Hey guys. My dad met an older man at a gas station that said he has a nice 2002 Ram single cab 2WD 1500 with the 3.7. The transmission is gone, the original went bad and he had a man come and remove it to rebuild it, but then he never heard of the "mechanic" again. It also needs new tires. It has 156,000 miles but the man says the engine is still perfectly sound. Ive been really wanting another truck, but know nothing about the 3.7 magnum engine.
I bought the truck for $1,000. I found a low mileage tranny for $500, new clutch for $300, then I would have $500 in new tires. That would put me at $2,300 when its fixed and road worthy.
I have a man that offered me $1,800 for how the truck sits now.
My question, how much life is left out of a 3.7 with 156,000 miles? Are they capable of higher mileage (200-250k) with proper maintenance? I put about 24,000 on a vehicle a year. My drive is 100% highway miles.
What would you guys do, because I really have wanted a single cab 5 speed for a long time now.

-Sell it as it is for $1,800 and make $800?
-Fix it and drive it til it blows up (hopefully 2-3 years of driving?)
-Fix it and try to sell it for $3,500 or so?

Thanks!

 

I'd personally try to sell it and find a single cab with a v8 at least. I have a single cab long bed with the 5.7 but from what i've read the 5.7's never came manual in the single cab configuation. Maybe someday i'll convert it but eh.

My friend sold his 3.7 single cab too. He wasn't fond of engine in it.

 

With proper maintenance, anything mechanical will last for years/decades. The big question is: What are your needs?

If this is going to be a second vehicle for occasional light hauling, then it will probably be worth it.
If this vehicle will be required to haul heavy loads and/or tow a trailer on a regular basis, then it will most likely not be worth it.

So long as the selling price and the price of repairs are below market value for a similarly outfitted truck, and the truck falls within the parameters of your needs, then you are getting a good value.

 

Thanks for the advice.

My only uses for a truck are for basic highway transportation of myself, and occasionally, my dog.
The heaviest hauling it would ever do would be a few bags of trash.

 

You don't have your location listed, but according to NADA.com, that truck with 156K and w/o Automatic Transmission is about $3,100 (Clean Trade-In price).

Own it, enjoy it, and make sure the dog is a happy navigator.

 

my wife has the 3.7 in her nitro, but with a 6 speed man. it does pretty good in that. no problems with it so far, and it will be 2 years we have owned it next month i believe. but it only has 80,000 miles. good gas mileage, and decent power for a v-6, has more power than my 3.9 did in my dakota with a 5 spd. man. she drives it alot, with her buisness with a mixture of dity, and highway driving, and country back roads. all i done was change the spark plugs, and oil changes when the reminder pops on.