Well I have juat a few questions about my Dakota. First off,I have bought a 2003 Quadcab 4x4 with 121000 road miles.I knew the truck in my area and it was never taken off-road or abused,plus I really think I got a great deal on the truck.I am just trying to fiqure out the paint.It looks as if the clearcoat is coming off of the paint.This is happening on both frt fenders,the tops of all the doors and on both of the rear quarters.The hood and the roof are fine.I have not found any signs of having been repainted,but it is just wierd that the top and the hood have not done it. PLus I really must say that these trucks are really under-rated.I have had a Ford Ranger Supercab,and a Chevy Colorado Crew-cab,and a Toyota Tacoma Crew-cab,and the Second Generation of the Dodge Dakota has all of them beat.Out of all of these trucks fuel mileage is not that much better that the Dodge.The Dodge has the best ride of all the trucks,plus it was the only Mid-Sized truck with a V-8.I know that the first Quadcab I had was a 1999 with the 360 4x4 and I did burn up a rear axle (spinning tires from every stoplight),but I really did miss that truck.I really was lucky to find this truck locally and it had everything on it that I wanted,SLT,Leather,Power seat,Auto Mirror. The only issue was the left frt window regulator was broken and the PO was a chain smoker(trying to get the smell out is very hard).Like I said I believe that these trucks are over-looked and are just about the perfect size. Just My Opinion

 

It seems as if the dark colors such as black,green or blue have that problem of clear coat. I have been lucky enough to not have that problem but cant say that its really that true because my truck was repainted by the po.

 

I think the darker colors just break up faster. My door are starting to do so. My roof has as well, but I took care of that. My friend's black R/T looks terrible, and it has 55,000 miles and in a garage most of the time.

 

The wierd thing is that there are 4 other Dakota Quadcabs in my area, a silver,a gold,a bronze,and another red identical to mine and mine is the only one doing it.I am just amazed at why the Roof and the Hood have not chalked up but I will drive it till the wheels fall off I hope.

 

mine is the patriot blue and i havnt had any issues with it i cant find any were thats the clear coat is bubbling or pealing but i do wax it atleast twice a year and usally have it polished once or every other year

 

Mine is alright there's not really any signs of the clear coat going. Some scratches (got a few deep ones recently i am fixing), but other than that the paint is pretty good. Just be careful washing it and stuff if you cant do anything immediately. edit: Forgot to say mine is "Dark Garnet Red" so its a dark color too.

 

i have a bright red quad cab 02 and my clear is peeling from my front fenders, hood, and roof. it sucks cause when its clean its such a beautiful color

 

Ryan Brown33 That is the same color as mine.And you are also right,this is a great color for these trucks,it just sucks that the clear is coming off.I am wondering is there anyway to just try to re-clear the areas that is peeling? I am no body man so this is just a question.If the truck could be recleared that is what I would have done.

 

ya thats exactly what i want to do is just have it re-cleared or maybe repaint and clear the parts that are already losing clear. it sucks because i am in love with the red color its just the majority of old dodges do this over time. must not be a very high quality clear coat they used and then once the clear is gone it starts on the paint. it sucks cause man the red is soooo good looking

 

Hmm...maybe it depends on the auto plant? The vin number tells you which plant it was built at. forgot where mine was...I find it odd that some trucks are fine and others have problems.