Well, I'm selling my dreaded 2nd gen to buy a 2003 4-door 1500, Now i know the tranny problems Dodge seems to be cursed with. Just want to know if anyone else would do the same for a 3rd Gen. The truck has 140k miles and its 2-wheel drive. I'm not knowledgeable with 2001+ Dodge's. Any thoughts? I'm going to scan for codes as well. The truck is selling for $6k.

 

3RD Gens are old news with new problems, ; I would stay with a repaired 2nd gen instead of a used 3rd gen Ram...or go all out and buy a all new truck.

 

Worst advice ever.

Yeah dude, stick with a gas guzzling no power V8 that has a 4spd transmission and looks like it's from the 1980's.

Better yet...Drop $40k on a brand new one with unknown issue's so you can go to the dealer and wipe your *** with $100 bills each visit.

 

Quality wise, 3rd gens are not huge improvement over 2nd gen and a 360 is not suffering in mpg compared to a hemi. ... 3rd gens need repairs just like a 2nd gen. SO PAY less to fix what you own, or Pay more to upgrade to more repairs. .

Keep what you have or buy new.
Playing the the partial up grade game never worked for me.

 

depends on your financial situation. A 3rd gen could be a nice upgrade for you if you find the right truck. As with any used vehicle, you always have a chance of getting a lemon, but you can minimize that by doing your research and finding the right truck. I wouldn't be scared to make the upgrade you are talking about, seems reasonable to me. I would look for an 05 personally, I like that year in the 3rd gens, but if you find a really good deal on an 03 that you know the maintenance schedule, go for that. The 03's and early 04's have weak valve springs and the 06+ have the MDS and headlight tailight styling im not too fond of.

 

I own a 2003 5.7 QC 4X4 with 120k. Ive owned it for 5.5 years and it had about 65k when i bought it.

I wont comment on goin from an older gen to a newer one, mostly because you didnt state your desire to do so. But the 3rd gen QC is quite roomy.

My truck has been ok reliability wise and i do alot of maintenance and repair work myself. I still put at least 1k a year into repairs amd thats with me doing most of the work. And the engine and tranny have been fine.

With my truck at least, its the little things that are constantly failing. Bad gound wires to the lights, which can be maddening, broken mirror heater, bad winshield washer resivior relays and more. Ive also done 02 sensors, just did the alternator, PS pump and other stuff. had the rear differential completely rebuilt 2 years ago.

I enjoy working on the truck, so i dont mind doing repairs on it. And right now i am looking at a few others things, sway bar bushings and the engine just developed a new rattling noise.

That being said, i would not buy another ram with 140k unless it is checked by a mechanic and comes with some sort of warantee. If i had to pay full price for all of the repair work, it would be close to the cost of leasing a new truck. Well, probably 70% of that monthly payment. To me, for 6k, that truck would need to be in absolutely mint condition to be worth it.

 

I personally have gone from a 94' 1500 std. cab, long bed with a 360 that I loved and now own a 2003 1500 quad cab short bed 4.7L 4x4 bought with 146k and love it just as much, granted the bed is a bit rusty, I've only done routine maintenance such as ujoints and water pump. It was even a previous fleet truck when bought new.

I as many others here, am very mechanically inclined and did my research and inspected the truck before I bought it. I do all my own maintenance also. I also believe, if you go through whatever you are looking at, or have someone knowledgeable about vehicles help you, $6k is about right for a decent condition 03' with that mileage. Overall, my opinion is if it checks out, go for it.