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“We bought our Durango used in 2000 as a second owner. ...”

written by commonsense04 on 26/04/2004

Good Points
POWER!! (see it, pass it; hook on, tow it)
Excellent in 4WD
Excellent handling
Roomy for its class
Stylish

Bad Points
Gas Mileage (6-7 towing about 8,000lb camper; 10-12 city; 13-15 highway.
Not much room behind 3rd row seat (we used a luggage carrier a lot). (Other 3rd row seat SUVs in its class aren't any better.)

General Comments
We bought our Durango used in 2000 as a second owner. We've been nothing but satisfied with it and would recommend it to anyone who's prepared to spend the extra money on gas. Ours had the big 5.9, but I've talked to others who owned the smaller V8 and it evidently doesn't do much better on fuel. It does not lack for power whatsoever. I've towed a 10' Cargo Trailer with a 4 Wheeler and other cargo in it up hills on the Interstate like it wasn't even back there. I've towed my 26' Camper, loaded to the gills (>8,000') and never dropped below 40 on all but the longest/steepest hills. I probably pushed it beyond its intended limits on towing with my camper and that's the only reason why I just recently traded it for a Ford Excursion. (I didn't feel comfortable in its ability to safely tow the camper over the mountains - but again, I was heavier than it's intended. If you have a boat or a slightly smaller camper, it would handle it with confidence.)

It handles great (normal driving, snow, rain, 4 wheeling). It had 126K miles when we traded it in and it still ran like a top. I changed the oil faithfully and changed the transmission fluid twice; replaced the brakes a couple times; and replaced the plugs and wires at about 90K. Only major problem I had was a blown manifold gasket at about 75K which cost about $800 total to fix - not certain of cause, but it didn't cause any damage.



If you can find one that's been taken care of, buy it with confidence.