Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Opinions of Dodge Dakota.

Found a '99 Dodge Dakota for my daughter for $6500 with 85000 miles. Any opinions on these trucks? Seems to be a nice little ride for her. Kinda peeved she will have a newer car than me, tho.

They ride very nice, feel extremely comfortable, and, if you get the 4.8L (?) V8 or the 5.9L (?) hemi, the torque on those trucks is absolutely unbelievable; if you get a nice exhaust on it too, the truck sounds unbelievably sick!

I definitely would recommend a nice Dakota

Tim

My parents had a '94 Dakota 6 cyl. slushbox... er, slushcolumn? , extended cab that I, uh, kind of destroyed. It wasn't bad, no major problems with it during the time they owned it (Spring '97 though 11-25-00). My sister drove it from Plano to Harvey for a spell; my dad split his 100 mile a day round trip drive between the truck and his car for a while, and loaned the truck to my uncle for a while, while his car was in the body shop. So, I guess it had a bit of mileage put on it with reasonable maintainence. Your mileage, as always, my vary...

--T.J.

85,000 miles is a lot. Although it may be in great condition, one may think about the money it takes to maintain a higher milage vehicle. My Contour is my first car, but I have driven my mom's 1999 Durango with the 5.9 V8. That truck has some balls! That is a big vehicle with lots of power, and that is why my parents didn't let me have it. Also, that V8 chugs gas. That Dakota may be too powerful (especially with the 5.9) for a beginner.

by the way, only recently did the Hemi 5.7 V8 become available; its first application was the new Ram.

Dakota info

My aunt owned a 94 Dakota with a V6 Engine, Manual transmission, It was an ok truck, the Gas needle stopped working... and it always appeared to have some kind of problem... I wouldnt mind a Dodge Dakota tho, id fix its problems

I test drove an '03 4.7L/5 spd. Club Cab and damn near bought it on the spot. Takes a little while to get used to the long shift throw and somewhat loose body structure (like all trucks have).

Chrysler products are kind of hit and miss, but if that '99 doesn't have any problems now it's probably a good one.

I have a friend who has owned 2 dakotas. he will never aggain own a Dodge product. The second truck was always in the shop. The trans had to be rebuilt 3 times and the rear end once. Dodge had notoriously weak transmissions and with the mileage that truck has it'll probably blow up if it hasn't already.

Although I don't have any personal experience with Chrysler and DC products, I can say I am glad I haven't. They seem to be notorious for transmission problems (as evidenced by the above posts) and they are constantly in need of repair. Also, if safety is at all a concern for your daughter, check the Insurance Institute for safety ratings in offset tests. The '99 Dakota didn't do too well. I would advise looking for another compact truck, or even better, just something completely different altogether. Why not a late model Contique? I am sure you could pick up a nice fairly low mileage Contour that's around the same price as the Dakota. It would probably be nicer and more fun to drive. Just my $.02.

My dad's 96 v6 AT Ram has close to 200k miles on it and runs fine. No tranny trouble. He does not baby the truck at all, and it sees all kinda of on-road/off-road abuse. He did rebuild the upper part of the engine (valves and stuff) but that was real easy and not expensive. I would think a dakota would be similar. I know of people that have more problems with chevies than any other truck,, but I guess it can be different for each particular vehicle.

My son has a 1998 Dakota extended cab, 4x4, 5spd. with less than 40K miles. The dealer replaced the starter and then the battery (because it wasn't the starter!). He went to have the oil changed one day and the tech (a friend of his) said "Did you know your transfer case is leaking?" The dealer replaced the transfer case. All of this was under the warranty. The only thing he's had to pay for was a ball joint that failed. Apparently these vehicles along with Durangos can have weak front ends.
Other than this, he's quite happy with the truck and has thrown a few mods on it such as side window and taillight covers (with the Dodge Ram) and matching parking light covers as well. (These have all been painted red to match the truck.)
Have to admit it looks sharp!