On Thu, 17 Jun 1999, Geoff Wilson wrote:
> I'll be looking into buying a truck in the next few months with the help of
> my parents and I have having some conflicting thoughts among myself and my
> father. I am angling towards the Dakota (we both agree) but I am unsure if
> I want to get a 4x4 Dak or an RT (similar in price +/-) I like speed, but I
> want the truck to carry stuff. I dont plan on towing anything but I want it
> to be useful for carrying stuff (I help my friend move back and forth from
> college and I have stuff of my own) On the other hand, my dad also wants me
> to look at the Toyota brand of trucks because of the longevity and quality
> workmanship that goes into them. I've had my dad's 89 Toyota Camry (134k
> miles now) since I've had my license and it had only failed me once
> (battery). As you can see, I have quite a dilema...what can you recommend?
> I'm up for suggestions.
I would suggest driving both, and give both of them a thorough
going-over. Take a look at the specs as to what each one can carry,
and figure out how much payload you're going to need. If you're going
to be working on them yourself, take a look at the engine and under the
truck. How hard will it be to change the spark plugs? Change the oil?
etc... Compare warranties, and maintenance costs. Have you considered
a 5.2L Dakota 4x2? You might want to take a look at the payload
ratings and such there too. If you like speed, you may want to
examine your reasons for wanting a 4x4... In the winter, I
really wish I had it, but when spring comes around, I'm equally
glad I don't have it slowing me down. :-)
Sounds like you're trying to decide what kind of truck you want
to get in the first place, then you throw the Toyota factor in there,
and the choices really start to get confusing. I would suggest
narrowing down the truck you want (4x4 vs 4x2, HP, speed, payload,
whatever is important to you), then you can take a look at the
offerings of the various manufacturers and see what fits the bill,
and you can start comparing apples to apples, and buy the better truck.
Enjoy your new Dakota!
;-) Just kidding; good luck with whatever you decide.
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ----------------------------------------.
| Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT CC (14.58@93.55), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
`--------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:14:26 EDT