Used truck question

[Mrk67mark]

I'm in the process of getting my son his first truck (he's 16). I came across a 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT. The guy will take $4000 cash (low as he will go). The truck is very clean, no dents, clean carfax. The thing about it is it has 159,000 miles on it already. He said they were interstate miles. I know it really depends on how well it's been maintained, but do you think this is too many miles? Thanks.
Mark

It's an automatic.

[LinuxRandal]

You could take it to a mechanic, and have it gone over. Auto or stick? I am less worried about the motor, then the transmissions, as motors last a lot longer then when I started driving. I see a lot of vehicles going between 200k and 300k before dieing. A 16 year old, normally kills them via a wreck before that.

If you can spare it, transmission fluid change (see color, metal chunks, etc), radiator flush (look at color, see if stop leak in it, for blown head gaskets, etc), oil change (white and foamy, or normal).

[cabinetman]

Sounds cheap enough, but too many miles for my likes. Can't believe anything a seller will tell you. I remember an ad from the 60's stating a muscle car with less than 500 miles on the odometer...put on 1/4 at a time.
.

[LCHIEN]

well, he's almost certainly gonna be telling the truth about interstate miles, you can't hardly put on 160,000 miles in 5 years driving around the city. If he did that's almost 5 hours a day 5 days a week at an average of 30 miles per hour... there'd be a lot of wear and tear on the interior from getting in and out doing sales calls or deliveries.
Does he have any service records?

[iceman61]

According to Kelley Blue Book the price seems about right but you didn't state if it was 2 or 4 wheel drive, condition, any extras, etc...

Condition Value

Excellent $4,985
Good $4,435
Fair $3,760

Go to www.kbb.com & punch in the info on the truck. There is an option to set the price if it from a private individual. Hope this helps.

IMHO...buy him a set of wrenches & make him do his own repairs. This "might" help him learn to not be one of those teenage drivers that rawhides their 1st vehicle.

[Pappy]

A 16 year old's first truck? Wrap that boy in STEEL! Look for a mid to late 70's Ford or Chevy. When he has that first wreck he can still drive it home!

On the newer trucks, Dodge has never been known for their stats in the efficiency department. My '00 Ram gets 16 mpg on a good, pure highway day while comparable Fords and Chevys get 18-20. (In her defense, I have the biggest gas motor offered that year.) Last truck was a '91 Dakota and it was lousy on mileage, too.

[Thalermade]

A 16 year old's first truck? Wrap that boy in STEEL! Look for a mid to late 70's Ford or Chevy. When he has that first wreck he can still drive it home!

That is a good theory. But.... the new theory of safety is to surround new drivers with airbags (also known as the maternal theory of auto safety)


be safe
Russ

[Pappy]

That is a good theory. But.... the new theory of safety is to surround new drivers with airbags (also known as the maternal theory of auto safety)


be safe
Russ

Agreed, to a point. No argument that the newer vehicles are designed with better safety features. My '65 Chevy C-10 isn't even required to have seat belts to pass inspection.

I would still put him in a Ram, F-150, Chevy 1500, or bigger. The safety equipment factor you mention is there, coupled with my thoughts. Ever seen a sedan or mid sized truck lock up with a full sized rig? Not even a close contest.

Example: A few weeks ago I was backing into a parking spot. A late model Impala pulled across behind me. The side of the nose and the left front fender forward of the wheel were caved inabout 6-8". I finaly found a fleck of brown paint on my bumper and 'fixed' the damage to my truck with my fingernail.

(On a side note. The other car had damage down the driver's side extending all the way to the rear wheel well, including missing the rear view mirror, from either being side-swiped or side-swiping something else. He had stopped and I still think he pulled behind me for the insurance claim.)

[Bill Anderson]

I'm in the process of getting my son his first truck (he's 16). I came across a 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT. The guy will take $4000 cash (low as he will go). The truck is very clean, no dents, clean carfax. The thing about it is it has 159,000 miles on it already. He said they were interstate miles. I know it really depends on how well it's been maintained, but do you think this is too many miles? Thanks.
Mark

It's an automatic.

The price sounds good, if it's a 4x4, and you need that function. Does it have Driver AND Passenger air bags?

Google, "2004 Dodge Dakota Problems", see what you come up with. Visit the truck forums, and ask some questions there.

