Pickup Truck bug bites again- 97 Dakota Sport?

[UncleS2]

As I've written before, every 6 mos to a year I get this urge for a pickup truck. Since all used pickups, here in NE TX, are made of silver, gold, diamonds & rubies, so far I've found nothing that 1. I'd be interested in, and 2. Affordable! Short of visiting Bill in Utah & getting him to find me somethng, I'm stuck with whatevr I can find around here. I can only drool

at some of the used p/u deals posted here on BITOG.

But as for me finding nothing? That may have changed today. Found a 97 Dodge Dakota Sport, ext cab. Color is a light, semi-turquoise green- if you know the correct name for it please speak up. Owner has done nothing to spiff it up, exterior is dirty & interior is dirtier. Has one broken tail-light, and the "cup in the door" door handle on drivers door has the "cup" broken out. Several old cigarette burns in the passenger seat. Powertrain: 3.9 L V6, w/5-sp manual trans. Has cold factory AC & OEM CD player. Odo: ~185,000 miles!

Previous owner(widow, her late husbands truck) had 4 mismatched tires on it, and ruined the clutch. I'm now dealing with the next owner, who has owned & driven it for a while.

I know, run like H***, right? BUT: Body is almost perfectly straight, except for: minor crease just behind the LR wheel; one small dent in the inside top rim of the bed, LF; and a crack in front plastic grille piece. Bed is lightly skinned up- used, but not abused or damaged. Engine is *much* cleaner than it should be, considering the rest of the truck- owner thinks it may be a replacement, he may be right. I drove it, and it runs *Strong*, shows no evidence of oil leaks or burning, and idles smoother my 94 Dakota(bought new)3.9 ATX ever did. Has a frame-mount hitch receiver.

It also has a good set of 4 matching tires, exc tread & should last me a couple of years at least. All-new clutch. When asked about gas mileage, he thought a minute & answered 21 mpg, so he's at least honest about that. It drove well enough, maybe a little pull to the left. He said he mght get the toe-in set for free by the folks he bought the tires from. And a new tailight is already ordered & on the way.

It should clean up pretty good- though I am worried about the ceiling!(How did the ceiling get so dirty?

) And I can live with the cigarette burns.

First asking price: $3300. If it was cleaned up, that would be pretty doggone good here in ETX. If I can get him to $2500 or less, will probably get it. Heck, it'll give me something to use up all that stockpiled 10w30 motor oil!

So- considering that pickups sell high as a kite in my area, what do you think?

 

[tomcat27]

wow! that's insane pricing! take a road trip to another state ! I have a 95 dakota with 89k on it - interior is spotless. exterior has the paint peeling, certainly it has a list of things it needs, but I was gonna fix it, paint it, and sell it for 3-4k. maybe I outa take it to TX!

 

[UncleS2]

Yup! Fix it up, drive it down, & you might make some serious extra $!

 

[addyguy]

That price is just nuts, and you're even nuttier if you consider buying it.

$3300 for a well-worn, 13-year old truck w/185k?

It MUST be a Texas thing!

 

[wirelessF]

I might consider if it's under $1000.

 

[01rangerxl]

$3300 is very steep for that truck. I'd take it for $1500 or less depending on how bad it is in person.

'97 was the first year of that body style, and Chrysler quality wasn't at its best then. The 3.9 is a proven engine, and the trans is probably just an NV3500, but I'd be concerned about everything else.

Around here you could get a good running fullsize in decent overall shape, with a V8, and a lot more room for that price.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I agree on the price. It sounds pretty over-priced. I bought my '97 Dakota club cab sport 2 years ago, with 169k miles, and a V-8 for $3k. Today, it'd be worth $2k tops.

The entire truck is extremely solid. There's not really anything to break on it. The radio and electronics are pretty simple. If you have manual windows/locks, there's even less to break. Mine has no rattles or squeaks. Road noise is very quiet and there's little wind noise at anything below 60 MPH. The ride is very good (mine is 2WD) and fuel economy is okay (I average about 15 MPG with it).

21 MPG would be AWFULLY good for a 3.9L engine, even one with a manual transmission.

I'd get prices for a LOT of comparables before I offered anything close to his asking price. I'd offer no higher than $2500, and I'd probably start at $2000.

 

[kkreit01]

Drive a few states up or over. You will save lots of $. That price is way too high if it's 2wd.

 

[UncleS2]

I agree that the price is way too high- but around here, *All* used truck prices are sky-high! You should see the old Chevy sitting at a local gas station, with $4000 on the windshield.

And in general, extended cab usually adds $1000-$2500 over a reg cab.

