hello- i am thinking seriously about trading in my 02 toyota tacoma on a ram 2500 ctd. i know you guys have heard all the wise cracks about driving a dodge. but i have had absolutley no problems with any of the toyotas i have had. am i going to regret the switch? or will i be happily surprised?? thanks

 

You will love the truck. It will be superior to the tacoma in every way performance wise, although I dont honestly think there is ANYTHING out there as reliable as a Toyota. The Cummins itself should be very reliable and extremely durable. However the rest of the truck is subject to the minor flaws and defects/problems typical of American cars. With that said, I'm extremely impressed so far with the fit/finish of my 04. No rattles and it seems very solid. 13K miles so far.

IMO the small problems are that - small annoyances. The CTD is so awesome it overshadows any of those small problems. Get one!

 

Test drive one and you'll fall in love. Hang out on this site and look for all of the problems various people have said they have and their questions. You'll find that there are no more problems w/ Dodge's body than there are w/ any of the other manufacturers. It's the engine that makes this truck shine.

 

Probably the biggest difference between the two is that your Toyota will go further in deep soft mud than the Ram. Reason: The Ram with the heavy diesel engine will tend to sink more in the front than the light Toyota. It is debatable if the fit and finish on the Toyota is better than the new Rams, but there is no dispute that the Cummins engine is tops. As far as I know this Cummins is rated as one of the worlds best 10 engines.
The empty ride on the Toyota is probably better then Ram, but if you throw a few hundred pounds behind the rear wheel wells it smooths the empty ride out nicely.
Other than that it probably boils down to personal choice. I do not think you will regret buying a new Ram. Every time you get in it you will start grinning.
BTW, don't listen the bombing crowd or read anything to do with bombing the Ram. If you do, be forewarned, it'll cost yuh!!!

 

you wont regret it!!! DO IT!!

 

I traded my 96 Tacoma for my 2002 Dodge and haven't regretted it yet.

Only been stuck in the mud once, same mud my Tacoma went through with out blinking exactly one year earlier, but still don't regret it.
(stock tires on the Ram, have since fixed that problem )

I, and my kids, had outgrown the little truck and I needed something bigger and the Cummins was the obvious choice for reliability, the Dodge just came wrapped around it.

Do it.


phox

 

thanks guys- i appreciate the honesty,etc. i will be lurking in the dealer lots this week

 

you will love it for sure.

Just think, you'll be able to tow like 5 Tacomas and does a Tacoma sound as sweet as a Cummins????????????

 

I have not had so much as a rattle ,whine or mechanical problem on my truck I think the fit and finish is on par with everybody else. I've owned 9 dodge products counting my wifes and I have to say dodge has come a long way. You can probably than the Daimler Germans for getting their hands into the cookie jar for the quality control. I wouldn't hesitate to buy any mopar product. Just my opinion.

 

DON"T BUY A CTD......because you'll never be able to get the smile off your face when you drive it

 

I bought the most expensive toy Tacoma I could get in 95 and I won't tell you my feelings about a toy truck in open forum. I took a $4000 loss on it to get rid of it though. I've had three Cummins powered trucks and none have been back to the dealer at all.

Don't be like the last guy on here and think you will be able to maintain a 2500 diesel truck for the same price as you did on that toy truck though. Won't happen. You are stepping from a toy truck to a real truck now and they are a little more expensive to maintain and drive. Filters are more expensive, it takes twice the oil to fill the crank case, tires are bigger, and Dodge parts are very expensive. My son just payed $76 dollars for two ny-loc axle nuts for his 3500 from Dodge. His truck has over 220000 miles and mine has over 146000 miles and they are both very good running trucks.

These are trucks that you either love or hate. Like pappyman says, you will have a permanent on your face.

 

great to hear! i am trying to answer all the salemens emails right now!

 

You also have to weed out the salesmen who don't know what they're talking about...

I had a salesman tell me that the automatic tranny on a CTD is actually rated for more towing capacity than the manual.

 

actually, i'm not familiar with "all the wise cracks about driving a dodge."

the toyota is a nice truck. IMO, unless you're going to be hauling heavy loads or towing a trailer a lot, you'll be more happy with it.

even so, i think some things will pleasantly surprise you and you'll miss a few things about your toyota.

at the end of the day, it's just a truck: you ain't marrying it, and it won't save your soul. it ain't church. if you don't like it you can always switch back without risking hell's furnaces.

guess i didn't help much.


jeremiah

 

i've heard that same thing from reputable sources but my knowledge in that area is limited. maybe someone could 'splain it?