Comments: 1-15, 16
With this pile of junk, they should ask what hasn't gone wrong with this thing.
Entire brake job needed.
Steering box has to be replaced along with the shaft.
The engine horribly until I did a tune up and then it was OK. This included plug wires, plugs, distributor cap, rotor, air filter, etc.
The interior was in horrid shape - that's more from abuse though.
The oil pressure gauge had to be replaced, even then the oil pressure was always really low.
Oil pan gasket was replaced.
Emergency brake system replaced.
Rear lights didn't work properly nor did some of the turn signals - that was all fixed.
All four ball joints replaced.
Windshield replaced.
Pitman arm replaced.
All four wheel bearings replaced.
Front brake hoses and battery replaced.
Door speakers don't work properly.
The fan wiring was all screwed up and I constantly had to play with it.
Water pump blew up driving it home and had to be replaced.
I was driving one day and the damn thing just died on me. The starter would turn it over, but it wouldn't start. After about 20 minutes it would fire back up and run for about 5 minutes and die again. Took me about 4 hours to make a trip that should have been only 30 minutes. Turns out it was the fuel pump. I found this out after replacing the fuel pump relay, ignition coil, and a few other things I don't remember.
I had to fly out of town to get this truck because there was none for sale in my city. Turns out if I would have waited a couple months a good condition, w150 went for sale for a good price. Oh well, gotta learn patience.
The picture the used car dealer showed me of the truck was a masterpiece of not showing all the rust and dings all over that pile of junk. He completely lied to me of the condition of the truck. It was supposed to be in good condition and running order and it was completely the opposite. Something that was supposed to cost only around $4000 tops ended up costing me around $7000.
I should have just came home and not bought it, but I was stubborn and had spent money getting there so I took it anyways. I'll never get over that.
The 4x4 system worked well, the a/c was good, cruise was fine. Tailgate was messed up and had to pull those little tabs on each side to open it. Ran good after I spent all that money on it, but by then the fuel pump problem hadn't been sorted out yet and I didn't want to spend anymore money on it so I sold it for only $2500 - What the safety cost me.
I only used it for less than a year and other than driving it home from where I bought it from, I might have put 3 tanks of gas through it before I sold it. I am so glad I got rid of that thing. I was so hardcore for the Dodge Ram 4x4 before I got mine (some people I know had them and loved them), but I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Good ridance.
I lost about $5000 on this truck and I'm a university student. My only saving grace is that I'm about to receive a lot of money soon, so I can pay my truck debt off and finally forget about this nightmare once and for all.
One last thing, anybody reading this is going to think that all this money spent on it was from prior abuse. It was obviously abused, but in my opinion, only some of these things I replaced was from abuse, a lot of it was due to poor quality in craftsmanship and assembly. Things like the oil pressure sensor and steering box and drive shaft shouldn't wear out like that. Before I bought this truck, I never had a clue what it was like to feel stress and worry over money, thanks to that Dodge Ram, now I know.
Dude its called an OLD TRUCK! for crappy sakes things happen was metal gets older!
From Original Author: There are a lot of little things that I didn't put in this review that went wrong with it, all having nothing to do with it 'being an old truck'. This was a 88' and so many things didn't work properly on it, simply because it was a pile of crap. I had a 1981 Grand Prix (I wrote a review for it here), that I drove until three years ago and everything worked just fine on it. So simply saying it's older doesn't mean that's the 'be all end all'. Then again, I never experienced a Dodge before. I guess their parts just don't last as long as other manufacturer's like GM.
You bought the truck used, so don't make excuses for yourself. Do you have any idea of how the previous owner treated it? I highly doubt any of your problems have anything to do with poor build quality. Why did you even buy it if you said it looked like crap?
From Original Owner: Again, there were many parts on the truck that broke and had nothing to do with any abuse that may have ocurred. Things like the Oil Pressure Sensor are completely autonomous, and shouldn't be dying, irregardless of whether someone wasn't taking care of the truck or not.
Some of you obvious dodge owners need to grow a brain.
It sounds like you just got a bad example. Every old truck I've bought required some work to iron out the bugs. You may have sold it too soon... right after ironing out the bugs, but before you got to enjoy it.
I agree with the other posters: this was an old, heavily beat up truck and you have to expect to replace wear items like brakes, bearings, gaskets, fuel pump, alternator, starter, ball joints, u-joints, water pump, etc. You even say that the dealer was a master at showing it in the best light, and hiding the problems. It sounds like you unrealistically expected a new truck, and are more mad at yourself, than at the truck, because you exercised poor judgement in buying something you knew had been abused. You got a bad example, but you are also right--you should have shopped around a little more rather than pounced on the first model you saw. You could easily have gotten stuck with a junk Toyota or Chevy from the same crooked dealer. Buying an old vehicle requires some mechanical knowledge and willingness to invest some cash in repairs that come up. Next time you'll have a better feel for whether you want to buy another used truck and will know what to look for, or sign the loan and make payments on a new one.
I currently own a 1988 Dodge Power Ram 4x4. I too have had all of the problems that you have stated in your comments, but one thing for sure the engine - drivetrain going on 20 years. The body and interior are great shape. AC works, but needs a service, but hey, she's an old hag that can still turn a teenager's head.
