I dunno, I picked up the 1998 RamVan 5.2l V8 with 109k miles for $4k three years ago, KBB was like $7-8 then. I wouldn’t say great, but good condition.
It’s nice to have a $2-3k buffer to pay for a tranny and all other repairs when the time comes.
The only problems I’ve had so far is a bad O2 sensor that causes backfire during start up and after idling. I’ve learned to drive through it. HVAC controls took a dump for a while, no they are working again. Probably should get that fixed.