Hello. Am looking at a 1997 4x4 xtra cab Dakota with a 3.9 v6 magnum engine. I am not familiar with Dakotas. This one has 135,000 miles, real clean and lifted. The seller wants $5800. How does that sound to you all?
How many miles are people getting out of a 3.9 liter engine?
Thanks for any response.
Ken

 

Well, I can tell you this it's slow as hell. I have 31's on my 3.9 and it's really slow but thats why im putting in a 5.9l.... My 3.9 has about 130k miles. Still runs good. but for that price what kind of tires, rims, how much lift ect... would help too.

Chris

 

that is way too much for that truck, try around 3500 or 4000, you will only get about 15 mpg city/highway mixed.

 

That does sound high. I just bought my '97 for $3000. It has the 5.2L and 168,000 miles. For the miles, way over 100,000, close to $6000 is too high for that truck. I'd talk him down to closer to $4000, like wink2873 suggested. Mine has a 3" body lift, and near brand new BFG AT KO tires. I do think I got mine for a good deal, but at the same time, $5800 for a V-6 truck with well over 100k is too much.

The engine itself should last a LONG time. It's based on the LA-series V-8 engines (5.2L, 5.9L, etc), but with 2 fewer cylinders. It should be reliable. I hear that they're not fast, though. And there's really no fuel economy advantage. I'm getting between 14-15 with my V-8, and my driving can probably be classified as 50/50 city/highway. It's so hard (meaningless) to compare fuel economy because everybody's driving is different, their weather is different, trucks are in different states of tune, etc. And mine's REALLY an estimate because my tires are larger than the stock size (about 15%). So when my odometer says I ran 200 miles, I've really run about 230 miles. So I add 15% to my trip odometer reading and calculate based on that. I've only had my truck for 2 tanks of gas, and I've gotten between 14 and 15 MPG both times.

 

asking too much. get truck though, i've heard and read lots of folks getting 200+ miles on magnums with little maint. that's why i bought mine. i put a cold air intake and a superchip tuner and i think it's pretty peppy. i can get up to 17.5 mpg if i take it easy. good luck! (3.9, thought it would be in my sig)

 

I agree with asilaydying ive had my v6 magnum dakota for 3 years and i havent had a single problem. It's a 2000. I also think that its not as weak as people think. I seem to get pretty good response with mine and with the CAI it does pretty well. Hopefully you can work him down on the price.

 

It all depends. I bought my truck(1999 2wd 3.9) for 200. did some work and have about 2k total into it but it should be good for a long time. But if the body and interior is mint(not a vehicle from teh rust belt) and all the receipts are there and he has replaced all the items that wear out about that time(wheel bearings, tie rods, ball joints u-joints tires etc) it may be an alright deal. I would agree with the above(who have more experience with this vehicle) and try and talk them down.

Thats my 2cents!

Here is what I paid 200 for:

https://dodgeforum.com/m_1262520/tm.htm

 

Glade to know i am not the only person who thinks the 3.9 is not as under powered as people say.

 

3.9's are very strong engines, not big powerhouses, but very reliable. I bought an 88 with a 3.9 that has 250,xxx miles on it for 400$. If it would have been any other truck or anything but a 3.9 or 5.2 for that matter, I never wouldve paid 400 for it. The 3.9 starts right up every time and runs perfect. But still I would try to talk him down. go to www.kbb.com and put in all the info about the truck and select private party value. That should give you a good estimate of what it's really worth.

 

I have a 3.9, well soon to be a 5.9, and it has NEVER not started in cold weather i started without being plugged in , -45 last year. I am getting a bigger battery this time, a 825 cca, so it will never have a problem but it all depends.