1998 Dodge Dakota Club Cab
5.2L V8
Automatic
Loaded with options
89K miles
Truck is in near new condition inside and out.  I am the only driver since
19k miles (bought it from dealer in 2000).

Well, I got the truck back after almost 10 days on the rack.  The estimate
that was told to me was $1,364.62.  When I went to pick it up they tried
telling me it was $1,996.87.  Right then I knew they had real issues.  I
only paid the smaller amount because I showed them the estimate on the back
of the invoice they handed me written by their services rep.  The entire
rear end was rebuilt even though the only bad part I could find from the
original stuff was a bad pinion bearing.  The rest of the stuff looks fine.
No obvious metal fatigue, wear, or particles in any of it except for the
pinion bearing.  It has some worn/pitted rollers and looks like it would
have caused the noise I was hearing.

Now, I feel vibrations at 65 MPh and it feels like I'm pulling a small
trailer.  My gas mileage has also dropped a little but can't say for sure
until the tank is almost done.  At 1/2 tank of gas I get around 15.5 MPg
city/highway.  I should reach 16.5 MPg by 1/4 tank - as it was before I
brought it in.

I called the Service Manager and left a voice mail.  I will do that just one
more time then start climbing the food chain.  When I hit a lawyer's office
there will be no further discussions with this dealership and the listening
public will be told who, where, phone numbers, addresses, etc.

I've bought 6 cars from these people in the past and have almost never had
to use their service on any of them.