>My main questions are price and reliability. And price.
>
>I'm looking at some flavor of a '96 Dakota Sport with automatic (Tina can't
>handle a stick...well, she could in an emergency...). I will also pop some
>kind of bedliner into it (my first truck's gotta last me), and some tonneau
>cover to help keep the bed from becoming a snow-bank or fishbowl (and
>improve mileage).
Having a snow-bank in back can be an advantage as far as traction is
concerned and the fish pond will drain rapidly when you step on the
throttle. ;) I have a F/G Leer cap and plastic liner (non-skid) on mine and
love it. Mileage is about average for a V-8/Auto 2X4 Club Cab SLT. I have
around $20K invested in it (trade, extended warranty, undercoat, alarm,
trans cooler, tow hitch, tax, tags, first born...) Do your homework and beat
the snot out of the salesman for a GREAT price. I took six hours for a truck
off the lot. Don't worry, you'll never see him again anyway. No real
problems in 5400 miles since June that required dealer intervention. My
trans has a slight shudder in first gear (like clutch chatter). I'll wait
for a while to see if anything breaks big time. Otherwise, I'll mention it
next time I go to the dealer.
BTW, Dodge is having a Magnum Sale in the Phila. area (ad on TV). Buy the
V-8. You won't be sorry.
>CAT: One hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf.
>- B. Kliban
Very true!
-Buddy
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:20 EDT