I think mines a late monday one, Ive beaten it pretty good, and only had that happen so. I dont think anything was replaced before I got it at 82k km.

Also I was looking at the pics of the truck your looking at, the center jump seat is broken, If you look at the pic of it from the drivers side, You see the BLACK bracket, Mines has a plastic cover over that... Mine also has rear seats to and is a ST.

Some bedliner on the rear bumper and its plastic and it would look brand new to. Also Go with a spray in liner, Drop in suck.

 

Mines a Wednesday truck. Not a dam thing wrong with it.

 

Mine was a monday truck, and the parts I replaced were monday parts... sob.

 

My comparison isn't apples-apples, but food for thought. I originally bought a Jeep Laredo with the 3.7. Freeway averaged 19mpg, because the slightest grade, even in cruise, would downshift. With a 100 mile/day commute, this just wasn't acceptable. Traded for my Dakota. My Dakota averages 22 mpg on the same commute, with a 4.7 in it.

I now commute FAR less, and as a result, my mileage is poorer. Too much stop & go instead of steady freeway. For a highway commuter, look for a 4.7 with 3.55 gears. For city duties, look for a 4.7 with 3.92 gears.

As far as base model... I would look into a higher end package for longevity. Steel wheels rust. Lower end models seem to be made poorly from my experience. Paint fails sooner, interior falls apart, suspension fails worse. This is likely due to the maintenance budget of the previous owner, but either way, higher end packages tend to fare better for me.

 

Actually, in 05 the window stickers rated the 4.7 at 1 mpg better than the V6. I have 124,000 on mine and love it. Just replaced entire front suspension including hubs(4x4) with Moog greaseable parts. Parts cost about $600(Rockauto.com), did work myself, took 9 hrs. Other than the typical stuff(brakes,tires,struts/shocks,battery,plugs), I've only had to replace the EGR and idle sensor.