[mully17]

Howdy Folks! Love what i have seen on the site so far. Lots of great info and everyone is very helpful with advice/comments etc. Thanks for your patience as I explain my current situation. Any advice from you is greatly appreciated.

Just bought the Impala in April and am going to keep it. Have wanted a truck since high school (many moons -20 yrs-ago). Have put it off for various reasons and decided that the time is right to do it considering that we consumers have a lot of power at the moment. I know there are good deals out there on half tons but I have always had my heart set on getting a diesel.....but still keeping all options open.

I don't have any brand loyalty per se (have driven Chev all my life) but have been doing a lot of research. Considering buying new and used. Don't want a dodge as i want a "real" crew cab. My cousin drives a 2008 F-350 Lariat. He is lucky as he is avg about 16-17 mpg. I know it's a crapshoot with the 6.4 (in terms of mpg-he likes its power) and I am a bit uneasy with the history of the 6.0. The more I read about the d-max the more i like. Have been told about possible relibility issues with the d-max so any input there would be helpful.

A couple of questions I have:
1) If i post the VIN of a used chev/gmc, is it possible for one of the site experts to help me out with the truck's history? (I ask b/c a ford tech on a powerstroke forum helped me out with the history of a F-350 I was looking at and the truck did have quite the "history".)

2) Thoughts on used vs. new right now with the truck market the way it is?

3) Any other advice you can give as i research, buying tips, etc?

Thanks for reading this. I know it was a long post but I have not purchased a truck before and want to get a good deal and do it right.