Originally Posted by HeyYou

I think buying a truck with north of 150,000 miles on it, to be used as a rental vehicle, is just not a good plan. You will be spending more on repairs than you will make from renting it.......

Originally Posted by Alex Bessinger

Hi there folks!
I have a little side gig renting out a couple cars in my local market, and I've been looking at adding a pickup to my fleet. I recently ran a little poll in a local facebook group and got lots of positive feedback, so it sounds like it could be a hit!
Since then I've been on the lookout for something and last night I came across a pair of Ram 1500s, one is an 04' and the other an 05'. They have 175k and 181k miles on them respectively. The only real difference is that the 04' has cloth seats and the 05' has vinyl, other than that, equipment wise they are pretty close to identical. Both are base model, white, long bed, single cabs with 4.7l V8 engines, automatic RWD. And to top it all off they are priced identically at $4k each.
Based on the pictures, the 04' has some light body damage (dents on hood and tailgate, as well as what looks to be some scratches on one side of the bed). The 05' appears to be a cleaner on the outside, but has one mismatched rim (painted black instead of silver like the rest) and the interior looks maybe slightly more worn, though it is vinyl, which will be easier to keep clean.
What would be some common issues I should look for on these trucks if I go to take a look? Assuming they are both solid mechanically, which would you pick and why? Did Dodge make any real changes between the two years that would make one better or worse?

Originally Posted by swamper

whatever you do dont buy a 4.7 those engines have trouble seach the net and you will see..Buy one with a 5.7 hemi much better engine.