Need opinions on 6.5L GM TurboDiesel

[Ncostello]

Once again my volunteer fire department is on the prowl to find a decent used rescue truck. The latest find is a 1994 C-3500HD (15,000 GVWR) that has the 6.5L TD with a 4L80E transmission. The truck has 58,000 miles (original miles). The cab, chassis, and body is everything we desire. However I'm not a huge fan of the 6.5L Turbo Diesels.

I want to try and look at this without bias towards my favorite diesel truck...the Dodge Cummins. I'm usually the one the department looks to when deciding on a truck. But...I'm not too familiar with the 6.5's and really cant say anything about them.

Can they provide years of troublefree service? Will we be looking at installing a new engine at 100K? We only average about 4 or 5 thousand miles a year. So it wont get driven into the ground. We have very high maintenance standards on our trucks so that won't be an issue. I just wanna feel good knowing I didn't get us into a big mechanical mess.

We spent our money on two pumpers (One new, one used) and this will be our last purchase for a while. The truck is $34,000 (also negotiable) which is very reasonable for what it is....assuming the engine is good. I have no fears about the rest of the truck. Its just that once this amount is spent were done. We cant afford $100,000 for a new truck just like it.