Thoughts? What would you pay?
 

Hello all. I'm new here so if im violating anything or posting in the wrong area please feel free to fix it or correct me.

I've got an opertunity to buy a 2nd Gen Ram. The photos will say vastly more than i can about the truck. it is a 4x2. I've never owned a ram, as im primarily a camaro guy, but dodge / mopar has always had a place in my life as as a kid i had many pentastar vehicles. That being said, here's the basics of the truck.

According to the door frame tag it was built in 12/95. It would make it a 1996 Dodge Ram SLT Laramie Standard Cab short bed 4x2. Red / grey 2 tone, with tristar rims. Grey interior. Needs a good bit of TLC. No known rust i can speak of. Has the 5.2 ltr magnum motor, and is an automatic.

Known Issues :

Dash cap needs replaced. badly. Carpet badly stained, may need replaced. Driver side seat ripped, foam compressed / needs replaced as well. all seats actually have ciggaret stains, and other stains, as well as burn holes. Missing ash tray, may need dash bezel as its cracked. factory radio, volume nob not great. Over head console, broke off ceiling, but glued back to its screw mounts so can be removed, but needs replaced with un-craked one. The back window is split sliding, but the latch is broke off, needs replaced. AC works, but under driving and throttle would go to dash defrost only instead of front vents (from what i read while lurking its the "wild vents" situation) Also the one time i drove it, the passenger window was sticky at first trying to put it down, but it did go down without issue afterwards. Probably from non-usage.

Exterior. Front grille, held on with wire ties. looks that all mounts were broken. Passenger side marker lamp / headlamp cracked broken. All headlights yellowed. Front bumper / passenger side slooks like it took a small hit and bent it back. Paint is not great, obviously. Mostly good, but cracking / clearcoat flaking...

Drivetrain issues arenot known to have any at this time. All workwell, heat, air, motor is strong, accellerates well, no slippage from tranny no issues known as i said. Exhaust may be the one issue, as it is aftermarket and very loud, and almost sounds like its failing but i cant be sure till i get under it and inspect it. Truck has 136,xxx miles on it.

so my basic questions are 1, what would you pay for this truck? private party. My co-worker is the owner, and he's wanting to sell it to me, and states he'll even finance it with no interest per month.. (dont have a lot of money here lol)

2.) How hard is it to put later model seats in it? if i were to swap it with say 02-12 seats? what all is different from 2nd to 3rd to 4th gens seat mount wise? I have read some of the threads here, but none are full write ups, with photos, of mounts, and brackets being reused / remade or side by side write ups.

3.) Dash cover, how hard are they to replace, and how much should i be expecting to spend on a new cover?

4.) What major things should i look for before i were to buy? what could be a big issue? what could be a costly repair with these trucks?

5.) also any other things you care to suggest/ comment on?


Here's the pics, i look forward to hearing what you all think / have to say. I've lurked the Pic page (entire thread) and ya'll seem to be a great group here. Thanks.

-Steve
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps94c37d1c.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps7e09211d.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...psd6978763.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps38d02fbc.jpg

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ine=1376699645

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ine=1376699645

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ine=1376699645

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ine=1376699645

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps4c0bf5b4.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...pscd514025.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...psd7a042e9.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p...psdfff65f4.jpg

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ine=1376699645

$1500-$2000 max, its a 2wd its a 95. Body looks to be ok. Heads, tranys, rear lsd's, plenum gasket, cat con, and 02's are trouble areas for these trucks. 95 is OBD1 not to mod friendly.

Welcome to DF! Read the plenum sticky. Trans is also a weak point. Dash is a pia to replace. Just cover it with a dash pad, thats what I did.

I'd say $1500-2500. Looks pretty good, just needs some paint and interior work. I got my replacement dash for $110 and a dashmat for $55. Common issues with these trucks are the plenum gaskets and trannys, other than that they are great trucks. Personally, I would just throw on a seat cover and call the seats done.

Man that thing is beat. $500 max. Only halfway decent looking thing on it are the wheels. That silver lower doesn't look factory either...

Beat? It just has all the usual dodge issues. I don't see a non-standard failure anywhere. :)

If it runs good, drives decent, and doesn't ride too bad.... make any rude/untoward noises... 1500 is a good place to start. Maybe a grand.

