hey boys, im looking at buying my first truck, looking at a 1998 dodge ram 1500, its got the 318, 5 speed manual, extended cab short box. nice condition 185k kilometers (115,000 miles i think) new front end. hes asking 4700, if i do go ahead and buy her, anything i should know about the truck? like common problems etc..?
thanks

 

Welcome to DF

I would spend some time here and do some reading. Can we get a model, 4x4, 4x2, and as you used kilometers I am taking it your in Canada? so CDN price?

If you buy it and come back here for help(and you will), it would be great if you could take the time to fill out your new trucks info in your signature.

 

Well, since it is a manual, you have a lot less to worry about. 4700 seems a tad high, but there is room for negotiation there (I really can't give you a number without seeing the truck).

Advice,
1. Go by the blue book TRADE IN value of the truck for the starting price. Most likely it is in fair condition.
2. If you can give him 15% above the trade in value, that is usually a fair deal, so keep that price in your high end. Anything else is really what YOU want to pay for it because you "gotta have it."

As for what to LOOK for:
1. PLENUM: Require that you take the air hat off to look down the throttle body with a small flashlight. If there is pooled oil in there that means the plenum gasket is blown. It will cost about 165 in parts to fix and the whole intake will need to come off.
2. WILDVENTS: Drive the truck and put the AC or HEAT on but NOT on defrost. If the vents switch from your fact to the defroster vents, that is another problem.
3. STEERING: See if it veers or there is A LOT of slop in the steering.
4. Cracked Dash: Chances are that he has one. Good talk down point.

Chances are that he has three of those 4 problems. They are all fairly common. BE CAREFUL when pointing them out otherwise you might as well say, "Your truck is a POS."

Make sure you drive the truck for a while to see what temp it goes to. Put the AC on too.

Since it is a 1998, you can get a tuner and get some good gains for only 265 dollars from
http://www.hemifevertuning.com/Produ...ctCode=SCT-Can
You will get 3 tunes for 87/91/93 octane. But I doubt you will be spending too much on premium gas since regular is about 1.14 per liter/litre in Canada. My wife is Canadian, so i know the gas prices.

115K miles is relatively low mileage for the year, but it is still an old vehicle.

Without the cost of the tuner, plan on spending about $450 on little things to fix it up a bit. Probably brake rotors, calipers and a rear brake shoe service. Plus a tuneup (Cap/rotor/plugs/wires). Plus changing all fluids (gear oil in the tranny, differential(s), engine oil/filter)

Also, like stated before, is it a 4x4?

Hopefully someone else chimes in about the 5 speed tranny. I have heard nothing but good things, but i have an auto.

 

Nv3500 is better then a 46re and will likely serve your purposes well. I tend to not buy half tons simply because I dont like the idea of a light duty truck. If you plan to use this this truck as an off road toy then i would highly recommend a 2500, as most everything that you will eventually upgrade comes stock on the truck (Nv4500, HD axles, better T-case, etc). Same goes for towing. If you just want a driver to have a versatile truck for everyday driving and work use, and that the chicks will dig, you have arrived at the correct destination.

 

thanks for the responses, ill add all the info i know about the truck
1998 Dodge Ram 1500
318 V8, 5 speed manual, 4X4
new ball joints and u joints and front wheel bearings, plus its got newer exhuast (sounds beauty)
no A/C i donno if that was an option in 98 but if not might just be broken idk eh
and the price on the truck is very fair around here, the truck is in near perfect condition and the interior looks brand new not a scratch anywhere. the guy used it to get to work and back and occasionally tow his boat (18 footer)
heres a picter

 

Clean looking truck, very nice. If you buy it or own it now, put the info in your sig.

 

It looks nice but I see a possible concern. Does anyone think that the a$$ end is drooping? Looks like you may want to look at the frame or bed mounts. But it does look like a nice truck.

 

Just looks leveled to me. Buy it.

EDIT: Now i understand what your sayin Ramzy. might be an issue, might not. def somethin to look into. good eye

 

Might just be the camera angle...who knows. I would hate to have a surprise though after I bought something. Nice truck though.

 

I was under the impression that in 98 they switched to Quad cabs?