Used 1998 Dodge Dakota Regular Cab Consumer Reviews
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Great Pick Up Truck
My Mom purchased this truck and it is simply amazing. We have an automatic and even the auto is quick. The interior is comfortable with a spacious armrest for even more comfortable driving. The sound system that comes stock is amazing and sounds great with tapes or just good old FM/AM radio. The drive is smooth and it absorbs bumps easily. We have had problems with the AC, but that's normal and our tranny line busted. AC get's pricey obviously, but a simple hose is nothing to repair. Fantastic truck I would recommend it to anybody!
1998 Dodge Dakota
We have had nothing but problems with our Dodge. We bougt it and the Dealer told us it was normal for the gears on a manuel Dodge to be tight to shift. So, not but a few months after we bought the truck second and fifth started slipping. Then our Catalytic Converter went out, warranty recall. Then we found out the truck has an exaust leak from a bolt head that came off and is stripped so we have to take the truck to a Master Mechanic. We wanted to sell the truck but unfortuatly Dodge vehicles do not hold their value so we are about $3000.00 unside down in the truck loan. Who said life ins't fair!!!!!
- Base Extended CabMSRP: $4,500560 mi away
- SLT Extended CabMSRP: $4,977682 mi away
- SLT Extended CabMSRP: $7,999807 mi away
375,000miles. No Overhaul
3.9 V6 engine/auto-trans origonal. New limited-slip differental, cheaper than stock, 250,000mi. Uses Amsoil,oil analysis& bypass oil filters. 120lb compression. Courier use, 250-350mi per day. Ethinol in gas=2MPG less.Cloth seats look new. Killer heater A/C.
Nice vehicle
Plenty of space in the cab and decent headroom. The cloth seats are durable. The truck had 41,000 miles. The engine fan bearing was replaced so I checked for heat damage on the block. The gaskets and seals were original w/ no leaking. Rides nice, even when I pulled a lawn tractor/trailer.
Best Truck I've Owned
Bought this truck from my father in late 2002. Had it until I sold it in Summer of 2009. It had 218,000 miles on it when I sold and was still running great. Never had to do more than change the brakes, tires and oil. Started to rust a bit at the end, but that was expected.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good: Good interior, lots of truck for the money. Fairly decent fuel mileage. The Bad: Ball joints were completely worn out. Replacing them requires chiseling and/or grinding steel rivets off. Cheap plastic interior pieces, not very well put together. The Ugly: Designed by an accountant. Control-arm bushings are not replaceable. The whole control-arm needs replacing at over $300 per. Rubber plug in the differential cover. Non adjustable clutch master/slave cylinder. Very notchy 5-speed, with completely wrong ratios for the 4 cylinder engine. Will not pull even a moderate incline at highway speeds in 5th gear. 50 year old pushrod engine design. Not even a crossflow cylinder head.
Flash2Speed
The best mid sized truck I have purchased. Runs like a hot rod. Outside paint is a beautiful emerald green. When I turn the key on I can hear a deep thrum from the exhaust.
Underpowered Dakota
My 1998 Dodge Dakota with a four cylinder is terribly underpowered. Even negotiating a modest grade with the A/C running is impossible. It has no cupholders. It is poor visibility and is not fun, or easy, to drive.
The R/T is in a class of its own
You here people saying never drive in the rain. MAinly because they cant keep there foot out of it. This truck flies when the road is dry. What can u expect with a 4200 pound truck thats rear wheel drive and has most of its wieght in the front(large engine). The body style is supior to all other pickups in its class.
Great Buy
I've had my Dakota for over 3 years now and I love it. Value, power, everything is the best. I'd recommend this truck to anyone.
There's no replacement for displacement
First of all, let me say, this is my second Dodge Dakota. And I have enjoyed this one just as much as my first. Second, to anyone who wants a truck that will always outperform not only the competition but your own expectations, this one is for you! My Dakota has exceptional ride and handling, especially for a truck with a short wheel base. The interior is comfortable with more leg and head room than other compact trucks, and me being 6' 2" that means alot. Also, I can certainly vouch for the reliability having put 142,000 combined miles on both my trucks. The only repair I've had was replacing a blower for the a/c once. However, the best feature of all... horsepower lots and lots of it!!
Lots of Power...Lots of Gas
I bought my '98 Dakota 4x4 about a year and a half ago and it has been a great truck. The 5.2L 318 has plenty of power, and the limited slip rear end makes for great burnouts. The 4 wheel drive is unbelivable. I've had it burried in mud to the point where the ground was even with the bottom of my window and I put it in reverse and it crawled right out to my suprise, and to the dissapointment of the angry hunters chasing after me. The only things that have been replaced in 63,000 miles are the water pump, ball joints, exhaust ( wasn't loud enough) and tires. The water pump and ball joints were a lot cheaper and easier to install than I thought they would be. The tires not so much.
1998 Dodge Dakota fleet vehicle 3.9, 5 speed
Great truck with some quirks. Once I redone the ground wires under the hood and did a full tune up it ran like new. Does not hurt to know some basic mechanics when buying one almost 20 years and over 200,000 miles but seems to be strong and dependable.
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20 year old truck still holds up!
Just bought a 1998 dodge dakota off craigslist for $2000 with 81000 miles on it. Even for a 20 year old truck it felt great before I even went to an auto shop. I changed out the oil filters, air filters and all 4 tires which is standard everytime you buy a car. I live in California so I of course did an engine diagnostic because you have to SMOG every other year. The tags on this expire next year so it's still current. I gotta say, it's my proudest buy and quite a steal for my first truck. It's a 20 year old automatic so no cup holders and no automatic door locks. That's okay though. I am gonna do some more work on it and eventually put a new stereo, speakers and custom paint job on it. Maybe even a custom center console if possible. I am very happy with this buy. I highly recommend this vehicle if anyone ever comes across it.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value