How does it look beat? Paint, a dashmat, and a little interior cleaning and it would look great. If that truck is considered beat, I wonder what mine is.

I'd say around 1500 myself, maybe talk him down to a grand. Your dash, while it's cracked and looks like it's missing a couple pieces, could be capped or dash-matted to cover up the ugliness if you will. Hell, I believe I'm going to have to replace my dash because it looks like the damn grand canyon in there with all the missing chunks lol

You say paint like it's some trivial repair when buying a car. That's a huge undertaking/expense if you want anything even halfway decent to come out. A car always looks far better in photos than it does in person, and this one looks subpar in the photos, I can only imagine how it looks in person. It's got bondo all over at least one door, who knows how much is hiding under that repainted lower half. IMO it doesn't look like it's been well maintained.

The OP sounds like a picky dude, as he's pointing out every small detail that's wrong with it. If he isn't OCD and just wants a beater it might not be a bad truck for $500. I see a lot of time and $$ to restore it to its former glory

Is it bondo? Or is it just peeling paint? The rest of the truck doesn't look that bad for the door bottom to have required that kind of work.

kbb.com states in fair condition the truck is worth 3200.00 from a private party, with the options and milage it has.. being a southern USA truck, we dont have much rust usually, so that is a good thing. My co-worker wants 1500.00 for it, and he will finance it without interest for me, for 100. a month. Its a deal i dont think i can just walk away from. The truck would be used as a driver / work round the house type vehicle. not a resto for a show or obviously not an off roader. minor things i'd like to fix as i dont like having beat up hoopties... but decently nice condition vehicles.

I'm surprised really at some of the comments. I've been thinking its a great deal, but now im re-thinking that...

from what ive heard in my car scene around here, dodge is known for transmissions crapping out. theplenum thread, i've gone through and read, an intake manifold doesnt intimidate me, and after having to build a few motors for my camaros i'm confident anything of that nature i could tackle with little issues...

however the tranny does worry me.. Transmissions inherently are expensive, and a pain in the ass to replace. When idrove the truck, it felt strong, no slipping, and no issues. other than burned up fluid is tehre anything i should look for?

it appears to be just paint issues, not bondo btw.

Oh and these pics were taken with an IPHONE, so they are horrible. Plus the truck has not been washed in over a year my co-worker stated. the interior obviously hasnt been cleaned in at least that long.

Compare it to other trucks in the same condition in your area. If the price is reasonable, go for it. :)

heres the rub, its either this truck or none, as my co worker is financing it himself (basically letting me pay him 100 a month till i've paid the 1500 off. so there is no shopping around for another one, however, there are tons of them out there for a lot more than this price. everythign im seeing in this area for a comparable dodge ram, 2000-4000. the ones below 2000 are heavily body damaged, non working ac, etc..


so what about my other questions?

I think fifteen is just right, if it runs with a/c in my book thats 1500. the price is fair and like you said, no interest.
The downside= mpg. 1800kg takes some fuel, and if you are a camaro guy you might have a heavy foot.
I say get it and welcome to truck ownership, please empty your wallet into the gas tank.

hehe yea i know it may be a bit thirsty. Id use it round the house mostly for things round the house. i failed to mention my co-worker is 71, and drove this truck to Indianapolis from Central SC last year and back with no issues. lol

Its right, and I am thinking he is going to start throwing all kinds of stuff your way. " oh, I bought this but never put it on, and this here Chiltons you'll need that, you want a cup of coffee , I can't get down there but bring it over we will have a look...."
Man, I spent some really good times when I was young learning from an older wrencher.
I think some guys are just jealous of a good deal.

$1500 isn't bad IMO. I'd get it. Make sure to delete the trans check valve and adjust the bands also.

im probably going to pull the trigger. i need a good house truck, and somethign that can pull a trailer with a camaro on it for track days and the like. since i own 3 2door cars, and a 4 door car, the truck is a natural add.

$100 a month cant go wrong, id grab it.

do it. when the trans craps out from pulling your camaro around put a megaviper in it.

$1500 isn't bad. Just needs some TLC. That truck would fetch $2k around here easy.
No joke.

And it's a 96. 12/95 puts it as an early-ish 96.

