When I was over in Newport News my neighbor went out and bought one of those Toyota TRD 4wd pick-ups brand-new. I told here she should have gotten a Dakota. She laughed at me.
That POS only got 13mpg on a 4 cyinder! Gave her all sorts of problems too. Transaxle/Transmission issues, IIRC. She had it a year and got rid of it. Bought a used BMW after that.
I've had my Dakota for almost 16 years and 200,000 miles. As far as problems that actually rendered it undriveable there was only one---fuel pump. And that was under warranty so it didn't cost me anything.
Now, ball joints-----I'm on my third set.
Dave