I bought my wife an '02 Durango SXT with the 4.7L in the spring of '04 with 35,000 miles on it. Overall, we've been pretty pleased with it. Here's a short list of minor problems we've had with ours.
1. Replaced bad motor in front window.
2. Replaced faulty front brake caliper.
3. Replaced bad Throttle Position Sensor.
All easy do-it-yourself projects and by today's standards rather in-expensive parts. Oh, and of course the ball joint recall but that was free of charge. It's got 89,000 on it now and plan on runnin' her about 3 more years before finding a newer one.We also have gotten 19.5 mpg. on the highway since I put new plugs in at 75,000 miles, not too bad for a V8. I honestly don't feel these things are any more problematic than any other vehicle made today. I'm actually a Chevy guy at heart and even my beloved Silverado's have had there problems!
Just thought I'd throw in my two cents in case you're still looking. Good luck.