Drive it to make sure the steering is tight, and turn that steering wheel to the left and right until it bottoms out, to make sure the steering rack is sound, and no "clunks" are heard. Take to a Body and Frame shop, and have them to check out the frame for any signs of damage. Have someone to follow you while driving the truck on the highway, to make sure the truck doesn't "dog track". Dog track is when there has been damage to the frame, and it has not been repaired correctly, the truck's front end will clearly be visible from the following vehicle (or vice versa). Kind of like seeing the truck driving at an angle, but in reality the driver is holding the steering wheel straight.

Check for uneven wear on the tires, check for any steel belts showing on the inside of the tires.

Drive over some potholes to check the ball joints, tie rods, struts, suspension in general to see how the truck handles those, hopefully without too much noise.

Good Luck, Bill

[Russianwolf]

The dakota is nice truck. expect poor milage (it ranks right up there with the big boys in that department), but plenty of power compared to the competition.

If it's a manual tranny, then you shouldn't have any problems other than the occasional clutch replace that's normal. If it's a auto, get it checked to make sure there are no metal bits floating, etc. Unless it's used for heavy towing the auto should hold up fine too.

I owned a 98 Dakota and my only issue was it was a 2wd and the original tires were horrible. The back end would break loose with the slightest dampness on the road.

[dbhost]

A 16 year old's first truck? Wrap that boy in STEEL! Look for a mid to late 70's Ford or Chevy. When he has that first wreck he can still drive it home!

On the newer trucks, Dodge has never been known for their stats in the efficiency department. My '00 Ram gets 16 mpg on a good, pure highway day while comparable Fords and Chevys get 18-20. (In her defense, I have the biggest gas motor offered that year.) Last truck was a '91 Dakota and it was lousy on mileage, too.

LOL... I had to laugh about complaining about 16 MPG... I get about 13 in town... Of course I have the biggest engine available, 4x4, lifted, on 35x12.50 mudders.... And stock gears. (I need to change that, but money is too tight...)

Yeah that seems a hair high for an '04 Dakota... But it all depends on the market you are in...

A neighbor of mine has an '02 Dakota RT 5.9L that I would buy from him in a hot second. But I know how he takes care of it, and what kind of miles he puts on it...

[Wood_workur]

IMHO...buy him a set of wrenches & make him do his own repairs. This "might" help him learn to not be one of those teenage drivers that rawhides their 1st vehicle.

Best advice. I was doing routine maintenance on all the cars (checking fluids tires and lights) and my sister's car was well below the fill line with coolant. I started it and let it idle for a few minutes and sure enough, the temperature gauge rose pretty high. Few people know how to maintain the vehicle any more than putting gas in it (and that is a stretch)

[paintandbodtman]

A 16 year old's first truck? Wrap that boy in STEEL! Look for a mid to late 70's Ford or Chevy. When he has that first wreck he can still drive it home!

On the newer trucks, Dodge has never been known for their stats in the efficiency department. My '00 Ram gets 16 mpg on a good, pure highway day while comparable Fords and Chevys get 18-20. (In her defense, I have the biggest gas motor offered that year.) Last truck was a '91 Dakota and it was lousy on mileage, too.

I would choose the dakota over the late 70's ford or chevy any day of the week when it comes to safety.If involved in a serious accident the occupants in the dakota will be protected better then the older trucks you make referance to.As for driving it home after the wreck ditto on that also.If my loved one were in an accident I could care less about the vehicle driveability versus occuupant safety.
Just my 2 cents worth of HO coming from 30+ yrs of collision repair.

[conwaygolfer]

04 Dakota

I am not sure about the 13-16 mpg. I have an 04 Dakota - all the options - 2 wheel drive, automatic. I get 19 mpg. in the city and close to 25 on the highway. It has a V8 engine with plenty of power. My driving is mostly in SC (fairly flat ground), and not a lot of traffic like in a big city. I keep track of my gas mileage by watching that little option above the rearview mirror. It tells me how I am doing.

If I was still a teenager, I would most likely get around 10 mpg. And be buying a lot of tires. But that was just me.

I have about 85,000 miles on it and have had no problems. Still has the original spark plugs. My mechanic said if it continues to run good - leave the plugs alone. It replaced a Ford Ranger I owned. The dakota gets much better gas mileage than the Ranger did with its little 6 cylinder.

Thanks,
Glenn