I do computer services for a very large security company but am not a total
mechanical bone head.  I have the transmission filter and fluids cleaned
every other year and the rear axle at the same time.  I still have the old
parts for the bad one.  I made the mistake of telling the dealership that
the rear-end was bad.  That verbiage was my mistake.  They replaced the rear
end because the customer is right and that's what I told them it was.  So,
why should they argue when I am offering them big bucks for mostly labor?
The pinion bearing and race are all that's bad - nothing else.  This same
thing also went bad on my 92 but I sold it that way and let the new owner
know it was bad.  That truck had only 122K on it.  He bought it anyway,
repaired it himself, and is still driving it.  My friend had his Ram
rear-end go bad while pulling a trailer (U-Haul) to Florida about 200 miles
West of Ft. Lauderdale.  He never beat that truck and still owns it too.
Same parts went bad on his.

As for the paint.  This is my second Dakota with the same paint issues in
the same areas.  Chrysler short-changed this truck on clear coat for darn
sure.  They walked up to the truck, set a can of clear coat next to it, and
said "that's all you get."  It is so thin you can barely tell any is there
at all.  A bird crapped on the hood and when I got home that evening the
clear coat had been ruined by the turd.  That took less that 10 hours to
accomplish.  And yes, to some extent, paint for earlier year vehicles did
have a pealing and erosion issue because it was a new water-based
technology.  But that was in the mid-late 80's - not 98.  No, it's a total
lack of clear coat.  I used to paint cars once in a past life so I happen to
know a little about it.  It's not a big deal here because of the area that's
bad.  I intend on squirting new paint/clear on it this Spring anyway.  It's
not bad enough to steer me away from the product line.  Even if all the
paint goes bad Chrysler is still the best vehicle out there for the money.
I love the styles, lines, colors, and overall design.  I am peeved about not
being able to get a Hemi in the Dakota but I'll get over it.

I do notice the clear is a little thicker on the newer vehicles so someone
figured it out.