Newb Shopping for Gen III and have pricing questions.

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racer768

New member
Hi there. I'm relatively new here, but have been a lurker for a while. What a helpful site as I love to research. I currently have a 2005 Dakota Quad Cab V8 that due to family needs, is on the market. I have been quite interested in replacing the Dakota with a Gen III (3.8) as best I can tell, meets my needs both in capability/livability and price. I'm definitely wanting to buy something that will last me for years and I understand, most Montys for sale are going to be 100K miles plus. So let me tell you about a few that I've been looking at and I'd love to get your reaction as to what you might pay for these and where the value is. Keep in mind, I haven't seen any in person yet; that adventure starts this weekend. I would be paying cash so what is my leverage?

1. 2004 Limited, 1 owner, 130K miles, Private sale. $6,495 I am going to see this one on Saturday and best I can tell by talking to the owner, it's been maintained well at the dealership. I believe the timing belt was done (she didn't know about the water pump, tensioners etc.) but my assumption is that if this was dealer maintained, that would be part of it. I also get the sense the wear and tear suspension parts have been taken care of but I'll know more when I see it. Body looks pretty clean by pics, some wear on the leather and it is being detailed today.

2. 2004 Limited, 3 owner, 117K miles, Used Car Dealer. $5,995. I'll see this one next weekend but the CarFax I have seen shows 3 owners, and it's been through two auctions. It looks clean, some wear on leather. No service records that would give me any confidence so there would be some off the bat maintenance probably. But it does have a nice set of TerraGrapplers on it.

3. Intriguing but expensive. 2005 Limited, 1 owner, 41K miles, Mitsubishi Dealer. $13,900. This would be a fly and drive if I were to pursue this. It is being resold by the dealership that originally sold it (trade-in) and maintained it. Pictures show that it looks near flawless and extremely well cared for. I bit more than I was looking to spend but could if I needed to. But man, probably won't ever find one again in this condition/mileage. Sooo, what is it really worth?

Thanks for your time
Austin
 
jhill15

jhill15

Explorer
Hey racer welcome to the forum! The 2004 one owner sounds pretty promising. Just check for leaks around the valve cover gaskets and rear cam seals. Also something ive been fighting with on my 2003 are the 4wd flashing lights. Make sure to go through the gears 2h, 4h etc... several times to make sure you don't have any flashing either. I just had mine fixed, but I will update that over on my thread.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
 
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racer768

New member
On paper, all things considered (condition, price, mileage), the 2004 1 owner with 130K miles is where my gut is as far as which one to pursue. Again, I haven't seen any in person yet. If it really is in "said" condition, with an asking price of $6500, what do you think it's really worth?

Any reason to pursue the super expensive, super low-mileage Monty?
 
All-Terrain

All-Terrain

No Road Required
I say buy the 2005 with 41k on it. You can't touch a 4Runner, Landcruiser, etc from that era with that kind of mileage on it for even $20k. You can't buy miles back either. Try to knock the price down some. But even it doesn't come down much, you can be secure in the knowledge you bought an awesome truck in as close to new condition is as possible these days, and the price is reasonable, ultimately, when compared with its peers in the market. Try to get records, etc too.

I recently bought a one-owner 2006 with 84k on it and was pleased. I'd have bought that 2005 in a heartbeat.
 
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Eric M

Adventurer
2005. I was looking at that one, but there's no way I could swing that. It'd be nice to know that example went to a good home!
 
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vanroth

Observer
I'd be concerned about rust on the '05. I looked hard at that one (from their website) and I can see just in the photos some rusted bumper cover bolts and hitch. The miles are great, but I'm not sure I'd trust a rust belt truck unless you already live there. I'm looking at an '05 in San Diego Saturday w/ 73K, granted that is a long drive not knowing exactly what kind of condition it is in.
 
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vanroth

Observer
Of course I could sell you my '02 with only 66K "box A" miles. Unfortunately the carfax on it shows some funny business :mad:
 
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racer768

New member
Not surprised that some of you were eyeing up the same vehicle. Very good points made regarding the rust. Low mileage doesn't mean no rust. I'm so used to it growing up in PA and living in DC to have rust on a car that's 10 years old. At any rate, I have one appt tomorrow and will probably stop to see the other 2004 (Dealer) on my way home to my parents next weekend. I'll keep you posted!
 
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racer768

New member
Quick update. I looked at the 2004 (130,000 miles) on Saturday and I must say that I was impressed with the condition. The undercarriage looks practically new. It's it really clean, suspension parts look relatively new as well. No rust, new exhaust, couldn't find a drop of oil anywhere. The seller also had a 30 point inspection done by an Acura dealer (oddly doesn't trust the Mitsu dealer) and it checked out rather flawless for a vehicle this age. The fluids are all clean. The only cons I could see are a few minor paint blemishes (expected) and the driver's seat has a rip by the power controls (which I've seen on many).

I found out that technically this is a two-owner vehicle. The current owner (formerly a 2 door Pajero owner from Australia) bought this for his wife now that they moved to the states and she doesn't like the bigger vehicle. He showed me the title which he just received 2 weeks ago. He seems pretty meticulous as he expressed, that is why he waited to find one up to his standard. My only issue, is a I have a truck sitting around that I'd like to get sold first.

P.S

Found another one on Ebay for those who are curious what is on the market these days.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitsubishi-...tr=true&hash=item3cfdd6a360&item=261956739936
 
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