I am no truck expert. In fact, my current truck is the only one I've ever owned. It’s a 2005 Ford F250 Super Duty 4X4 Crew Cab Lariat. It has the 6.0L Diesel. I bought it in February 2012 for $27,000. It was a one owner truck bought and traded back in at the same Ford dealer in Indiana. When I bought it, it had just at 30,500 miles on it. I had looked for an affordable diesel truck for a while, but most of the ones in my price range had 100K+ miles on them.
I put a new set of tires on it for $1,000.
Since I've had it, I've had a couple of issues that I had to have repaired. First, the EPC Solenoid had to be replaced when the transmission started to hesitate when I put it into gear. The cost of the solenoid, fluid, and screen plus labor was just under $600. I had the brakes completely redone replacing calipers, rotors and pads. That was $1,300. I had to have the EGR valve replaced and they pulled the turbo and cleaned the vanes and fins on the inside. That was $550.
Finally, with the incredibly cold winter, I had the cable for the block heater installed. It seems that’s an option on Ford diesels (the cable, not the heater which is on all of them) and mine didn't come with one when new. That was $200.
The truck now has 45,700 miles on it so I've put about 15,000 miles on it since I bought it. And with repairs, tires, and my block heater cable, I have $30,650 in it.
The truck is now 9 years old. I've only put 15,000 miles on it myself. But I’m very happy with it. It pulls my R25 like it’s not even back there. On the interstate, hauling the boat, I put it in tow mode, set the cruise on 70, and just enjoy the ride. The interior is comfortable and my wife enjoys riding in it.
Considering the prices of new or newer diesel ¾ ton trucks, I don’t mind if I have repair bills periodically. I've read bad stories about the 6.0L Ford Diesels in some forums but read many good things too. So far, I haven’t had anything happen that shocked me. That said, when I read about Marc’s experience or some of the others, I have to say I’d be pretty angry If I were having the same issues, especially if I bought new.
Just my thoughts/experience.