I just want to know, How does a dodge compare to chevy or ford.
I am looking to get a newer truckie, But have never owned a dodge
product. I have been a first on race day (ford) owner. I have a 77 chevy
now. It's a very nice truck. But a chitty gas aholic at the same time.
Yes I have sent it to gas aholics anon, But no results. 2 MPG around
town AIN'T gonna cut it! Any how, I am looking at a dodge Dakota
it's a 99 model, 4x4 extra cab silly tonnau cover and all. The price ain't
an issue. I would like to know how dependable they are. Also considering
a dodge full size 1/2 ton with 64,000 on it. It's a 2001. Also wanna know
how dependable this truck would be. Thank you for reading!

 

Welcome to DF John. I am gonna move this to the 2nd Gen Dakota Section and make a copy to the 2nd Gen Ram Section to get some feedback for ya!

 

Well most of your responses will be, Ford sucks, Chevy sucks, Dodge rules Really though any vehicle you maintain properly should last awhile regardless of the maker. If the '99 is a V8 expect 15-18mpg if it is a V6 your mileage will be worse due to weight. It also depends on what you are using the truck for as far as whether to get a Dakota or full sized truck. You really need to pick the one that best suites your needs. I have owned a vehicle from just about every maker and my Dakota hasn't had any major issues compared to the others. One big thing around here is Dodge is made in the good 'ol USA and most of us are happy to support them. Good luck, keep us posted and welcome to our forum.

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...re-buying.html

 

Ouch 2mpg my 85 power ram the biggest gas hog I own and even if I drive it really hard I cant get anything less than 5-7 mpg and I have tried really hard to get it lower. Anyway you cant go wrong with a dak they came with the 3.9 v6s 4.7 5.2 and 5.9 v8's(5.9's only in rt's and I think 01 was the only year they came in the quad cab non rt). These trucks can take some abuse and still run like new. As far as the 1/2 ton they are good trucks too my uncle has a 94 with 136,000miles and he is pretty hard on it too and still runs like new and is really fun to drive(5.2 v8 with a 5 speed) Ive chirped 4th before not bad for stock and gets 20mpg. my bro in laws old dakota slt with a 4.7 v8 is still running to this day with around 140,000miles he beat it pretty well. Only thing I hate about daks is they like to eat ball joints if you get the grease able ones they will last longer than dodges factory ones. If you go with a 04 or older dak or a 01 and older ram you would have a pretty good truck as long as the last owner took care of it.


ps ford does not suck like a lot of people make it seem. We got a 02 f150 4.6 v8 sitting in our driveway with 142,000miles no major problems but my work truck a 95 f350 dumptruck 5.8 v8 took a crap at 138,000miles. They are still good truck just not as good as dodge thats all

my uncles truck
darinstruck.jpg

darin.jpg


my bro in laws truck
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terry4.jpg

terry2.jpg

terry3.jpg

terry8.jpg

This kind of stuff was normal for that truck almost every weekend

 

My father also has a 04 f150 just rolled 200k ^ and his boss's 02 (both 4.6's)rolled over 300k last month, no major problems

Like mentioned if it was taken care of it shouldn't be too bad. Stay away from the 3.9, and read the common issues that fox posted a link to.

And yeah they eat ball joints for breakfast... and the automatic trannys are junk.

 

i used to have a full size ford F250, but for some reason it is just impossible to get any gas milage out of a ford anything IMO, but no real problems with the truck... i currently have a chevy 03 2500 HD with the 6.0L gas, its a pure work horse and has never had an issue. my dd is a dakota, my friend has a full size ram, and my other buddy has an R/t dakota, we all have over 100,000 miles and we all BEAT THE STINK out of them all day between towing, hauling, burnouts and racing, the dodges just take it all like a *****.. so far just maintence on them