is highly sought after and you will see more money lost simply because it is worth more. 10% of 10,000$ is 1,000$.
For 10K I can put a crew cab on this ol' Ford and install a used powerstroke, have the same power and mileage as you (or better)... and I may not be able to get ALL of my $$ out of it if I wanted to sell it, but I will be a hell of alot closer than trying to get 35K out of a used 2000 to 2005 w/ 100K miles on it...
1) You will not get a better mileage out of a powerjoke, especially in a chassis that wasn't designed for it, than a 5.9L cummins ISB.
2) You wouldn't be able to match the power of the cummins with a PS. The older mechanical version 7.3 (which isn't a powerstroke) would be the easiest swap and does not have the aftermarket support to even match a cummins like mine with just an Edge EZ chip.
, and the '05's are fairly higher rated than mine. The early "simpler" electronic PS has primitive software, forget about making that a rival. Good luck with trying to wire in an up to date PS.
3) You won't get nearly as much money back for it as you think, most people frown on homegrown hack jobs, unless it was done by a professional shop. There are tons of strait axle late chevies around here.....it's an easy mod but they are worth SQUAT after the mod. The only one I ever saw that had a SAS and wasn't slaughtering the resale was a late model CC4x4 1 ton that was done by Fullthrottle suspension and had the records to back it.
all depends if you want something nice and cushy w/ no character that will go DOWN in value (dollar for dollar), no matter what...
I prefer older rigs w/ character than the same ol' new trucks you see every other car on the freeway.
Ha, my blazer definantly has character....a whiny one that is always crying "wrench on me!" My dodge definantly has a lot of compfort and power in it's character....
Whiteryno,
WHats that dodge of yours going to be worth in 5-6 years? Not near what you paid for,
Honestly I haven't thought about it much. Mainly because it doesn't bother me, I will just trade it in on another dodge cummins that is only a couple years old and start all over again with a slightly used truck. If I loose 5-10K$, big deal....it's still definantly worth it having a newer, nice, powerfull rig over something older and a lot "looser"
As for your mommy's '00. It will not outpull an '05 ram cummins in stock form and there is no two ways about it. My guess is she has a comp box and/or other goodies that you haven't mentioned. Lets compare stock to stock.
Tim,
We see eye to eye on this subject, it is a nice change.
he didn't have a saw!!
). 
