Dodge Dakota Question (I know not an E Body)

[Daveh]

Just a quick question.  I'm looking for a beater truck not for everyday use.  I stumbled upon a 2007 Dakota extended cab that seems to be well taken care of.  The present owner has had it for 10 years.  New paint 6 years ago, no rust, engine runs well, trans shifts well and the front suspension was replaced a year ago.  He had the receipts. 

He want's 3K for it the only kicker is that it's got 200/K miles one it.  I see some listed with 150/K for double that price.  I think it's a good deal just not certain about that 200/K.  I figure if something happened to the engine or trans I could replace either one for about 2/K each and still be ahead of the game.

Does anyone have any opinions?  Thanks

Dave

[ec_co]

my '02 with 270k miles has been a solid truck. 5.9L/AWD/Quad. the biggest issue with that 5.9 is the factory heads tend to crack, but there are aftermarket replacements available.

[Burdar]

V8 or V6?  If it's the 4.7V8 it's probably on borrowed time with those miles.

[MEK-Dangerous]

^^^ What he said.

What engine are we talking about?

[Daveh]

It's the V6.

[Dakota]

I have an '08 Dakota Extended Cab 4x4 with the V6 with 90k miles (I know this is shocking given my username).   It's been a good truck for knocking around.   It struggles on hills (drops down a gear pretty regularly) and probably can't tow much compared to a 4.7 liter or larger.  That said, it's definitely a lot easier to maneuver in parking lots and gets much better gas mileage (around 19 mpg) on the highway than the '02 4.7 liter Ram 1500 that I recently parted company with.  It's really easy to switch in and out of 4WD which has made me happy during the winter driving here as long as I don't accidentally turn the fan switch by mistake.

Overall I've been really happy with the truck in the 6 months I've owned it.   For the mileage you're dealing with, it's probably a matter of how well you can gauge the frequency of oil changes.   I think changing the oil on my 4.7 every 3 months of 3k miles is the only reason it lasted to 230k.