my daughter turns 15 in a couple months and im in the process of buying her
first vehicle (montana licenses kids at 15).  after a lot of careful
consideration, we have decided to get her a durango and we spent the day
test driving.  heres what i found so far:

2001 durango slt loaded w/ 4.7 v8.  41,000 original miles, $10,700 out the
door.  no third seat.  leather, very clean.
http://billings.montanawheelsforyou.com/details.php?eqvehicleid=24921826&eqdeale
rid=150738
carfax says its clean, with only 1 owner.  vehicle originally registered in
alaska.  service records on carfax were impeccable.

2000 durango slt loaded with 5.9 v8.  99,500 miles, $8,000 out the door.
http://billings.montanawheelsforyou.com/details.php?eqvehicleid=24921821&eqdeale
rid=150738
carfax says its clean with 2 previous owners (wisconsin and montana).  truck
drives great, feels a little weak compared to the 4.7.  4x4 indicator did
not work, dealer says 4x4 works.

2000 durango slt loaded with 5.9 v8.  88,000 miles, $8,500 out the door.
(sorry no link) leather, overall very clean BUT the truck has racing
stripes, glass pack mufflers, air box replaced by an edelbrock carb style
breather.  no obvious signs of abuse, but typically people who do these
sorts of things to their trucks drive them harder.  4x4 indicator did not
work, dealer says 4x4 works.

2000 durango  loaded with 4.7 v8.  87,000 miles, $7500 out the door.  cloth
seats, no rear air.  front end shows minor damage, but nothing major.
carfax shows the vehicle originally listed in michigan as a leased fleet
vehicle, and shows a total of 6 owners (no differentiation between 1 and 4,
uses same slot.  perhaps lease renewal or something?).  overall it appears
to be the cleanest of everything i drove today, with exception to the 2001.
"brother lean" in the steering wheel (needs aligned probably) and a very
slight vibration in steering wheel at 75 mph.  the 4.7 was surprisingly
perky.  truck has a trailer brake controller installed which means the truck
did tow (not necessarily a bad thing).  tranny fluid appeared new.  4x4
indicator did not work, dealer says 4x4 works.

so far im strongly considering the 2000 durango with the 4.7 @ 87,000 miles
and the 2001 durango with the 4.7 @ 41,000 miles and could go either way at
this point.  i like that the '01 has only had 1 owner and has 41,000 miles
on it.  i like that the '00 has the third row seating as well as cloth seats
instead of leather.

- is there any real advantage to the 4.7 over the 5.9?  both _felt_ stronger
than the 5.9s.
- are there any known tranny concerns with either?
- is the 4x4 indicator known for going out?  none of the 3 different '00s i
drove indicators worked.
- anything else i should know or consider before purchasing?
thanks,