Ok guys, I know I've been trading digs and jabs with you Dak guys for a little while now, but I need help.
This girl I've been seeing for a while, we used to be serious right after my divorce, but now we are more buddies with benefits (if you know what I mean ) as we found an age difference of 17 years was a little much to overcome, she's 24 and I'm 41.
Anyway, to the point. She's been on her own pretty much since she dropped out of high school because she got pregnant and for the first time has a decent job with good income and wants a new vehicle to replace her 1994 Mercury Mountaineer. It was a beater when she bought it four years ago and I've basically been keeping it on the road for the past year with chewing gum and bailing wire. Plus she commutes 24 miles each way to work and the 11 mpg is getting to her.
She wants a small 2wd truck, must be a four door (two kids a seven and four year old). A co-worker, a Mr. Know-it-all type, who is in the process of getting a divorce and is a trying his best to be her new "friend" (am I showing a hint of jealousy ) has her convinced that there is no better vehicle on the road than a Chevy Colorado. She is seriously looking at one and "dude" went shopping with her today and almost had her to the point of signing papers. Luckily, she came to her senses and didn't do anything and wants me to go with her to negotiate a better deal and kinda explain things and give advice on extended warranty and such.
This is my chance to try to get her into a Dak, but I need ammunition to go at her with! I've owned seven full size trucks in my life and can quote specs till the cows come home, but I don't know much about the mid-size market. And please not "because a Dak is cooler" answers but real, hard facts.
All I know about the Colorado she's looking at is that its a 2wd 3.7L I5 automatic, fairly loaded, with a sticker of $25,800 and they are wanting $21,400 and are offering her $2000 (a token) for her SUV.
Any help is appreciated...

 

I don't know much about Dakotas, but a buddy of my has a Colorado, and I can tell you about that. The ride sucks, and the truck feels cheap, seats are uncomfortable and the interior is an eye-sore. I know he's had it back at the dealer for electrical issues twice since he got it (about 6 months).

 

My ex had a 2005 colorado 3.5L she thought it was fast but it was nothing compared to my dakota, 2 weeks after geting it it was back at chevy because it burnt the relays for a/c and radio, then a month latter it fried the whole radio. It was a nice looking truck but the electrical system is a ticking time bomb. only thing ive had go wrong with my dakota is an exhaust manifold broke its bolts off and dealer fixed it. it has taken alot of abuse and just kept going including taking a flatbed trailer with a ranger on it landing on the bed. it has pulled alot of loads and pulls my 4k pound enclosed every couple of weeks.

 

Well first off Car and Driver puts the dakota above the colorado. Doesn't exactly give the Dakota an outstanding by any means...but look what they say about the Colorado. Pick out the good stuff on the Dakota. (that's page 3)

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...st+page-2.html

 

I know two people at school that have the Colorado/Canyon, both hate them. The I5 is a dog of an engine and although they're both still under warranty they spend a lot of time at the dealer for repairs (I get to listen to them bitch about it).

I average 15mpg and I drive the thing like I stole it, I've seen others on here average 20 or higher if they are really driving for mileage. I have no experience with the 6 but the v8 definitely goes, from what I've seen in the mileage thread people seem to get the same or slightly worse mileage with it than the V6 so I would personally recommend the 4.7l. Back seats in the Club Cab are not completely useless but they sure ain't made for normal sized people so if she likes to have friends along she'll want a Quad Cab. More usable room than the Colorado and a lot more reliable, I think she'd be much happier in a Dak.

 

Somewhere I read that the front cab of the dak is actually 1" longer than a ram

 

It wouldn't suprise me. I'm 6' 3" and with the seat full back, I could still use an extra inch of leg room.

 

I own the 2006 crewcab with auto and V-6, cruise and thats it. I didn't get all the fancy stuff, its just not me. I love my Dak and I was coming from an 02 1500 Ram. The only thing I miss from the Ram is the three across in the front seat, but suposedly you can get that in the Dak as well if I'm not mistaken. I really enjoy my truck and I also have two boys in the back (12 & 8 yrs old) and there is more leg room then my old Ram. Its easy to drive, park, load, unload and its never been in the shop since leaving the dealer. I average about 340 miles a tank with 85% in town driving. My neighbor three doors down just got rid of his 2006 Colorado Z71. He hated it. It was in the shop numerous times with electrical and transmission problems. You need to tell her that its not even a Chevy, its a damn Isuzu front to back! POS!

 

I owned a Canyon (the Colorado's GMC counterpart) for nearly two years and it was a POS. I bought it new and put 42000 miles on it, all the while it was falling apart around me. Among other things, it had electrical problems (the radio and temp/MPG console weren't working right, ever, and the right front speaker kept blowing) and it needed major engine work (there's a recall/TSB on the I-5, as many have experienced problems that required new heads). GMC wouldn't pay for the TSB (it was only a recognized problem in the '04s then, but has since been expanded to include all I-5s), so I dropped it like a bad habit. The truck had no power, couldn't haul anything, and was cheaply built (the parking brake handle fell off the first day).

Night and day compared to the Dakota. I have the V-8 and I get 18-20 mpgs, which was 3-4 mpgs better than the I-5 in the Canyon. My Dak has power, and hauls/tows everything I throw at it and nothing's broke yet (42000 miles now). It's a great truck and would highly recommend it over the Colorado/Canyon.

Any more questions about my Colorado/Canyon experience, feel free to PM me...I got tons of stories.