I'm a newbie to Dodge, but are considering to by a Gen 1 Durango.

Any year/trim to avoid? What to pay attention to when buying? What services to make sure is done?!

I'm totally new (other than perusing this site) to the Durango and would love some input!

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum coolhand77.

For the first generation, I would recommend 2001-2003 models. This is the last model that was updated for 1st generation durangos. 2001-2003 has an updated interior.

 

Well a few things come to mind to look at.
First would be transmission, you want to make sure they maintained it asd it should of been.
Second would be same as any make and modle of vehicle, make sure the oil was changed when it should of been.

Both are hard to prove and hard to know if it has or not without going inside and checking it out..

Overall Durango is a great truck to have. You take care of it like it should be (follow maintenance) and you will have a truck that will last a long time..

Now, this does not mean you will not have issues. most people come on here that complain about the truck are not the original owners and bought the truck with around 100,000 miles on it, damage done already with poor maintenance.. Then want to complain about how bad they are.

But ya check tranny..
Check oil changes.

 

The 2003 is the best of all Gen1 Ds. While I prefer the interior of the 2000 D, the 4 wheel disk brakes with ABS and most modern engineering of the Gen1 on the latest available in the 2003 model year (last year before the Gen2 switch)... that's the one to go with.

Preference would be to find a 2003 R/T with an up to date service record IMHO.

+1 everything said in the post above. He is dead on accurate.

IndyDurango

 

Excellent! Any other question to ask the seller regarding the Durango?

I've found a '00 I like, but I haven't been able to look at it yet. There doesn't seem to be many '03's locally

 

Ask how often the transmission, transfer case and differentials have been serviced. Should have been every 36,000 miles or 2 years.

Ask how often the oil was changed. Should be 3000 miles for dino oil, 5000 for synthetic oils.

Ask if they have replaced the ball joints, tie rod ends and general front end service. On the 2000 you are due for a $1000 repair bill if they haven't been touched.

Get proof of the service records or pay less.

If there are no squeaks, rattles, obvious odd noises AND the D looks clean in general (carpets are clean, engine is clean, seats are in good condition) you could assume that it has been well taken care of.

As the top-of-the-scale perspective IMHO on a D of the same year ( )... here is my 2000 Durango. One onwer (me) and over 200,000 miles on the stock transmission and engine. I drive it as hard as I want on a daily basis... I just take care of it.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...dydurango.html

How much are you giving for it?

IndyDurango

 

I've found two...

a '99 with the 5.7L, 100k - $5.3k
a '00 SLT, 125k, - $4.9

The first one is owned by a firefighter, so I know that one is well cared for

 

No 5.7s in 1999.
Neither worth that much IMHO.

Of the two, take the '00 over the '99 anyday.

$3500 maybe.

IndyD

 

Yup!

The 2000 is a better PCM and others but again look into maintenance records.