CAR PEOPLE, LEND ME YOUR BRAINS! Update: You guys will kill me

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Must be the worlds smallest V8!

Um...

It's a 4 cylinder. I think "8v" is 8 valve.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Must be the worlds smallest V8!

Um...

It's a 4 cylinder. I think "8v" is 8 valve.

what's the matter Brutuskend, dyslexia setting in tonight?

 

[Chaotic42]

I've been looking on edmunds, and I should point out that it has these options (with edmunds prices)

Tape player-276
Bedliner-99
Cruise-82
AC-335
ABS-210
Bucket Seats-84

That adds $1086 to the price.

Thanks

 

[BlamoHammer]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Sorry for the all caps title.

Anyway, some of you know that I'm looking for a used truck. I've found a nice one, it's a 1998 Dodge Dakota. Here's the engine stats:

2.5L L4 SMPI OHV 8V

Yeah.....


Anyway, it's $8995. They're taking $495 trade in on my 1991 Festiva, since they advertise with the radio stations for which I am news director. I drove the truck, it wasn't super peppy, but seemed ok. My insurance will be right at $200/mo, as will the payments. That's $400/mo for a car. Double what I'm paying now. I make about $750-900/wk right now, before taxes.

Does anyone have any experience with this vehicle? Any advice? I ran a carfax on it. I'm not sure how to decipher it, but it looks ok. Oh, it has 37823 miles on it.

I might get it tonight, we'll see. Let me know what you think.

Thanks all.
Chris

Thats pretty low mileage for a darn near 5 year old vehicle

 

[Chaotic42]

Just woke up bump.

I need to decide today if possible. I'm leaning towards it, given what many people and sites have told me.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Just woke up bump.

I need to decide today if possible. I'm leaning towards it, given what many people and sites have told me.

Huh? There has been like TWO people in this thread that have said good things about that truck. The rest have said to look for something else.

It sounds to me that you had already made up your mind to buy this thing before even making this thread. I would never buy a Dakota with a 4 banger but its your money!

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Just woke up bump.

I need to decide today if possible. I'm leaning towards it, given what many people and sites have told me.

Huh? There has been like TWO people in this thread that have said good things about that truck. The rest have said to look for something else.

It sounds to me that you had already made up your mind to buy this thing before even making this thread. I would never buy a Dakota with a 4 banger but its your money!

Well, I meant people other than here. Mechanically inclined co-workers, family, etc.

No, I don't want to buy it if it's going to be trouble. I'd rather stay with my Festiva than get ripped off.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

2.5L L4 SMPI OHV 8V

Here's the deal on the engine:

It's a 2.5 Liter InLine 4-cylinder Sequential Multi-Point fuel-Injected OverHead Valve, 8 Valve engine. You see, that's kind of my second language.

Would I buy it for that price? No.

If you want a Dakota, find the biggest V6 they offer, or the 5.2L V-8. If you want an inexpensive 4-cyl truck, get a new Ranger.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Garfang

Here's the deal on the engine:

It's a 2.5 Liter InLine 4-cylinder Sequential Multi-Point fuel-Injected OverHead Valve, 8 Valve engine. You see, that's kind of my second language.

Would I buy it for that price? No.

If you want a Dakota, find the biggest V6 they offer, or the 5.2L V-8. If you want an inexpensive 4-cyl truck, get a new Ranger.

Well, the reason that I'm shying away from getting a 6 cylinder is that my insurance is so damned expensive.

When you say get a new Ranger, do you mean buy or lease?

Thanks for the input.

Edit:

Ok, it looks like this dealer has a
2003 Ranger 6' 4X2 Regular Cab 2-Door 2.3L I4 XL - Standard

For about $15K, which would work out to $275/mo. With insurance that would be right at $500/mo for a car. Would this truck be worth $100/mo more than the Dakota?

 

[Thegonagle]

I never mean lease. There are certain situations where a business would be in better shape leasing a company car (so I hear), but for personal use, you won't win with a lease. And I got the impression that maybe you could get a new Ranger in the $10,000 range, but that might not be right. Buy a used one with low miles if any of the year-end incentives and awesome interest rates can't apply to you.

I just think a Ranger is a little better than a Dakota, and I wouldn't pay $9000 for a 5 year old, well, anything, I guess.

BTW, $500 is par, if not a little high, for your Festiva. Take it, unless it's in good shape with fairly low miles, and you feel like advertising and selling it yourself.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Garfang
I never mean lease. There are certain situations where a business would be in better shape leasing a company car (so I hear), but for personal use, you won't win with a lease. And I got the impression that maybe you could get a new Ranger in the $10,000 range, but that might not be right. Buy a used one with low miles if any of the year-end incentives and awesome interest rates can't apply to you.

