Since I have had the truck I have changed the oil, replaced the belt, replaced the air filter, replaced the front sway bar bushings(creaking sound), greased all the ball joints and tie rod ends(bought a grease injection needle), wash, clay bar, paint correction with a DA polisher and waxed and sealed.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the drivers seat bottom foam and straighten it out. Kinda leans to the left..lol

I gotta say though, and this is the first Dodge I have ever owned(owned plenty of Jeeps over the years) I LOVE this truck!!

 

Glad you're enjoying your truck. I am 180,000 on mine and it is still a daily driver. I still get oem mileage and have only put a few hundred in it, but have done strict maintenance. Take care of it and it will be a great truck.

 

man my 03 doesn't have a key fob nor remote start. was that a factory option. first i am hearing about this.

 

Keyless entry is factory option I think, but the remote start is a Black Widow aftermarket setup. I didn't know anything about it, neither did the salesman.

 

Well, it's been a few months and I just thought I would post an update.

I don't put a lot of miles on a vehicle because I drive a semi for a living Over-The-Road. Sometimes I park the Dakota at the terminal and I am gone for 2-3 weeks.

I've had the Dakota 6 months and I've put 4K miles on it and it is averaging 20 MPH. I'm ok with that.
LOVING the remote start. My wife took it to work several times when it was calling for snow and was able to start it from inside the building as well as not have to worry about the weather(that 2013 Mustang convertible she has isn't the best vehicle for that kind of weather).
I replaced the rear end links with Moog links because of some slop in the rear sway bar. I got a little more noise transfer with the Moog links but it feels better.
Ball joints are next on the list but aren't a "have to" right now. It passed inspection with flying colors. It has a small amount of play in the drivers side but it will pass no problem.
I removed the drivers seat cushion and rebuilt the foam. It hadn't broken down to where it hurt the upholstery at all so I just rebuilt the foam pad and put it back together.
I ordered some Lloyds floor mats for it and they are excellent. Not cheap, but they fit great and look even better. I got the ones with the Dodge emblem and Dakota script.
Thanks to all for the info and recommendations when I was buying the truck. So far so good!