Gas mileage: well, maybe, but: I owned a 94 Dakota club cab, 3.9 V6 & ATX, bought new, for almost 3 yrs. I routinely got 19.x to 21 mpg with it on the highway, rarely got below 17 even with lots of local driving. Worst mileage ever was ~15.x & that was pulling a heavy U-Haul trailer, loaded down, from Conway, Ark, back here with the OD gear locked out, at ~60-65 mph, mostly on I-30. For highway mileage, 21 mpg sounds reasonable to me. (BTW, from reading ~2200 rpm @ 70 mph, I worked out that this truck has the relatively high-speed, 3.21:1 rear axle, avail on MTX only. I may have been off a hair due to tire dia variations, but not by 10%. )

If he still has it in a week, I'll take another look & make an offer under $2K. If not, nothing lost. Meanwhle, I'll keep looking for some of the screaming deals that exist in other areas!

I'd certanly have no objection to a great deal on a full size Ford/Chevy/GMC- maybe a shorty.

 

[Hokiefyd]

That's good for the mileage. I'm also a member of a few Dakota boards and with few exceptions, the V-6 engines are good for maybe MPGs over the V-8. For normal driving, upper teens is about average for the V-6 engines. Maybe a touch higher since it also has the manual.

The bright green color is called "Bright Jade Pearl" as I recall.

 

[eljefino]

I had a 92 dakota 3.9 V6 5 speed and both engine and trans were dry as a bone underneath at 150k. I was very suprised.

More fodder, when I got my 91 dakota in 02 it was 11 years old with 88k miles and I paid $650.

Then I sold the camper shell for $30, drove the truck four years, unloaded it, and made money on the deal. Was a great truck, I went 100 miles south and got it from some suburban yuppie, and the rust was not as bad as a local one.

You need to take a train somewhere with a wad of cash, a week off from work, find a truck, and drive it home. If you wind up not liking it you could always flip it.

 

[01rangerxl]

If you want cheap trucks try Alabama. Every time I go there it seems like trucks are cheaper there than they are here. Be mindful though, Alabama has no state inspections to speak of...you better look any trucks over good. I have driven trucks in AL that would not be street legal or pass inspection in another state.

LA and MS may have cheap trucks too, but be on the look out for flood damaged trucks.

 

[mrsilv04]

I'd only consider $3300 if it were in excellent shape inside AND out, plus if the suspected lower mileage engine were documented...

Otherwise, it is worth about $1500 the way it sits.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
That price is just nuts, and you're even nuttier if you consider buying it.

$3300 for a well-worn, 13-year old truck w/185k?

It MUST be a Texas thing!


Yes, let me, at the risk of stirring up a hornet's nest of responses, be totally, coldly, candid. Yes, it's a Texas "manly cowboy image" thing. If you don't regularly and commonly carry objects-needing-moving in the bed, or tow heavy trailers on a weekly basis, the cold truth is that you just don't need a pickup. Unless you need one to support or bolster some image you're trying to maintain. Only you can decide whether you're willing and able to pay the price for "image maintenance" if you're actually not USING a pickup for its intended missions.

If you're actually moving stuff around often enough to justify ownership economically, well, that's your call. If not, you need to get brutally honest with yourself. If you want an "image truck," and you're willing and able to pay the price, well, that's up to you.

I actually need the capabilities of a pickup or large van once or twice a year. At that point, I either borrow, barter, or rent. Makes much more sense than commuting in a heavy-pickup so I can most conveniently move heavy/bulky things every now and then.

And finally, that kind of money for an ancient pickup -- yeah, I'd do that about the same time that Hitler's corner of you-know-where gets cold and frosty.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Yes, it's a Texas "manly cowboy image" thing.


A Dakota barely qualifies as a "manly cowboy image" thing.

Now, a 4x4 dually with a diesel.... Now you're talking!

 

[UncleS2]

Well, I did finally get a pickup truck- but don't worry, not the green monster above!

To put things in perspective for some of you: a local source has an 02 Ranger shorty, plain-jane int, 4-cyl, 5-sp, 130-something thousand miles on it- priced at $5995, & last I checked they wouldn't budge below $5K.

But I found something that looks sweet, drives great, relatively low mles for the age, at least had a few extras going for it- like a brand new set of tires that, w/tax, mt & bal were about $600 out the door. No, I won't say how much- but let's just say it's a heckuva lot nicer than the 02 Ranger or 97 Dakota potential nightmare above. The green Dak is still sitting there by the way, still for sale, still dirty, & still, I'm sure, for $3300- more than double what it's worth.

"Texas Manly Thing"- ?? Too many psychobabble talk shows, maybe?

I just keep needing a pickup every time I turn around.

I sort of had in mind a shorty Ford or Chevy full size- but I found a nice 2002 Dakota Club Cab w/V6, automatic, & 89,048 miles when I started it up to drive it home. Lovin' it!

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