Hi guys, I have been reading about the Dakotas here for a bit as I suspect that will be the truck I buy in the very very near future. I found some tips as to what to look for and so forth. Coincidentally, a guy close to my house is selling a 2002 Dodge Dakota SLT Quad Cab 2 Wheel Drive 3.9 V6. He has had it for over a year. The issue I have is the high mileage. 200,000 miles. By far the highest mileage truck I have seen listed in my searches. I spoke to him briefly (and will again) and he said the previous owner had transmission work done. I'll be getting more information tonight. So...in reading the "ratings" the Dakotas get beat up pretty bad. Should this scare me away? His price clearly does reflect the high mileage as it is a couple grand less than what the same truck would sell for with say 110,000 miles. As far as I know, no major engine work has been done. On one hand I think with that mileage it is on the verge of falling apart...on the other hand I think if it lasted that long it should go a bit further for me. Note..it will not be a daily driver...at most I would put on 10,000 miles per year... Thoughts?

 

there will be things that probably need attendting to with so many miles,
the suspension is one thing,
if its been well maintained theres no reason it shouldnt last another 100k

i can think of one particular first gen dakota with the v6 that is sitting at 350k (roughly) still runs daily

 

This doesn't necessarily apply to Dakota's. But my father's '94 Ram 1500 4x4 has 415,000mi on it. Regular maintenance and fixing problems when they arise will go a long way to ensure a long life for our vehicles.

Sounds like it should be fine for 10,000mi/yr

 

People make too big of a deal about high mileage. My truck's got 227,000 (engine has 82,000), my B2 has 250,000, I swapped the original 2.9 at 245,000 for a 4.0 with 185,000, the Explorer I had had 215,000 and it ran great too. All need/needed minor repairs any car needs.

 

200k on a 3.9 is a lot. If it was a one owner, well maintained truck, I still don't think I would consider it. My 3.9 only made it to ~120k. Given it wasn't maintain too well by the first owner but still it should have lasted longer.

IMO I wouldn't touch it. 200k is a lot of miles for an vehicle. Especially a 3.9 and the suspension will need a lot of work too if it still has orginal ball joints and tie rods. And depending upon how old the shocks are they may need to be replaced as well. But these are all things you should keep in mind when looking.

If the transmission has been rebuilt that is a plus. The dodge trannys are good for 100-150k miles.

But even if all the suspension has been taken care of and the tranny was rebuilt, I still don't think I would touch it. It's a been there done that type of deal.

 

I bought mine new in 2000 and got a lifetime oilchange and inspection courtesy card at purchase and as of now i have 226,000 and have only replaced the alternator,waterpump and a/c compressor.Other than that normal wear parts,brakes,muffler,tires,speed sensor,oxy sensors.I have kept a log of every trans service/transfer case and differencial fluid change.I still have the original battery! The truck is awesome and has never screwed me,so if the owner or previous owner has a log of all the history like me,i dont see a problem with a high millege 3.9 magnum.

 

miles are totally irrelevant. my friend bought a 1988 k-car with 34,000 actual miles in 2002. the car needed new crossmember old one rusted out from sitting, new brake lines, fuel lines, engine was horribly sludged, seals leaked etc. i drive a beater toyota with over 250,000 miles and in the past 5 years and 100,000 miles ive owned it the only thing i had to fix was one set of brake pads, and an alternator. and it still has the original clutch. i bought it from the original owner for $500 the best $ i ever spent. i bought a low miles ford truck 80,000 from the original owner not running for a couple hundred, so far i had to replace 3 fuel pumps, new valve cover and intake manifold gaskets and a new rear brake line. could be the fact it's a ford and not a toyota.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for the sake of giving the OP unbiased info:

There must have been something seriously wrong with the maintenance of that engine. There's a 1st gen 3.9L I've seen around me with over 400,000 miles on the original engine... not saying thats normal, but they can go for a long time. Also, a mechanic friend of mine has replaced the ball joints/tie rods on countless dodge dakotas and durangos that had under 100,000 miles on them, the newest on that list only had 40,000, and I don't know many people who would turn down a deal on a vehicle with under 100,000 miles. Basically all the suspension parts you listed are parts that could just as easily need replacing on most 100,000 mile vehicles.

My advise to the OP is find out what recent maintenence has been done, cause its impossible to say how long it will last just based on the fact that it has 200,000 miles.

 

my thoughts are if it has high miles and its cheap and u can fix stuff, go for it. if u have to pay people to fix anything ud be better off buying a new car with a warranty.

 

No you're totally right. They can last forever, but maybe im bitter because I got screwed... Mine didn't. And I had a lot of problems with engine that replaced the original as well. So I guess you could say i've had 2 3.9's that both failed me...

And you're right about the suspension, all those things might need to be replaced in a vehicle with ~100k miles. As a matter of fact I just replaced the ball joints and shocks on mine and im only at 110k.

The OP can go ahead and buy it, but just be ready to work on it a lot...