I got the HEMI and have never looked back. They shouldn't even have the option for a 4.7L. It has less power and close to the same mpgs. Look at it this way. The 08 and below 4.7L's are heavily underpowered, especially compared to GM's 4.8L.

If I had to choose between at 4.7L Ram or a 4.8L GM Truck I would go with GM. More power, better gas mileage.

However, between a 5.3L GM truck and a 5.7L HEMI i would take the HEMI any day.

I have no favorites between Ford, GM, or Chrysler. I like Ford the least, but I weigh the differences. If a truck has much more power and close to the same mpg's, reliability, creature comforts, etc then I will go with that truck.

I had a choice between a 2005 Silverado with a 5.3L (78,000 miles) or a 2006 Ram with a 5.7L (42,000 miles). Obviously I chose the Ram.

 

I too do not have a favorite, but my GM still going strong at 280k is a lot to live up to. I would also choose the Hemi 5.7 over the 5.3 any day, but now I'm getting worried about the rest of the truck...

 

I had a 2002 Chevy Z71 and the thing was a total POS. Bought new off the dealer lot in Sept of 2001. It had a host of little nagging problems. The driveshaft would not stay lubricated at the transfer case end, the 5.3 burned or leaked oil to the tune of 1 Qt. every 1000 miles and the thing struggled to pull my 3300 lb. bass boat when I was fishing tourney's and traveling throught the mountains of north Ga, Al, NC and Tenn.

The oil dissappearing was the most troublesome, and I had two different dealers look into it on four different occasions, plus the dealer where I bought it offered free oil changes, so I always mentioned it at that time. Nobody ever could find where it was going, never any leaks detected. Finally after the last time I brought it in for it, the Service Manager simply said "all the 5.3's do that". Which was really a BS answer.

It was during the time I had this Chevy that I discovered forums, hence the name "HammerZ71", and found that on both the Chevy Truck forums I joined, 80% or more of the posts regarding Chevy trucks were negative. Which is why I looked into the Hemi in '04, I had great luck with my '98 Dodge RCSB 5.9 4x4. My Chevy was only 2 years old, had 29,000 miles on it and I was sick of it and it's little nagging problems (I had issues with a lot of fit/finish stuff too, like leaky door seals).

The problem with these forums is that most people seek them out when they are having an issue and cannot get it resolved to their satisfaction. Like I said, when I had a Chevy and was on those forums, the post were horrific and they really scared me into trading it in on a Dodge before the thing left me stranded on the side of the road somewhere on the to/from a bass tourney, like my '97 Ford did (that's another story).

So keep that in mind when you are reading the comments on a Dodge forum, most people are here because they have/had issues with their trucks and have nowhere else to turn. Most of the 95% of the people who love their trucks (be it Dodge, Chevy, Ford, etc.) have never had to seek out a forum to try to resolve an issue or vent.

I'm not saying that all Chevy's are crap, but merely trying to show that there are good and bad with all makes. You've had great luck with your 2000, I felt like my '02 was cheaply made junk with lousy quality control.

I've had 1 Jeep pickup, 2 Fords, 1 Chevy and 2 Dodges that were full size 4x4s. All but the Jeep and one of the Fords (a diesel) were bought new, and the least problematic by far have been my '98 Dodge and my current '04 Dodge.

 

Thanks for shedding some light Hammer. I have the '07 coming in off the truck tomorrow from the auction, and your comments made me feel a bit better about the decision.

Last question, with 38,000 on the ticker, should I purchase another 3 year/ 36,000 bumper to bumper warranty for $2,200? Keep in mind that I will have close to 36k in the first year, and I have a friend of mine that works on my vehicles for a very reasonable price.

Thanks again for all the feedback guys.

 

I had the same option. I opted out because like you, that's only 1-1.5 years of warranty for me, and I do my own work. Since you have a way of doing the work at a reasonable price, skip the warranty.

 

+1 on the good and bad with all makes. My grandfather had a 1993 silverado (4.3L V6). He drove it with no problems until it finally died on him at 315,000 miles!! He then purchaced a 2004 silverado (4.8L V8). He loves it and swears by GM from now on so he was a little dissapointed when he heard I got a Dodge. About 40 years ago he used to work at a shipyard. He said a truck they had there was a Dodge and everytime it rained the distributor cap would get wet and the truck wouldn't start (this would be a problem in southern Louisiana). So they would have to take it off and let it dry out before they could use the truck. Ever since then he has never been a fan of Dodge. Other than that he said they've had tranny problems and have always had bad gas mileage.

 

40 years ago! im sure dodge makes better products now. a lot has changed in that time frame

 

want to feel better about your truck and make him feel like sh*t, race him.

This would be caused by a crack in the distributor cap, allowing water to seep onto the rotor or in the coil. Could these people not spend $5 on a new distributor cap or at least hear of duct tape???

 

Yea well that impression of dodge kinda stuck with him. Old people tend to reject change...

 

Doubt it. Some people just tend to do things the harder way.