I just think a Ranger is a little better than a Dakota, and I wouldn't pay $9000 for a 5 year old, well, anything, I guess.

BTW, $500 is par, if not a little high, for your Festiva. Take it, unless it's in good shape with fairly low miles, and you feel like advertising and selling it yourself.

Well, there is another place in town that has a 1999 Ford Ranger 2.5L 4 Cylinder with EFI. It has 70616 miles, and it's $6995.

I don't know about the dealer though. They advertise with us, but they have the most inattentive, unmotivated sales people in the world. The Dodge guy was really helpful, maybe because no one else has ever been interested in the truck

 

[Chaotic42]

Ok, I've decided against the Dakota. I test drove the Ranger, and it was nice. Much peppier than the Dakota for sure. It was a little hard to shift though. I had to kind of push the shifter in pretty good. Nice truck.

They did, however, get in a 1996 S-10. It's a 4.0L Vortec 6 cylinder. It has 70,000 miles, CD player, air, tool box, very, very nice. It's automatic too. It's the same price as the Dakota.

Any comments on these? Here's the list so far

1998 Dodge Dakota
2.5L V4
37,800 miles
$8990

1999 Ford Ranger
2.5L V4
71,000 miles
$6995

1996 Chevolet S10
4.0L V6
70,000 miles
CD Player
$8990

I really appreciate this guys. I'll buy you all a beer if you're ever in the area.

 

[Thegonagle]

I don't like the Chevy. I like the Dodge better. It's newer, with fewer miles. Plus, I think those Chevy S-10s are the worst small trucks out there, IMHO.

That Ford has quite a few miles there, so some stuff that's subject to wear, like the water pump, and ball joints, tie-rod ends, and shocks will be worn out a bit sooner than a truck with fewer miles, but the price is getting better for you.

I'd keep looking around a bit more (or better yet, have them keep looking around), you're bound to find a 98-00 Ranger that has fewer than 50,000 miles for a great price.

Good luck!

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Garfang
I don't like the Chevy. I like the Dodge better. It's newer, with fewer miles. Plus, I think those Chevy S-10s are the worst small trucks out there, IMHO.

That Ford has quite a few miles there, so some stuff that's subject to wear, like the water pump, and ball joints, tie-rod ends, and shocks will be worn out a bit sooner than a truck with fewer miles, but the price is getting better for you.

I'd keep looking around a bit more (or better yet, have them keep looking around), you're bound to find a 98-00 Ranger that has fewer than 50,000 miles for a great price.

Good luck!

I just talked with the salesperson for the Dakota. He told me I was approved, with payments of $201. I could go get it now...

Anyway, I've been looking on the internet, and the only things that edmunds really picks up are Indianapolis (70 miles away). The S10 felt more natural. I don't know how to explain it, but it felt more like my old car. The Dakota was the bulkiest driving of the three.

Edit: Oh yeah, since the S10 is the highest powered vehicle I've ever driven, I was speeding for the entire test drive. It didn't seem like I was going so fast
The Dodge salesman said that the Dakota was the only thing they had in that price range, the next one's being around 13-15K.

 

[Chaotic42]

Ok, I've decided not to get any vehicle now. The prospect of going into significant debt scares me to no end. I'll just stick it through until I have the cash to buy a vehicle. The thread wasn't in vain though, because now I know what to look for 4 or 5 months down the road.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Shockwave]

I would argue the point that you cant have TOO much power in a pickup. Thats me though, I come from a farm where our pickups do work, and alot of it. You can have enough power, but never too much.
On a less work related scenario, I's still get at least 1 step above the smallest engine. You'll find, if you get a pickup, that you'll end up doing more then you had planned on, and the extra ponies is always nice. Even something as simple as towing a Uhaul trailer if you decide to move. And friends.....Oh jeex. In college, if you have a pickup, every Tom Dick n Harry has something they need moved, towed, pulled, hauled or otherwise transported, and the guy with the pickup is the first they ask. The extra horse is nice for those loaded wtih furniture scenarios. Or maybe you need to pull a acr. Again, the extra power is nice. Keep in mind, even with a bigger engine, you probbly aint gonna run 80 or 90 down the highway with a loaded trailer (One advantage of a full size ) but man, i couldnt recommend at least 1 engine size bigger enough. Look at it this way, worst case is you will have a few bucks more when you trade it in down the road.....