Dodge Durango's?

those are good vehicles if you take care of them ,but some of them have caused major problems before,i have customers who own these,and i see a lot of them ,the thing that has me is your son is young and putting a young person behind a 4 wheel drive vehicle is dangerous,4 wheel drive vehicles will pull you in to a curve rather than let you out of it, if its locked in,especially on ice,they are dangerous to those who are not experienced driving them,just because its is 4 wheel drive does not mean he,s going to be safer,and the durango,s have had their share of problems also,as some mentioned with transmissions,as well as other things,your son could drive it but whether or not he could control it in snow might be a question to ask,they also don't get the mileage they was supposed to get,that stopped me from buying one 5 years ago,i bought a Chevy that gets more mileage than they said it would get,the best deal you found was the newest one,for the money ,it has more driving left on it than the others do,let him test drive it and see if he thinks he can handle it,and you watch how he drives it,their not cheap to operate though,keep this in mind,good luck on your decision.

George; If you are worried about fuel costs, a Durango is not for you. Your son would be able to drive it as easily as any other vehicle. If the vehicle has been properly maintained until now, it should go to 200K with continued proper maintainence.

You need to ask why you need such a big vehicle. A Subaru Outback (AWD Wagon) will get through the snow just as well as the Durango, and go 50% to 100% further on a gallon of gas. It will hold four adults in comfort. And there are many other choices with similar snow capability and fuel economy.

Can't say for the later one's so I will concentrate on what I do know for SURE

Have a 1998, 97,000 miles 31x10.5 tires, 3.92 limited slip differential, and 5.2 liter engine.

One sensor in transmission, one abs sensor,,that has been up graded, upper control arm bushings..Known problem..two hour fix. Changed water hoses once, changed all fluids twice, one water pump, on second set of brake pads and shoes, fixed loose seat driver's side, three air filters, and recharged the A/C back to full pressure.

That is it,,PERIOD, no fires, transmission failures, no major anything. Change oil at 5000 miles intervals. No oil burning change to change.

Now there are two axle ratios. 3.92 and 3.56. Mine is 3.92 Fast as you could want on acceleration, but hard on gas Expect around 14 on highway,,friend has the 3.56 gears, 16.5 on highway and same otherwise...He better not leave that truck, where I can get to the Axles!! Ha Ha,

I like it and have been and am happy with it. Yes, my son's did drive this ( As described above "Dangerous Truck") Guess what..no problems at all and they were safer in an accident than those tin foreign jobs.

Good Luck whatever you decide.

George,

I own a 99 Durango SLT 4wd with the 5.9l and 140,000 miles on it. I've owned it since 01 and in that time I had 1 recall for a leaking intake manifold gasket. Other than that I've put on one set of tires, two sets of brakes and one ABS rear dif sensor. Not one single problem other than that. As for gas it started out around 11.5mpg and as it's broken in it's up to around 14.5mpg and that's about normal. It costs around $75 to $80 to fill.

Regarding which car to buy, they all sound pretty overpriced to me, the second one you describe sounds to be similar in model to mine, but possibly worse condition and that's about what I would ask for mine.

i have 99 dodge durango and they don't catch on fire i've had mine for 7yr already and i think your son will like it but only if you install some rims and a sound system cause plain like that there not that stylish oh and the gas they gulp it down quick if you step on the gas to much..... i think they would last for many years mine still sound strong with no bad sound or anything if you really want it to sound mean install a full greddy exhaust system if you get it it will also help the car breath better.which ever one you choose they are in a good price range i got mine for 19,000 and i've wasted around 5,000more on it for after market stuff but mine is for car shows but its also my daily driving car

once you've a blockage on your radiator it is going to hamper the flow of fluid, subsequently battling it from cooling. At larger speeds what flow is occuring is getting extra airflow permitting it to relax extra. It probable isn't your thermostat on condition that which could block all coolant flow and reason it to overheat at any %. It overheats swifter even as operating the AC because it truly is extra taxing on your engine arising extra warmth to eliminate. Worse case state of affairs is that you've a blockage interior your motor, wherein case you've a actual mission. something you are able to do at domicile for a speedy verify is even as the motor is at idle and warm is to squeeze your hoses popping out of and going into the radiator, (use a rag over your hand, the hoses will be warm). If one is puzzling, I recommend truly puzzling, you've a blockage in it. keep in mind that your decrease hose, oftentimes yet no longer consistently, has a spring in it to avert it from collapsing from the suction from the water pump. for this reason it can have some provide to a level. Blockages can take position from a construct up of previous antifreeze or a deterioration of the copper interior. i could start up with a severe rigidity radiator flush, it may reason your radiator to fail even if it truly is corroded. even if it truly is better for it to fail contained in the save then on the area of the line. If that would not fix it then i could have the mechanic evaluate it, in case you've faith him, he shouldn't steer you incorrect.

I dont agree that a 16yo should drive such a vehicle.

A. Durangos have problems with the 4.7 engine failing... and all of them have issues with transmissions and rear ends (typical chrysler). If it has a trans cooler factory installed they normally do better.

Do yourself a favor and look it up on consumer reports... I am fairly confindent you will prob stay away from this vehicle.

hey, im a firefighter and i just wanted you to know that durango's have a tendency of catching on fire. im not trying to put dodge down. but im a ford guy and i believe that your son should get a ford explorer.