There were a few sitting on the local lot today, all v6's. Get the bugs all worked out of that new V8 and i'd consider buying one this spring. Good to see they changed the styling and interior layout, plus the extra power from that little V8 will be a welcome change.

 

These things are ugly as hell. And then again OVERPRICED once again. Who would pay $26995 for a truck that has no options, and that doesn't even include 4x4. It's also Canadian price too. Thats crazy. Thats way too much for something like that with no options and no 4x4. Thats for the ST model too. Thats just the basic. Geez. Like I went to Ford today cause they has this big sale on and they had a few 2008 Rangers in, they were just regular price, so i'm looking at one, Sports model with a 4.0L 4x4, sport bucket seats, MP3/6cd w/ Sirius, Power equip group, box liner, Privacy glass, Mid and aft Skid plates, Tilt steering w/ speed control, Class III trailer tow, rear slider window, and with all that in it, i thought it was atleast $30000 but nope, it was $26264. Now which truck would I choose, the one thats $26995 with no options and no 4x4, or the one thats $26264 that has options with 4x4. Hmmm, lets see, I think i'll take the Ranger. But I guess people do have more money then brains in this world. Why would someone wanna pay $26995 for something that has no options along with no 4x4. Like come on. Whoop de do, theres nothing great about the Dakota's. Like 2 days ago, I decided to tow my sled out to my buddies cabin, and about half way there, the tranny blew, along with the engine too. Come on, total weight I was towing was maybe 800-1000 pounds, and I do have the trailer package with my POS Dakota. If I knew what kinda price I was going to pay for this Dakota, I wouldn't have gotten it cause my dad did all the dealing and everything, so I had no idea what I was paying. But now I do, $40000 for something that had no options with 4x4. Geez. Thats a little overpriced don't ya think. Oh wait, i'm talking to a bunch of people they throw away their money on overpriced Dakota's. So I guess you wouldn't know the difference then.

 

You paid $40,000 for a Dakota with 4x4 and no options? They don't even try to sticker them that high at the dealers, did you barter the price up instead of down!?

You also state the tranny and engine blew, at the same time. While I find this highly unlikely I'm not going so far as to say that's not possible, it is by far not the norm though. These trucks actually have the highest towing capacity in their class and the engine and tranny are both quite solid. Yours is obviously a fluke and should be covered by your warranty.

The Ranger hasn't had an update in years, it's practically antiquated compared to all the other midsizes. It's also one of the smallest, a few of my friends had them in high school, they're nothing to talk about. But vehicle preference varies by person, if the Ranger is what makes you happy go buy the Ford. But you shouldn't expect to come in here raging about how terrible the truck is giving us an absolutely ludicrous figure for what you paid then claiming your engine and trans both blew up while towing a tiny load. Going on and on about how nice the Ranger is doesn't earn you many credibility points either. By the way, insulting everyone and implying we're stupid does not make you right. May want to keep that in mind from now on if you want to be taken seriously

 

mine too!!! i blew up my engine, trany and rear end yesterdayand i just had my tool box in the back!!!!!!

 

The 4.7 seems to be a problem engine. I had a buy back on my 06 because of valve lash noise. My 07 replacement seems good so far but I don't have a lot of faith when I keep hearing about major engine failures. Now the 4.7 08s can't even get out of the gate and their having head or rod problems delaying production. This is not good for the new Chrysler next 100 year campaign. My 95 Dak with the 318 went 168k with no problems when I sold it. Yah the rest of truck was disincarnating like nine evaporator coils, four batteries, and thirteen front rotors and on and on, but the 318 was a sold proven engine. And Ido believe this is my last Dak since they are way over priced with crazy option packages. I'll keep my 07 until 2010 and look at the field from everyone for my next buy.

 

I don't know, I've had very, very little problems with mine. Just the minor stalling here and there, but that changed after I put on the Jet Chip.

 

When I traded in my '02 Dak the clutch was slipping but the engine was still strong as hell. In three years I drove 120k miles, burning rubber daily and breaking 120mph a couple of times a week. I will be keeping my '05 forever since it is now my Saturday only ride and nobody offers a V8 with a stick anymore.

 

Here's my reply to the ranger lover F ound O n R oad D ead
The dakotas are somewhat overpriced but tell me what company offers a V8 in a mid sized truck? The ranger is junk. Last I read that 4.0L put out like what 207hp at the crank. The dakota is the best midsized truck out there. Its a full size truck in a smaller package. All vehicles won't satisfy everyone. Even with the crappy suspension and the lack of after market stuff I am very happy with my 05 dakota.

 

I hear so many complaints about MSRP pricing but who here pays that? Not me.... I would expect the same real world pricing on the 08 models that we've all had on the earlier models. My 2005 QuadSLT w/ V8 listed for about $28700. I think it was about $22800 out the door after tax, tag and other fees... No trades. That was the after rebates, discounts, etc..

When they start staking up on lots and gets close to the end of the year look for fantastic deals on them...

-edit- And again. Whoever has driven an 08, is the suspension any better or does it still drive like a half-filled waterbed?

 

The dakota is no more overpriced than any of the other midsizes with similiar options, heck those little colorados get really pricey really fast once you start adding options to them. Like mentioned before, who the heck buys a vehicle for the MSRP anyways, there are 07'four door dakota quad cab SLT's on the local lotall priced under 25k. Sure you can buy a nice ford ranger brand new for the low 20's, but its still just a ford ranger, the design is a decade old, they are small, and they dont get as good of gas mileage as one would think a smaller truck like that would, personally iwould pick the ford ranger dead last inmidsized truckcatagory, the competition showed them the tailgate7 years ago.