Once you have a truck you'll never be able to get by without one again lol. I'd probably let my trans am and the expedition go before I got rid of my truck. Make sure when you pull a trailer you leave the trans out of od. Also make sure it has a trans cooler or better yet add a larger one.

yea, im pretty sure its a 96 like you say with that 12/95 tag cars being built a year ahead of their actual year...


Glad to hear the positives as well as the negatives.

I cant tell if how it sits is a factory height or if it is a lifted setup... also did these trucks come with a remote lock fob for their keys?

The only things i could really wish that were different for the truck is that it was black, adn that it was extended cab. lol.

did all laramie's come with fog lights?

i forgot to look when i took these pics.

It's a factory 4x2. They came with fobs if they were optioned with it. Get the VIN from the truck and PM DodgeCares here on the forum and ask for a build sheet, he can hook you up in that regard.

For the record: Laramie SLT is meaningless. The trim level name is SLT. That's it. The Laramie was just a fancy prefix they put on the SLT to make it sound nice. The actual Laramie didn't come about until 2004.

And no, most didn't but it was an option that was available from the factory.

+1 on getting a build sheet, lots of good info on it. You can also get one here, dodge will email it to you. http://www.dodge.com/wccsapp/univers...ull&category=R

I have lots of thoughts, but they're mostly the impure type or concern drinking mass quantities of alcohol.

Has this thread run its course?

I've requested a build sheet. how long does that dodge link take tog et back to you?

I would have pmmed that guy but i dont want to be too much a bother.

what do you mean run its course? its not mine yet! lol

Meaning are you getting it or not? Do you have your answer? We are at three pages so far, your going to keep getting everyone's opinion, but the choice is ultimately yours. How long do you want to drag out the decision? Oh, wait....I haven't given my opinion yet.....

He wants to know if he can close this thread and prevent us from derailing ANOTHER ;)

Get the build sheet back yet? :D Shouldnt take to long, though I had to wait awhile since I'm Canada I'm assuming..

wow.. so quick to close a thread. geeze.

no no build sheet yet. still checking email looking for one but nothing in yet.

i am probably getting the truck yes. However even if i did have my answer why lock the thread? nothing bad is going on in this thread last i checked. Must be all that pent up mustang agression against my camaro love or something lol.

Not saying anything bad at all is going on. I just sold my Z28 (hated to, but got too many cars) and my daughter has a Mustang. No pent up anything here as you can see in my sig. I have no brand loyalty. I drive what I like. I'm just trying to thwart the masses turning this into another gibberish thread. Keep it on topic. All I'm asking.

copy that boss. I too have had my share of many.. my fquick garage has them if you check my sig.. what year ws your z?

I scooped up a mint 98 ram 1500 Sport with 5.9L 4x4 and fully loaded options with mint interior and a little body rust running 100k miles on the dash for 1500... for that thing I wouldn't drop more than 700-800... If they won't take it I would save some more cash and shop for a newer one that was better taken care of...

It took me three days to get my build sheet, with the delay being Dodge seemed hesitant in releasing that information to someone (me, at the time) who was not the current owner of the vehicle. Once I supplied all of the proper information, *BAM*.

Take a magnet to it if it sticks it is metal if it falls run it has bondo on that area.

you forget, he's asking $1500 finainced with miniscule payments. good luck finding a better finainced deal anywhere.

True enough. Before I knew that my credit was actually decent early last year, I paid something to the tune of 5500 for mine, give or take a couple hundred (gotta factor in interest). This is why now I won't be buying from a buy-here pay-here lot anymore unless I'm completely hard-up (23% interest my a$$ lol). 1500 really isn't that bad.

I scooped up a mint 98 ram 1500 Sport with 5.9L 4x4 and fully loaded options with mint interior and a little body rust running 100k miles on the dash for 1500... for that thing I wouldn't drop more than 700-800... If they won't take it I would save some more cash and shop for a newer one that was better taken care of...
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Where did you read that he was being financed

I got a 2002 and it had 131K on it when I signed up at 9,ooo plus interest added up to 14k said and done and I have had to do numerous repairs to it including replacing the engine at 189K.

the magnet trick works for all makes and models, including motorbikes.

fact is if it has bondo it will not hold paint very well or at least after you get it and run the dirt roads. (rocks hitting it). is all I am saying really. the value you put on a truck is as individual as the truck itself.