OT: Dodge Durango vs Chev Suburban, Downsize to the Durango? Options

[Eddie914]

A friend is leaving town (and the country) and has offered his 2000 Dodge Durango with 77,000 miles to me for $11,000. It seems to be in very good condition ... a fews dings and scratches but it does have a killer sound system (my 15 year old son is sold on that point alone).

Does anyone have experience with the Dodge Durango?

We currently have a 1995 Chevrolet K2500 Suburban with 150,000++ miles. With three kids and lot's of stuff to tow the Suburban has been great, but the 10-13 mpg is getting kind of old ... and so is the rest of the vehicle.

The Durango seems a bit small ... but compared to a Suburban K2500 most rigs seem small.

Any opinions?

Thanks

Eddie

[DanT]

You can get a 1/2 ton Suburban....

I have a y2K 1/2 tone Suburban....my second.

The 5.3L motor is much better than the old 5.7L

I have 4:10 gears because I use it to tow a 8,000LB RV.

I get 8.5-10 MPG towing the RV. 12-13mpg in town and my wife has gotten 17Mpg on a trip to and from Reno.

If you want a solid tow vehicle that can haul the kids animals and toys...nothing comes close.

This one currently has about 60K miles of which ~1/2 have been towing a race car trailer, RV or some such....
Still has the original brake pads and rotors front and rear with ~1/2 pad life left.

Much better on braking and brake wear than my old '93 had.

Next new tow vehicle for me will be either another new Burb or a chevy Votex Max 1/2 ton truck or 3/4 ton with 8.1L and Allison 6 speed automatic. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)