Bought my first truck, 96 Dakota

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 9:58 pm

Bought my first truck yesterday, pics to come soon.

Its a 96 Dodge Dakota, regular cab (2 door), short bed, 2wd, 5.2l 318 V8, automatic with sport package and 3:92 SureGrip rear end.

Its a beauty of a truck, I love it, very fast. However, the previous owner didnt take really good care of the truck. It had its fluids changed every 3k, but the outside is well, its great, but some parts make me upset.

Its got a couple dings, nothing big there. The hood has a paint chip, and on the bottoms of both doors, theres a 1/2 cm tall rust spot. ITs small, but still bugs me.

Should I get the dings pulled out, rust sanded down, and have the truck resprayed? All professionally done of course. Or is it too much $$ for what its worth?

Thanks!

BTW, 71k miles on it, and paid 3800$ for it.

Joint Chiefs of Staff · Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:40 pm

Originally posted by Loonatic
Bought my first truck yesterday, pics to come soon.

Its a 96 Dodge Dakota, regular cab (2 door), short bed, 2wd, 5.2l 318 V8, automatic with sport package and 3:92 SureGrip rear end.

Its a beauty of a truck, I love it, very fast. However, the previous owner didnt take really good care of the truck. It had its fluids changed every 3k, but the outside is well, its great, but some parts make me upset.

Its got a couple dings, nothing big there. The hood has a paint chip, and on the bottoms of both doors, theres a 1/2 cm tall rust spot. ITs small, but still bugs me.

Should I get the dings pulled out, rust sanded down, and have the truck resprayed? All professionally done of course. Or is it too much $$ for what its worth?

Thanks!

BTW, 71k miles on it, and paid 3800$ for it.

Sounds swell. Got any pics to show us?

nepenthe · Post by **nepenthe** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:51 pm

Originally posted by Loonatic
Bought my first truck yesterday, pics to come soon.

Its a 96 Dodge Dakota, regular cab (2 door), short bed, 2wd, 5.2l 318 V8, automatic with sport package and 3:92 SureGrip rear end.

Its a beauty of a truck, I love it, very fast. However, the previous owner didnt take really good care of the truck. It had its fluids changed every 3k, but the outside is well, its great, but some parts make me upset.

Its got a couple dings, nothing big there. The hood has a paint chip, and on the bottoms of both doors, theres a 1/2 cm tall rust spot. ITs small, but still bugs me.

Should I get the dings pulled out, rust sanded down, and have the truck resprayed? All professionally done of course. Or is it too much $$ for what its worth?

Thanks!

BTW, 71k miles on it, and paid 3800$ for it.

Ford makes the Dakota? (j/k!)

Congrats on the good buy. I had heard that the 5.2 V8 was problematic.

shant,
david

minir · Post by **minir** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 11:53 pm

Hi Loonatic

Congrats on your new Truck. If it were me i'd just get the dings and rust or scratches done by a good body shop and forget the major repaint.

Let it go for a couple of months to harden, then a good wash & Wax and it will probably bounce right back shine wise.

Careful with 1/2 tons they are light in the rearend and will jump out on you if your not careful. Bumpy turns, corners & rain slick roads can catch you off guard till you get used to driving a truck.

I always keep 200lbs of sand in a bag in the right side over the axle. It helps.

Enjoy Your Toy

regards

minir

poptom · Post by **poptom** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 2:57 am

As minir said.

Also, rust on the doors may indicate water entrapment. It could be plugged drain holes or cavities that have no drains (like my old Mustang). You should have that looked at.

emixnem · Post by **emixnem** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 3:05 am

dakota is a pretty nice truck, my cousin got a dodge ram and we go 4 wheeling

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:09 am

Originally posted by nepenthe
Ford makes the Dakota? (j/k!)

Congrats on the good buy. I had heard that the 5.2 V8 was problematic.

shant,
david

Thanks

I sure hope it isnt, its been around for quite some time! My dad had a 78 Ram 150 with a 318 in it, ran for over 200k miles.

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:10 am

Originally posted by Patrick K
Sounds swell. Got any pics to show us?

After school Ill post em up

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:12 am

Originally posted by minir
Hi Loonatic

Congrats on your new Truck. If it were me i'd just get the dings and rust or scratches done by a good body shop and forget the major repaint.

Let it go for a couple of months to harden, then a good wash & Wax and it will probably bounce right back shine wise.

Careful with 1/2 tons they are light in the rearend and will jump out on you if your not careful. Bumpy turns, corners & rain slick roads can catch you off guard till you get used to driving a truck.

I always keep 200lbs of sand in a bag in the right side over the axle. It helps.

Enjoy Your Toy

regards

minir

That sounds like a good idea, Minir. When I want a quote for how much, I have to bring it in to them correct?

Ever since I had my permit, and license, I drove an F150. I actually learned off it, and did my road test on it, parallel parked it, etc. Im pretty used to how they drive, but still, they can catch you off guard at the wrong moment!

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:13 am

Originally posted by poptom
As minir said.

Also, rust on the doors may indicate water entrapment. It could be plugged drain holes or cavities that have no drains (like my old Mustang). You should have that looked at.

Thats a possibility, Ill look into that. Thanks.

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:37 am

sounds nice...
why not a Lightning

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:42 am

Originally posted by BaLa
sounds nice...
why not a Lightning

LOL, a little out of my price range. For me, this is my mini Lightning

Im trying hard to keep my foot from going to the floor, but I couldnt resist blowing away my friends 02 Grand am GT last night by 5 car lenghts

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:50 am

congrats on the new truck, good to see another proud owner of a Dakota.

when i got my 2001 club cab i though about getting the R/T version with the 360 but figured i would just get myself into trouble, so i just got the 3.9 V-6.

let's seem some pics

minir · Post by **minir** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 7:20 am

Originally posted by Loonatic
That sounds like a good idea, Minir. When I want a quote for how much, I have to bring it in to them correct?

Ever since I had my permit, and license, I drove an F150. I actually learned off it, and did my road test on it, parallel parked it, etc. Im pretty used to how they drive, but still, they can catch you off guard at the wrong moment!

--------

Good Morning Loonatic

Yep! just find a decent little Body Shop & take it in for an Estimate. Ask around for a good shop. A lot of the little out of the way shops are best for this kind of thing. Most are honest and do a great job.

Enjoy

regards

minir

Loonatic · Post by **Loonatic** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 5:54 pm

As promised, the pics

Just washed with dawn soap to remove all road grime, oxidation, previous wax, so it may look dull. Going to wax it soon.

And heres the rust spot im talkin about

interior

and of course, the engine shot

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 7:49 pm

Damn, my 94 ford ranger has less miles on it.

Nice truck, BTW.

fastchevy · Post by **fastchevy** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 8:04 pm

Yeah that's a good lookin truck and the rust spot is barely noticeable and as stated earlier..that appears to be from water not being able to get out of the door channel, those nearly pin sized drain holes may have been clogged.

Enjoy the new ride..it's slick

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Bought my first truck, 96 Dakota

Bought my first truck, 96 Dakota

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