Hey guys...

I had a quick question:

My Stepdad just had a teenager total his Chevy 1500 by making an illegal U-turn into him, and he's looking for a new truck. He wants a full-size truck (not a Tacoma or Frontier, for example), standard cab, longest bed possible, with a V-6, and manual trans. Naturally, I suggested a Dakota, because I've had such great luck with my 2nd Gen. I thought that they didn't put the Manuals in the 3rd gens, but I've since discovered that I was wrong.

So, I've been looking at some used trucks for him, and the Chevy is still an option but as far as the Dakotas go, is there any reason to choose the 3rd Gen over the 2nd Gen? At his price point, there are lots of 2004s, 2005s and 2006s, so I was just wondering...

 

Well Dakotas are mid-size not full size, if size is what he is looking for.
The only advice I can give is that most 3rd generations obviously have less miles and age than then the other gens. And the 3rd gens are a little larger. But I personally love the looks of the 2nd gen vs 3rd. And the V8 5.2 and 5.9's have more aftermarket then the V8 4.7's at least from what I am aware of.

I can move this to the 2nd or 3rd generation Dakota sub-forum if you wish, this general Dakota section doesn't get much replies.

 

Well, for his purposes, I'm sure it will be fine. He never tows anything and he hauls a bed-full of firewood once in a while but beyond that, he doesn't haul much either. You're right though; the Silverado is bigger but in his case, I don't think enough to matter.

He actually wants a V-6, so I think the options he's looking at would be a 3.6 Dodge, or a 4.3L GM. He might get better gas mileage in the 3.6 but I think the performance might be close because I would imagine the Silverado is a bit bigger. Without driving both trucks side-by-side, I'm not sure you'd know the difference.

I've also noticed that the 3rd gens have a better crash rating; I was looking at a 3rd Gen in a parking lot and noticed the beefy, shock absorbing bumper. Might be nice to have. Also, the 6-speed Getrag vs. the 5 speed nv3500 might be worth it.

Yeah, I thought about doing that but I figured I would be subjected to the "fan base" of whichever generation I put the topic in.

We wouldn't want to start any generational in-fighting, now would we?