Hey everybody! I joined to look for a little guidance on a Dakota I'm considering.

It's a 2001 SLT Club Cab 2WD w/ 5.9L V8 Automatic.

The good: It's 8k. It has 35k original miles on it. It's in damn near perfect condition. It's below blue book assuming I did it completely right by about 1500 dollars.

The bad: I don't see anything wrong with it but I'm wondering if there are any specific things I and my mechanic should be looking for to potentially disqualify it besides the mpg. Recalls/known problems/etc. Thanks!

 

I don’t know about the other stuff but unless it’s just a reflection the driver’s door to the cab looks off that could mean it was in a bad accident and could have a bent frame that’s not good get the car fax on it and get the frame checked before anything.

If it’s too good to be true then worry, inspect at a shop especially the frame.

 

low miles and looks clean! you need to do a carfax, dealer or wherever should have the abilitly to do that for free.

normal wear and tear on suspension is the most common issues, ball joints, bushings etc.


WAIT, if its a 5.9 its gotta be an r/t not a slt right? the 5.9 only came in r/ts and the rare quad cabs with the 360. unless they misslabeld the 5.2

 

Wow thunder98110 you sure know your Dakotas

Dakota Man to the rescue

 

If it really has a 5.9 in it, it is an R/T. If that is the case, jump all over this one. An R/T with 35k miles on it is super rare, and the price is good. I noticed it was de-badged so maybe the dealer was too stupid to realize it's a R/T. Post up the vin number. I know someone on here can tell you based on the vin number if its correct. There a certain letter in the vin number that says which motor it came with.

Realistically it shouldn't have any problems on it with only 35k miles but obviously you still want to drive it and check it over inside and out. Make sure there are no unusual sounds. Leaks are usually pretty obvious, but still check closely.

 

I question the milage on the age of the Dakota 35K on a 2001 what did it do sit in a garage for 8 years

Something is strange here.

 

good looking truck, id jump on it quick.

 

Since it's an R/T it may have only been driven in the summer. I'm not sure where it is located but a RWD truck with 350 ft lbs of torque won't do you much good in the winter around here. It may have just been a summer truck used on weekends or whatever.

With that being said, it may have sat for awhile so you do need to make sure it's running properly. It looks super clean from the picture you posted but have you driven yet? If this thing is legit, you found your self one sersiously nice truck.

Although I noticed they didn't do the greatest job shaving the handles. You can see the patch where they were. Hopefully the poppers work correctly.

 

Will carfax show mileage at all it would be interesting to see if there is a difference on carfax to mileage shown?

Didnt see the handles cut off?

 

If you look at the picture the handles are shaved.