If you are on a tighter budget and want a newer Ram truck why not look into a repaired "prior salvage" one? You said you would likely have it a long time. That way you can get a better newer truck with less miles on it. I have been building and driving them for 10 years now. Great value! Why spend 30K for a clean title one with 100K miles, Instead spend 30K for one with only 30k miles that will give you years of service before needing anything replaced. They aren't all total nasty wrecks that need fixing either. I had an 18 2500 Cummins with 44k on it last year that someone put in the ditch and bent the front axle. No paint or body damage at all. Replaced the front axle and did alignment and it was good to go!
Not everyone putting trucks together is doing a good job, that's why they are so frowned on. Some guys will replace an entire crushed wiring harness for example while others will cut and splice a mess of wires just twisting them together, some guys pull all the old broken plastic out of hard to reach places while others leave it in there to cause unidentified rattles for the next 20 years. Some guys use paint that outlasts the factory paint (VERY RARE!) other guys use the cheapest stuff they can get a paint match on and don't prime it properly and it flakes off in a year (VERY COMMON). Even down to things likt the diff you mention, some rebuilders find a good comparable mileage diff to stuff under it and others grab one with 300,000 miles and pressure wash it and throw some THICK gear oil in to quiet the thing down long enough to sell. I would not say to never buy one but it is a case of "buyer be ware" for sure.
