I have not been on here since October 2011 because I traded my previous 2000 Dakota for a 2005 Silverado 3500. But now I am looking to downgrade and I found this 2001 Dakota Sport Plus. My last Dakota was the SLT V6 so I am not at all familiar with "sport plus" and the 4.7 V8.

72,100 miles for $9,950. Thoughts on this deal? The carfax that the dealer links to looks good: 1 owner, no accidents. Are there any common problem areas I should check out during test drive?

I see the picture of the drivetrain switch that says "awd/4hi/4low" and do not see a 2wd option. My last Dakota was 2wd but had the floor shifter for manually going to 4hi/4low. Does this thing really not have 2wd?

If anyone can help me out with some useful information, that would much appreciated before I take the hour drive to see this thing. Hopefully in the near future I will be returning as an active member here again. Thanks!

 

That's a riP off. I paid half that for a 03 4.7 4x4

 

Long time no see! I've havent saw your dakota down at your place I thought maybe you moved lol.

Anyway for a 01 I think that is too much. Hell I didnt pay much more for my diesel. The 4wd thing is gonna be like the jeeps(dont know how familiar you are with them) Most dont offer a 2wd option(pretty rare) they use like a 70/20 split when in normal mode but then when it detects slippage it locks into to full 4wd. Which is nice cause you dont have to worry about it but its a lot less fun in the winter.

Granted its a low mileage and the dealer price is spot on! I wouldnt pay more than 8k for that truck. Check pennswoods,craigslist,ebay,ad bargain and auto connection.

 

Actually yeah I did move out of that townhouse around August 2011. Still in Altoona though just over by the campus now.

Yeah unfortunately with all the options, KBB is at 10,000 for that Dakota so the dealer is basically right at it.

 

that is really low miles for such an old truck, check the normal things (control arm bushings, ect) and go from there...but if it's truly that low miles, there's a good chance it was a grandma's truck.

 

Careful about grandma trucks. My 02 had 40k when I got it 2 November's ago. Everything works well cept my tranny. All gears except overdrive shift smooth. Overdrive feels like its gonna shoot through the floor.

But that's way too much for an 01.

 

Ok so I was right! lol What kinda truck do you want? Does it have to be v8? quad cab? under 100k? I didnt even bother taking a look at craigslist

Just a quick search brought me this too bad its a v6

http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/cl...dindex=2150437


Loaded 2005
http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/cl...dindex=2149227

v8 5 speed
http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/cl...dindex=2146663

My cousin owns this one. He has a body shop. He buys wrecked stuff and fixes it and resells them. Price is a little high but I think you could talk him down some. Truck didnt have that much damage when he got it
http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/cl...dindex=2146658

http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/cl...dindex=2128319

 

In general, I don't trust anything previous owners say about a truck or a car... As far as I'm concerned, they're just trying to sell it to me. Unless there's paperwork proving what's been done, I'm calling BS on it.

When I was looking at my Dakota, it looked really nice cosmetically and the salesman commented that the PO was a detailer for them. A few months later rust was popping up all over. This past spring I took off the rear flares to check out a small bubble I had. And in doing so discovered the wheel arches were pretty much gone. The point is no matter who the previous owner was, you don't know what ACTUALLY was done. Sure the PO of my Dak was most likely a detailer, but I stupidly believed that meant he kept the truck in immaculate shape. I'm guessing he just didn't wash it in winter.

 

Ahh it all really depends I guess. The p.o of my truck was dodge service manager. Seems pretty legit as there is a tiny bit of rust starting on my fender(started behind the mudflap) but the rest is in excellent condition. Also the warranty slip for my truck shows the engine was replaced 1,000 miles before the warranty was up lol So that tells me he almost would of had to been or at least knew most of the service guys. The report says number 6 developed a "knock" No way at under 100k that any cummins would developed a knock unless it was beat to death. Which mine clearly wasnt. There are people that sell trucks then there are people that sell trucks to make money.

 

I am really just looking to downsize my monthly payment. I've been looking at all trucks not just Dakota. My last Dakota I was paying $116/month and I traded it for my 1-ton 6.6L Duramax thats costing me $355 a month.

I currently drive this crewcab long bed behemoth:


I love my truck but it really is overkill. Here is my search criteria I've been using on cars.com:

Crewcab truck
4WD
Under $20k
Under 100k miles

Thanks for all the info guys. I will continue the hunt!