Cons: Gas mileage, but can't expect much from a truck.
The Bottom Line: It is a good buy for the money. There are a lot of trucks out on the market that are extremely pricey. This truck definitely fit our needs plus some.
tazziemodo's Full Review: 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Truck
We have had this truck for about 2 months now. So far, it has been a great truck. We previously had a 1999 Dodge Ram and traded it in because of ongoing transmission problems. In comparison shopping, we checked out the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra before deciding on the Dodge Ram. I think we made a very good decision in going with the Dodge. I am from a GM family. My father works for GM and has since he was 22. We have always driven GM products because of the discount. A friend that I work with told me that she could get me the Chrysler friends and family discount if we bought a Dodge. So, we proceeded to the dealerships to check them out and get a price on our trade-in.
Dealer Experience
The first dealer we went to, Van Dyke Dodge in Warren, Michigan, was not very helpful at all. They did give us a fair price for our trade-in but the payment for the new one was way out of our price range. The one we were looking at had running boards, bed liner, decals, toneau cover, and 20” wheels. I told her to take that off and price it from there. She said she would have to get a totally different truck and they had nothing that was moderately priced so we left. I then called another dealer and he gave us the same price on our trade-in and a payment of $100 less than the first. He also threw in the towing package, fog lights, and a bed liner for almost nothing. We went with him and picked up the truck 2 days later.
Style
I love the style of this truck. The first day we got it, we went up north. It was a pre-planned trip. We just got the added bonus of taking a new truck. We stopped at my parents to pick up the 4-wheeler and they had to check it out. It sits up higher than my parents Silverado. It looks like a tougher truck. I always thought that was the idea of a truck was to look big and tough. The Ram definitely has this category taken. The lines and definition on the truck make this truck look sporty, even without the sports package. We didn’t opt to spend the extra money for the sporty package. I actually like the big chrome front grill. It tends to make it stand out more.
Interior
As I said earlier, we got the club cab. It gives us more room for storage and comfort. We don’t have any children. We have a large dog, though. He is a 120 pound Akita/Lab mix. Therefore, we needed the extra room. There was no way to go on long trips with him without the back seat. The nice thing that my parents even complimented Dodge on was the floor mat in the front on the drivers side. It actually has a hole and a plastic piece that fits through to keep the mat from sliding. Great idea Dodge. I love the armrest storage bin as well. You can fit a lot of little things in there. For example, the key to the 4-wheeler works well in there. The overall design of the interior is nice. We got the dark interior. The cloth seats are comfortable. Like I said earlier, we took it up north. This is a 4 hour commute with a stop half way for bathroom breaks. When we would stop in the other truck I would get out and look like I had been riding a horse because I was stiff. Not with this one, I never really moved around because I was comfortable the whole time. I actually fell asleep on the way home. I haven’t really done that before unless I was really, really tired. The back seats aren’t that bad either. I also love the overhead computer. It tells you how many miles per gallon you are getting, the amount of miles you have left to travel on the gas you have in the tank, and the temperature and compass. It also tells you the lapse time you have been traveling. That is a really good idea. The other thing we think is neat is the cruise and radio controls. They are both located on the steering wheel. Instead of having them all bunched up on the front, the cruise is on the front and the radio is on the back. It makes a really good joke to play on passengers because they don’t know what you are doing. They cannot see the controls. We did it to his mother. It was hilarious.
Road
I have only actually driven the truck once. It drove really well. There is a lot of power behind that thing. We got the 5.7 liter HEMI. We also didn’t opt for the 20” wheels either. We got the 17” wheels with bigger off road tires. It looks really nice on the truck. They are pretty proportionate. I have also heard that the 20” tires handle bad in the snow. My fiancé loves driving the truck. The only bad thing is he has to use the cruise control a lot because he doesn’t realize how fast he is going. It always seems like we are going slow. So far, we haven’t had any problems with the truck. I will keep this updated though if we do.
Price
The Dodge Ram seems to be pretty well priced for what you get. We also looked at the Chevy and the GMC and found that the Dodge seemed to be priced lower. I am very impressed with what we got for what we paid.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 26,900
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: HEMI SLT, tow, 17" wheels w/large off road tires.
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