you cant go wrong with any 1st gen dakota. my '93 has 262,4xx KM on it and all ive had to replace so far is the water pump and VSS (vehicle speed sensor)

 

Anybody know a good mechanic in Canton Ohio? My issue is the 95 Dakota is in Canton Ohio. I need to find someone trustworthy to look at it. I live in Grand Rapids Michigan and I want to make the trip worthwhile. Plus the wife thinks I am crazy! She thinks I am downgrading? DOWNGRADING? I think its an upgrade to 4 wheel drive.

 

LOL, I gotta agree with you there, your upgrading not downgrading! When I bought my truck, I sold my old car which was 5 years newer and I didn't feel for a second like I was downgrading!

 

as long as your going dodge, its never a downgrade =P

 

Well, I spent most of my day driving all the way to Canton Ohio from Michigan to go look at the 95 Dakota. It was a nice looonnnngg drive but I think well worth it. I get to the dealer and there the truck sits. A very nice truck at first glance. The back bumper has a little rust on it and a small rust spot on the tailgate. The sticker price on the window was $6986. I thought a little to high regardless of the miles on it. (Reminder the truck does have 65,600 miles on it.) I lifted the hood and the by appearance it is very clean. Hoses, belts, fluids looked good except the antifreeze. It was a dark gray color. Inside the cab the interior could use a good cleaning but in good shape. I took it for a nice drive. I drove it for 2 hours. Everything worked and it drove very very nice but I smelled the antifreeze during the whole course of the drive. It had a nicer ride than my current truck.
I found an auto repair shop and I stopped to have them look at the vehicle to get an opinion.
Here is what the mechanic came up with.
Leaking front axle seals, corroded transmissions lines, leaking valve covers, leaking oil pan seal, the whole exhaust system front to back needed replaced and lastly the radiator needed replaced before I drive 350 miles to Michigan. I did have another issue as far as shifting the 4WD. It engaged to 4H fine but I had a difficult time engaging it to N and 4L which left me a little concerned. Maybe it was not a big deal.
The person that owned it before had put some work into the truck. It had fairly new brakes, shocks,and new ball joints. It had belonged to a 68 year old man that just did not drive it much.
I really liked the truck a lot! I just did not feel right about it. If you don't feel right about something I have learned don't do it. I wasn't excepting the truck to be perfect for 15 years old. I did not buy it and I had the opportunity to buy for a good price. It would have been a steal! If I had a lot of money I would have bought as a project but not trade my 2000 Dakota. It just was not worth trading my 2000 Dakota for.

In the end...I thought for my situation I made a good decision. Yeah it was a long drove.