I am a 18 year old farm boy from Minnesota. I bought a 1985 dodge power ram for $5. Granted it did have a motor that was ready to blow up. The trucks of this era are very easy to work on if you have even minimal mechanical knowledge. Things like ball joints, plug wires, distributer caps, and plugs are easy and are virtually the same for all company's. The older your vehicle the more that should be known of them. Things like oil presure sensers do go out and quite often, its just not noticed as much. But this is just my two cents
Holy cow! What a story! Not because you got cheated, but because you cheated yourself. First, that truck was sixteen years old when you bought it. And being a truck, that means a lot of work over the years, which means wear and tear. That's to be expected. Plus, you admit that the dealer lied through his teeth about the condition and it turned out to be just the opposite of how it was described. That right there should pop up a red flag. I refuse to buy any vehicle (regardless of condition) from a dealer who is obviously a liar. The only thing that surprises me is that you bought this truck and didn't expect it to need lots of repairs.
I can relate to your experience for two reasons. First, by coincidence, I just bought a sixteen year old Dodge Power Ram. Mine has more miles on it than yours did when you bought it. It needed some repairs, and after investing the necessary money to fix it up, I'm very happy with it. I expected it to need some work when I bought it.
Second, I was in exactly the same situation as you a year ago. I took a Greyhound bus across three states to buy a truck (in this case, a GM) that I was told was in excellent condition. When I got there I found, just like you, that it was anything but excellent. Like you, I was also tempted to buy it anyway, more because I had traveled so far to get it than because it was a desirable truck. But unlike you, I swallowed my pride and refused to buy it. Rather than buy a truck I knew would need more than it's value in repairs, I opted instead to spring for another Greyhound ticket back home. That's what you should have done. Another plane ticket would have cost you a few bucks, but not listening to your common sense ended up costing a lot more. I agree with the other guy, I think you're mad because you know deep down inside that you made a bad decision, more than anything else.
My first truck; I am 18 years old and I loved every bit of my 88 dodge power Ram until the last minute. I bought it a couple of years ago from a guy in a wheel chair. I done most of the fixings as you mentioned, spent a lot of time and MONEY into the old babe! But you know what... I don't regret it one bit. The "Old Beast" got me from point A to point B every time. Especially in the snow when the 4 wheel drive came in handy. Besides only getting ten miles to the gallon in the city (with today's gas prices), she was mine. #1, "Old Beast" Dodge... live on today!!!
I am a 17 year old hard working boy from Wisconsin and I just bought a 1988 power ram 4x4 that was in good shape. The body, paint, engine, tires, and almost everything else is great. The only thing is that it was stored for a few years and some of the gaskets are dried out, no biggy... The ball joints need greasing and so do the u-joints, but this is easy. I replaced the water pump, radiator, air horn, exhaust, windshield, and a few other things for a few hundred bucks. Well worth it too. This truck is my baby and she is built great, even for a 19 year old truck. You bought a crappy truck that was beat to hell by the previous owner... you should have looked under the hood, the truck, and then should have gone back home. Dodge is great, but only when treated right.
I have a 1988 Ramcharger. I purchased it in June '04. It has 210k miles. It looks great and I got it for $2000. It uses some oil and leaks some too. I have spent very little in maintenance. I have driven it to Fla from north Ga. I have taken it in the mud and trail riding many times (performs much better off road). You got ripped off beyond belief. Don't hate my great truck for yor indescretions.
I'm 16 and I just bought a 88 dodge power ram for $800 and I absolutely love it. the engine is in amazing shape and the body is decent. the only things that need attention are a hole in the floor pan, which was easy to fix, cut out the old rust and pop rivet new metal. and the steering is sloppy, which from what I hear is common or may maybe just a bad tie rod end.
I own 2 of these first generation Dodges. One is a 1993 W250 that has 260,000 miles, that is a Diesel, manual trans, and a 4x4. The other one is a 1992 Ramcharger that is nearing 80,000 miles. Combined between the two I have spent less than 1000 dollars on repairs. And it hasn't been anything major either; hoses, belts, tuneup parts, etc...
The only glaring problem that I have is rust, and it isn't major, NJ will flag it during inspection, so far nothing. Otherwise everything else works, everything.
You are just a angry person who got screwed on a beaten heap of crap, and from your post it seems that you didn't have the skill to do any of these repairs yourself. I however can give you no sympathy, my 1984 Chevy K5 Blazer was nothing short of a money pit, the original 305 never needed an oil change because it burned more oil than a container ship, and the body made swiss cheese look solid. A new motor and some body work later, it was good, then everything else went bad on it. U-Joints, rebuilt the entire front end including the steering box and new power steering pump. put new brakes on all 4 corners, including all lines, and that wasn't all the list continued on.
However despite all of this, it was my first car and, daily driver for 6 years. It was an expensive learning experience, costing in parts over those 6 years somewhere close to 8k. That car was also abused by the previous owner, and I knew it. In fact when I bought it there was 3 different sized tires on it. I had a blast working on it, and not everything was easy. It was old, it was abused, it seemed like everything broke, and I loved it.
I bought a 1987 Power Ram at a buy here, pay here car lot. She leaks a little, but God what a ride. I went from a 2002 S10 to this due to a small accident where the S10 was totaled out. I am happy with the old girl for her to be 21 years old; she is in great shape.