The trans's seem to be hit and miss, mine has 126k on her original

 

2001 dodge ram 2500 4x4 5.9L had tranny rebuilt at 64000 miles [:@]

 

I used to sell fords, they are constantly in the shop. safer to stick with dodge...

 

Not sure if this will enourage you any, but it seems that as long as you take care of the tranny, it will take care of you. My uncle has a '97 1500 4x4 5.2L and he has beentowing a boat to and from Lake George from his house (about 350 miles round trip) about 3 or 4 times a year since '00 when he got the truckand is still on his original tranny at 156,000 miles........granted he takes care of the truck immensley, never beating on it and doing regular maintenance stuff, so I guess it really depends on who had it and how they took care of it, I'm finding more and more than high mileage is a thing of the past, its condition that really means anything today.

 

I have a 98 Ram 1500 2wd with 85k miles and the transmission is fine.. I dont abuse it though..

 

It's all about what you are willing to do with the truck. When I traded in my neon for my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 w/ the Off-Road package and 5.9L, it too was pretty cheap. He only wanted $6,995 for it, and I knew there must have been a reason why. The truck was beautiful, and it was black. Had nice fender flares, big 35" tires, and was just entirely black. But there was some issues... The hood hinges were destroyed and the hood could not open. The front fascia was not alligned with the vehicle which looked weird, and had numerous amount of tears in the fascia, all of the doors were not closing tight, and had rust towards the bottom edge. The tailgate also had some deep scrathces which were not buffable. The rear bumper had some white paint on it and had 2 dents in it. Lastly, it had a dent in the drivers side door. Now, about $1900 later, and a lot of hardwork and determination, all of those weird body variables have been fixed, and the truck is in absoute perfect condition and is black and beautiful, and in my view is one of the best looking trucks around town. But you could see how easily my truck could of went the wrong way had those issues not been addressed. If you plan to take care of the truck and think you want to tackle it's issues, then it seems like a great deal, because once they are fixed, you have yourself a great looking truck ya know?

 

Went back to the dealer, to finally DRIVE the truck. I know it was in an accident, and I can look past that, as long as it was repaired properly. The hood didn't feel right, so I got it opened up, and although I know the front end has been redone, I could tell from a quick glance that the rubber pads (which are adjustable) were a good half inch different in height. The side that was lower was, of course, the side that felt loose.

The lot is small, and the guy didn't have time to wait on me. I couldn't stick around long so I just gave the key back and left. I still want to drive it but I first want to research the history of the truck. I found out today it has a flood and salvage title, so financing might be impossible, which will quickly kill any interst I have. If any bank will touch it, I'll take an hour or two to go through everything and make a low ball offer.

This won't go over well here, but I believe Ford makes a better truck. To the guy who sold Fords, and they were always in the shop, if you sold Dodges, you'd always see Dodges come into the shop. I've always had great luck with Fords, never any real issues, but I'm looking for a truck for around 10 grand. I have found a half dozen nicely priced/equiped Fords for that price, the 97-03 body style, but I honestly think that body style is ugly. If I could find a 92-96 Ford with lower miles, rust free, I'd buy it, but anyone I've approached with one in the last year has refused to sell it.

I've always been a fan of the look of the Ram. If it had the front end styles of GM or Ford I wouldn't look twice at it.

 

trust me on this.... DO NOT BUY IT if it has/had a salvage title...depending on your state it is not possible to finance, I know NJ you cannot finance it. Another BIG problem that I found out when I went through this with mine is that your insurance will only cover it for 50% of book value because of the salvage...so if you total it or it gets stolen you will lose lots of cash.

Also...In no way is a ford less prone to breakdown.....that's kinda funny. I had a 93 f-150 and went through 3 transfer cases and about 5 driveshafts...biggest POS I ever owned. Go to any Ford forum and I promise you that there are posts about broken chit...that's whats bad about forums..most people come here to post about breakages not about how trouble free it is..so because 75% of the posts are about breakages you instantly think that the truck must suck.

 

Yeah, love that styled Ford myself. My twin brother has himself a big old shiny black 1995 F-350 with the 460 big block in it. Truck has never had any issues, and runs so damn great, like it was new. Thing could just pull a house down, and she just hauls ***. It ate my 5.9L right up (granted I don't have as many mods as him and I run 35" tires), but just love that truck, and how it's all squared and tough looking.

 

Very good point.

My statement was based on personal exper. I've owned about 10 Ford trucks, no major issues. Owned 2 Dodges, Ram and Ramcharger, couldn't keep an automatic in them to save my life. In neither case did I do any towing or hot *******, so it's left me with a sour taste for Rams.