Dodge or Mazda?

Car lot in town is selling a Mazda b2600i 4x4 for $2850!

Checked it out. But did'nt bother driving it. Too hot outside and only one rep. Funny huh...

It will need a new exhaust from the exhaust manifold. Probably a new exhaust manifold. It seems really pitted.

The water pump is bad. I saw the area leaking when I started the engine as well. Got some haggard wiring for some sort of accessory which ruined the dash. Needs new tires, barely any tread. Probably a new radiator. Needs a valve cover gasket. 148k miles on it, I'm betting it smokes...

Driver side rocker panel caved in and rusted up. Other then that its just dirty and all..

I'm not sure on whether or not to buy it. But I seldom EVER see a 4x4 b2600i... I'm just not sure if its worth buying because of how much it will cost to buy new parts for it and all and especially availability. I'd probably only offer them $1200-$1500 for it...

I want it for winter and hunting, so I'm not gonna get too fussy about it except for performance. Last thing I want is to break down deep in the woods during the winter!!!!

I was thinking about a 2000 and up Dodge Dakota or Ram 1500 4x4. Newer, but gas will suck. Although, I can afford to shell out some more for something newer, I just dunno about Dodge?

Anyone have experience with these vehicles to help give a wise opinion?

dodge is good but gas is gonna kill ya

id offer 1,500 tops for the dawg

I'm not a fan of Dodge trucks. I hate Rams because they're so obnoxious...the Ram to me is the Hummer of pickup trucks. Dakotas are ok,but we had a '98 when it was new and it was always in the shop with something wrong.

I'd make an offer on the Mazda and basically tell them how it is. Tell them the trucks are worth nothing,and that it sounds like it's a total piece of crap.

Want to watch out for the 2.6's though. Parts are typically hard to find and they aren't the most reliable thing in the world. The 2.2 is typically a better engine from what I've heard. I've seen 2.6's with as little as 80 000 mi with knocking bottom ends.

But hey,if you can get it cheap enough and its worth fixing up as a beater,that thing will be fun!

Can't say I am a big fan of Dodge trucks. Especially the earlier 2000's. Fragile transmissions, soft rotors, and flimsy front suspension parts. Most of the above will need replacing before the truck hits 100,000 miles. Dodge does have an incredable diesel engine (Cummins), but what it's in is not worthy.

Chevy trucks tend to be very nice, but you pay a little extra for that.

With diesel prices the way they are and the market being down, a good buy would be the earlier Ford trucks with the 7.3L diesel. With a little modification they can pull over 20MPG on the highway easily and you might get one for a good $.

i drive a dodge ram 1500 van daily usually around 500 miles a week.... the odometer shows 360k miles... it has a 318 V8... its a hoss.... matter of a fact i towed a car with it today and almost forgot it was behind me.... only problem out of it was the radiator but hey that was the original one and it took 325k miles of abuse.... $125 to fill the 30gal tank.... usually gets around 450 miles to the tank.... im rough on it and run the a/c and thats highway and city miles about 50/50

also used to have a 98 dodge ram 1500 truck.... sold it to a co-worker.... also 318 v8.... had several problems.... alt, water pump, belt tensioner, radiator and 3 automatic transmissions..... it has only 250k miles on it but runs like a champ..... used it to tow track hoes and other equiptment (probably the reason for the trans going out).... only thing that sucked was no breaking power for the heavy loads.....