I've gone over two years without a truck and have had enough of it. I'm looking to buy a smaller truck this time. (My wife needs to be able to transfer from a wheelchair.) One of my sons had an S-10 and my neighbor has a Ranger. Both seem too small. A 2nd gen RWD Dakota club cab seems to be a good compromise - low enough for my wife to enter, decent size bed, and a larger cabin for two passengers and the dog in the back seat.

A buddy of mine has an 02 RWD V6 auto club cab with 89K miles. It's a base truck with crank windows and no power locks. It's a clean truck with no problems mechanically or with the body. He's the second owner and is selling it because he hardly ever uses it anymore. (He now takes the bus to work and his wife has a new Explorer.) His bottom line price is 5K.

Some questions:

- $5K seems to be in line with KBB and Edmunds for this truck. Do you agree?

- I'd like have a club cab with rear doors. A salesman at a Dodge dealer said there were some 02-04 Dakotas with rear doors, but I haven't seen any. Do they exist?

- Since I'm not in a rush, should I hold out for a V8? I probably don't need the V8, but more cylinders is always better. Also, I read somewhere that the transmissions with the V8 had fewer problems. True or not?

This would be my first Chrysler product in about 18 years. With GM and Ford retirees in the family, we usually stick to those brands. I probably won't catch too much grief...

 

for 5k you could probably find a similar truck with the v8
i cant think of seeing a club cab with rear doors but maybe someone here could chime in on that one

 

according to NADAguides.com that is about right, (6700 is what they say for the CLEAN retail, but that would mean that the truck was PERFECT, so 5000 is probably a good deal as long as the truck is in good shape)



if you plan to tow wait it out for the v8, if not the 6 will be fine as long as you dont expect it to get a large jump in gas mileage. To be perfectly honest the v8 is much quicker than the 6, and gets the same mpgs (its because of the wieght of these trucks) so if you just need it for basic stuff then dont worry, in the end its up to you, there WILL be more people who chime in with input on the subject


well, im glad we were able to convert you from the dark side lol

 

v6 is fine don't let them bad mouth it. and i thought some of them had back doors on the club cab to, but everyone on here told me no. so i guess they don't

 

If 5,000 bucks is a good deal, and he is a buddy of yours....wouldnt you want to buy HIS dakota. At least then you know where the truck has been, and how it was cared for. The deal is good, so why wait and hope to find a V8 that your not 100% sure you would care for anyway?

Its a no brainer to me.

 

First of, none came with rear doors. So you're out of luck in that part.

Secondly 5 is a fair price. I sold my old truck which is the same as you're looking at for 3k but it had higher miles

And if you don't plan on doing much the v6 is fine, but if you plan on doing towing or hauling a lot of anything a v8 is the way to go. I owned a 3.9 and now a 4.7 and the 4.7 is light years better in reliability and power.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll talk to him tomorrow and see if he got the truck back from his step-son who was borrowing it. My mechanic is ready to take a look at it.

I've gotta wonder about mechanic inspections, though. When we were inspecting an Allante, my mechanic was saying something about his kids needing braces. I paid for a lot of orthodonture last year after I bought that car.

 

I think you're wrong about the 4 door Dakotas.. I saw one the other day..

Also
http://www.*********.com/forums/show....php?p=2782789

I've never driven a V6 Dakota, but my family's V8 Dakota has been great to us for the last 5 years.

 

Ryan 3rd gens came with 4 doors (suicide's on the rear) but trucks before 05 don't have that option. Also the link in your post isn't working. Might wanna fix that

 

5 seems fair my friend got a 98 club cab 3.9 5 speed 4x4 with 85,000miles. for 4,000 also needed tires. He tows a 13foot trailer with 2 atvs,each about 400lb and his dad hauls a hydroseader for his buiness which is about 2-3,000lb loaded and it does well.