i have 97 150xlt with 89000 4.6 iam thinking of trading it for a 02 4x4 with 11o on it it has a 4.6 they are asking 5695 on it is that a good deal or ican go with a 03 with 87000 for 8975

 

deals are always in the "eye of the beholder". not sure what the truck market is like up there, which will play a factor. is the 2003 4WD? and if it's a dealer couldnt you negotiate the price of the 2003 down a little?

 

Also what kind of shape are they both in, mechanically and physically? I learned the hard way about dealers. They put an insp. sticker on it but that don't mean thre isn't any issues.

 

ain't that the truth. with my CV LX sport i just bought, came inspected through VA. back window tint shouldnt have passed....and the pitman arm was about to fall apart (bushing was completely missing).

 

Same here, when I bought my truck from the dealer they told me that it would be delivered inspected and they would take care of any necessary repairs needed for it to pass. Turns out they fixed everything noticeable but I ended up with loose tie rods and a rear axle seal that was leaking grease onto the parking brake, neither of which should have passed. My advice would be to have someone you know check it out. And even if you are buying it from a small used car dealer and they take their cars down the road to have the inspections done by someone else, don't assume that they don't have an agreement to just slap the sticker on and go. That's where I got burned, thinking that a seperate dealership would have no incentive to lie about the inspection.

 

I would look at both trucks and like others said, look at their conditions. Weigh the pros and cons of each and what they may need (and costs to do so) and figure out which one makes more sense.

Lower miles doesn't necessarily mean better condition. Last year I needed to pick up a "beater" 4x4 for winter, this was before I had my truck. I was looking at Jeep Cherokees but everything I found had rust starting on the doors (I'm big against rust, never owned a vehicle with it) These were Jeeps with 70-80k miles. I was at a local small dealer who loves Jeeps and most of his lot was Jeeps. I turned my eyes on a '97 Grand Cherokee that looked perfect on the outside. Interior was too. It had 146k miles on it. Turned out to be a one owner, dealer serviced Jeep and the owners owned property in Florida so that's where it was every winter. It had no rust under it at all, even the leather was near perfect. So I bought it, and never had an issue, sold it to a buddy this year though and he loves it too...

The point is, someone can abuse something for a short period of time and the truck be in bad shape, or someone can take care of it forever. It'll show. Don't get caught up in buying something just because it's a newer year, or lower miles.