Ok, heres the deal. I was heading home from one of my night classes from college. I passed a ford dealer and in the used lot was one lonely ranger, I pull over. Its a 2002 Xlt fx4 4.0L ext cab, fleet side bed, silver, auto, BFG's,alcola rims, 4 door, black interor, the "nice tow hooks", rear tow hook, bed liner, LOADED. It has 15,000 ORIGINAL miles. Now correct me if iam wrong but isnt this the orginal FX4 Level 2 because it has the BFG's and the Alcolas, and black interor and back plastic out side. they want $15,000 for it. this thing is CLEAN not a scratch on it. the dealer guy comes out and starts his hehaw. and i was like I dont know if I can make payments on this thing, he says well you really seem to like it and we can take off a couple more grand if you like. I was like what!!!! Now I make an easy 650 a month when am part time, like I am now with school but when iam full its over a grand. Iam wondering if you guys think i should get this or stay with my 93 that is payed off and just shut up about this. its just I really want a new truck even though my 93 has 70,000 orginal miles and is payed off.

Two main things i dont like about this truck its an auto trans and its has a fleet side(I like manuals and flare sides)Even though my truck doesnt have a flare side.

I really dont know what to do here, Go in dept to get a REALLY nice truck or stay dept free and keep mine.

this is MY truck incase anyone forgot (like any of you have i whore the thing out).
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_176_full.jpg


(edited for date of truck)

Damn Zach, tough decision, ummm..

If anything, really, id wait till your fulltime....Be alot better...

leo is right as far as the payments go
you gotta think about insurance to that will also hurt the wallet depending on your record of course.

but personally i would keep your truck for the simple reason its paid for. if its in good shape and runs good then i wouldnt get rid of it besides they probably wouldnt give much for it anyways

See i wouldnt trade the truck in i'd sell it privitly and i KNOW i can get arounds $4000 for it.

The insurence was my main thought, but i do have a clean driving record. and iam in my 20's now so who know's. the smart thing to do is stay dept free, But who sayed iam smart.

that is a good price.. i think it's more up to you if your willing to work your ass off to stay debt free and make the payments..sounds like a nice truck though

There is no 2001 FX4, it didn't come out until 2002.

Keep the truck you have. Not having a car payment is a good thing when you are young. Especially if you are just going to get another ranger, you already have one.

I'm with Dave and Julie. Keep the truck you've got. Granted, that's a good deal for it, but stay debt free as long as you can.

Keep your truck Zach, we all love your truck, plus you pay nothing on it. Stay as debt free as you can until you get out of school and are making a wee bit more than 650 a month.

seriously wait man..your living the life right now...truck runs great...and no payments! I say wait till your done with school or whatever it is your doing...wait till full-time.

don't SETTLE for soemthing.... keep your truck right now it's already sweet man, and save up in a few years and get something you want 100% and no if's about ;)

The orginal fx4 came out in 2002.. the fx4 level 2 was 2003 (same as orginal fx4 in 2002)

I would hold off. You need a decent full time job to really afford payments on something like that. Or you will have no money to do anything....

Rand

Ok its is a 2002, i was just a little nervice when i wrote it and forgot the year. The thing is iam Full time in the summer and partime in the winter. i go back and forth because of college. the thing iam struggling with is I really like the 2001-2003 body style, and I love the fx4's, I i wait for another couple of years its like the same thing with my truck Its nice but it was a really nice truck in 93 so i'd be like keeping in the same dang cycle iam in. I'ts like i always by what i want to late, i dont know iam so confused.

What they said.

I bought my brand spanking new FX4 LII, which was pretty much my truck of choice at the time w/ a significant downpayment and have the monthly payments well under control thanks to the fact that I was smart w/ money a few years back. When my friends were buying sportscars and bigscreen TVs on credit I was driving a 'stripper' Ranger XL and using cardboard boxes as furniture. Now I've got my finances largely under control and those same friends are drowing in a sea of debt.

Moral of the story: Save your scratch. If the old truck runs, stick w/ it until it dies or you can EASILY afford something new. Be patient and you'll get yours in the end.. It's tuff, but worth it in the end bro..

I would see what they offer you for a trade in on your current truck. I bet it'll be alot less than what you would expect, and well, right now your current truck is practically making you money.

Also forget the dealership pricing 15,000 grand is their sticker? Then pay no more than 12,500 for it. Hopefully it could be had for more like 12,000, but then you would have a much higher interest rate on any financing, since it is used.

Sounds like it would a nice to have, but as your truck is great the way it is, you don't Need it. So it's up to you if your want justifies the monthly expense.

Keep it :D

IF you think you can afford it and its really something you are going to love go for it. What else do you pay for other than your truck and mods?? You need to see if its within your budget. Also, you will probably finance around $15k if you get it for $12.5k. so think about that too. But if you get around 4k for yours and dump it to the principle that is a big chunk of payments cut off. Its all preference, some people hate car payments, some dont really think about them. My 95 ranger was still running great with 140k miles on it, but I was so tired of it after 5 years that I had to get something else, but I waited til I found something nice, with decent mileage in my price range. You might have stumbled on a great deal there though...

Ok I have put alot of thought into this. First off I would like to say THANK YOU for all your comments they really helped. I will be keeping my truck and not getting the new one after hearing all of everyone's input. I have decided that i will just do the mods that I have been holding off on for a while.

Alright everyone Look out, modahalic here I come.

good keep your ranger man its sweet. so what are your next mods

4in lift, 32x11.5x15 BFG A/T's, 15x8 eagle alloy 058's, KC Light bar with 4 more 150watt stainless steel KC lights, and dual exhaust with some nice tips.

nice man itll look so badass

i cant wait for my lift next weekend. im geting 4 inch suspenision 3 inch body and 33 bfg a/t all in one day im gonna be offf the wall

OH HELL YEAH, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT!!!!!!!!! :D

Believe me I cant wait to see it myself, The ball started rolling today ;)

hell yeah i cant wait to see pics of that what you doing with it today?

Re: SVT Lightning Bolt Ranger
 

Good choice Zach, your truck is going to look badass when you are done.:) Can't wait to see the finished product of these mods.

Re: SVT Lightning Bolt Ranger
 

good choice... i wish i had kept my 92 and put a 5.0 in her... oh well i love my 02 and someday its gonna get a 5.0 of its own