2004 Durange opinions?

From : milesh

Q: anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

Replies:

From : frank k

if you can get it for that price i would say go for it. just today i bought an slt 4 x 4 with tow package two speed transfer case and package 26g. its a nice running and riding vehicle. i hope it is as reliable as the 84 voyager and 86 95 97 and 01 caravans i have owned. i cant comment on any problems if any associated with the 04s. ill keep watching the group to see what shows up. good luck. frank anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

From : kg

my wife had an 01 w/ 18000 miles on it bought new. traded in for the 04 limited w/ hemi. go with the hemi for nice pick up and towing capacity. there is night and day between the two vehicles. have had no problems in 2600 miles. better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. kevin g. if you can get it for that price i would say go for it. just today i bought an slt 4 x 4 with tow package two speed transfer case and package 26g. its a nice running and riding vehicle. i hope it is as reliable as the 84 voyager and 86 95 97 and 01 caravans i have owned. i cant comment on any problems if any associated with the 04s. ill keep watching the group to see what shows up. good luck. frank anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

From : jason purcell

larry from car and driver tv sums it up best... and i quote by the way the durango also comes with a 3.7 v6 or a 4.7v8; but you know to get the hemi right i myself am kind of waiting to see if displacement on demand shows up in the 2005/2006 durango. 9000 lb towing and 25 mpg on the highway pipe dream maybe mabye not. jason anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

From : milesh

the displacement on demand sounds interesting but id like to know more about how it works. it would seem to me that it would kick in and out similar to the transmission shifting back and forth when going up moderate grades. i also tend to think the 9000lb tow rating is a bit much. sure the engine might handle it but the new durango is still only 119 wheelbase. the length of trailer is still limited somewhat over what a ram qc could do. also how does the durangos suspension/frame stack up against a ram 1500 or 2500 with regards to towing applications my wife really wants a 2004 durango but i gotta find out if it will handle our trailer as well as my current 01 ram qc 1500 5.9l. wheelbase being the main concern. jason purcell wrote larry from car and driver tv sums it up best... and i quote by the way the durango also comes with a 3.7 v6 or a 4.7v8; but you know to get the hemi right i myself am kind of waiting to see if displacement on demand shows up in the 2005/2006 durango. 9000 lb towing and 25 mpg on the highway pipe dream maybe mabye not. .

From : william r woods

just bought a 04 slt w/ 4.7l v-8. it drives like a dream. most of the time you can ignore the hype on supposedly new technology that really only means it is cheaper to build. however i think dodge has something with hydroformed frames. i have looked into this and it is a very expensive tooling process where they put a tube in a mold then inject high pressure water to form the tube into whatever shape the mold is made into. most light duty trucks in past years simply stamp a c section into the frame shape. for heavy duty they weld another mating c frame piece or just a flat plate to box the frame for rigidity. you can feel the additional stiffness in the durangos frame. they also inject foam into the a-pillar and door sills maybe elsewhere as well for quieting. i do not know how long it is going to last but this is the quietest truck i have ever driven. i have the 4.7 l v-8 w/ a five speed transmission. it is just plain smooth. if your testosterone requires it and your budget permits the hemi is nice but imho it is overkill. i dont plan on street racing anyone so the smaller v-8 works just fine. it does not have the torque that my 00 ram had with a 5.9l but it sure rides and drives smoothly. my only complaint is that i find the drivers outside mirror hard to get used to. it is just different from my rams mirror and i feel like i have a small blind spot because the mirror is too short for its width. also seems all the storage places in the interior are on the small side. small quibbles but so far i like this truck and my wife does too. milesh wrote anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

From : rel14

i just turned ove 15000 miles on my 04 with the hemi. only complaint has been a cd changer that jammed. dealer told me this was a known issue and it was replced and corrected in production with a software fix. great truck and quiet. just one quibble with this thread. the cylinder deactivation system is called mds for multi displacement system. displacement on demand is the much publicized gm system that still has yet to come to market despite all of the hype for a year now. go dodge. just bought a 04 slt w/ 4.7l v-8. it drives like a dream. most of the time you can ignore the hype on supposedly new technology that really only means it is cheaper to build. however i think dodge has something with hydroformed frames. i have looked into this and it is a very expensive tooling process where they put a tube in a mold then inject high pressure water to form the tube into whatever shape the mold is made into. most light duty trucks in past years simply stamp a c section into the frame shape. for heavy duty they weld another mating c frame piece or just a flat plate to box the frame for rigidity. you can feel the additional stiffness in the durangos frame. they also inject foam into the a-pillar and door sills maybe elsewhere as well for quieting. i do not know how long it is going to last but this is the quietest truck i have ever driven. i have the 4.7 l v-8 w/ a five speed transmission. it is just plain smooth. if your testosterone requires it and your budget permits the hemi is nice but imho it is overkill. i dont plan on street racing anyone so the smaller v-8 works just fine. it does not have the torque that my 00 ram had with a 5.9l but it sure rides and drives smoothly. my only complaint is that i find the drivers outside mirror hard to get used to. it is just different from my rams mirror and i feel like i have a small blind spot because the mirror is too short for its width. also seems all the storage places in the interior are on the small side. small quibbles but so far i like this truck and my wife does too. milesh wrote anyone own or driven one of these im looking at buying something for my wife to drive. through work i can buy any dodge product for $1000 below invoice. dodge now has a $3500 rebate plus another $1000 is you finance through chrysler. that makes it $5500 below invoice. checking kbb prices that looks like about $22400 for a durango st 4wd with 4.7l and tow package. is this about as good as it gets with the 2004 being 400lbs heavier than prior years is the 4.7l strong enough not planning to tow but got tow option mainly to get the hd engine and tranny cooling as i live in az. are there enough changes to the 2004 to worry about the 1st model year bugs that seem to plauge every manufacture i know everyone here is dodge biased including me as i own a 01 ram but hows this stack up against other suvs in that range my wife also likes the isuzu axiom and through similar deals i can get a fully decked out one leather seats etc for about the same price. kinda worry about whats going to happen in years to come with isuzu though. .

From : milesh

rel14 wrote i just turned ove 15000 miles on my 04 with the hemi. only complaint has been a cd changer that jammed. dealer told me this was a known issue and it was replced and corrected in production with a software fix. great truck and quiet. just one quibble with this thread. the cylinder deactivation system is called mds for multi displacement system. displacement on demand is the much publicized gm system that still has yet to come to market despite all of the hype for a year now. the 04 durangos do not have the mds do you tow at all with yours .