I am thinking of upgrading to a 2003 Lariat with the moonroof and power rear slider FX4 package and a few other things that I have always wanted.

I can get the 2.9% financing compared to my current 6.25%. Plus I would get the 3.73 gears and since I really want to change the gearing on my current truck because of the larger tires I wouldn't have to spend the almost $1,500 on that gear change. So with some rough calcs, I would be paying less than a few thousand dollars to get a brand new truck with better gearing, etc.

My question to anyone who has upgraded from a 2001 to a 2003, have you noticed much diffrence in the quality or anything else? Also has the tranny thunk thing been resolved on the 2003s?

Also if you think this is a stupid idea or have suggestions please chime in.

Thanks!

 

Heck, I have an 02 and the dealer wants me to trade it in on a 03. Tough one but I did go over for a test drive. I have a 02 4x2 Supercrew Lariat and drove the equal 03 and I did not see or feel any differences with the trucks. The 03 did have the bucket seats but nothing else stood out other than the price. I think it only cost me about $1500 to drive my 02 for 12 months because the 03 price is so low. These are for on the lot trucks only and I really did not like color combos they had. Now they did have a HD Crew on the lot but I need that bench seat in the back for the three kid seats but boy was I tempted.
I think I will sit on the fence for a while longer and wait for the dealer to call back and then on to convince the wife. It really is a great dealllllll....really....
Good Luck

 

If i was you i wouldnt get lariat or the sunroof/moonroof. I know a guy who had 2002 for 6 months and the leather was cracking. i also so one on lot where you could see it was cracking to. As for the sunroof you could get it if you didnt keep truck more then a few years. later in life weather dealer installed factory installd any off em will leak and there ya go more money out of your wallet. I guess the decision aint up to me but do whatever ya feel in the gut.

 

dc,
My advice is to get what you want if you can afford it.
As for the Lariat.... well I don't like leather and the bells & wistle's that go with it and don' think the Lariat is worth the extra money for me to get something I really don't want anyway.

Moonroof: I love mine and have had no problem's. It's nice to have espicially where you live in Cali. Here in Wisconsin... well that is sometime's debateable.

Tranny thunk: I still have it on my 03. That's just the way it is I think. I did'nt worry about it on my 01 and won't worry about it on my 03. Never had a problem . Same way with the p/slap. I never had a problem with it on the 01,and I'm not going to worry if the 03 start's doing it.

3.73 Ratio: I REALLY like this. Seem's much better than my 01 even with the 285's I have on it . The 01 had 3.55's with 265's. This truck seem's to have better excel. off the line. This is one of the upgrade's I thought made it all worth it to me. Although the difference is suttle...It's not like adding 50hp or something. Just the daily driving seem's to be a little easier and don't have to put my foot in it so much off the line.

Interior: I like the seat's & counsel alot better than the 01. The dual media radio is nice too.

FX4: This is something I did'nt want either. Because I would swap out the tire's & poss. the rim's and the shock's if I wanted off road quality. I ordered the tuff-truck package which come's with all the stuff the Fx4 has but not the decal or the rim's & the rim's you can buy on the board's here for around $300.00. I did have to order the item's as a sep. package but then I got an 1100.00 discount for doing it that way,so it paid off to do it. ( You can see in my sig. all the stuff that my truck came with from the factory).
If for some reason I found an FX pkg. on the truck that I wanted I would'nt turn it down either,but I plan differtently and have knowledge of truck's & know how much the ORP package's are really not much different than a reg. 4x4. They all have the same suspension.

My last reason was I did'nt want an 04. Although they look ok I did'nt want something the 1st year out. If I waited until the 05 I would have had 100k on my 01 truck by that time & would'nt have gotten ***** for it on a trade. It will also be a year or so until the mod's for the new style's start showing up. I will probably buy a new one in about 2-3 year's.

Bottom line: I think it's worth it if you can get the $$$ your looking for on the new one & on your 01. Nothing like a nice new truck to start spending money on again. If you wanting to trade because it's nice to get a new truck with a few more goodie's(gear's,seat's leather,moonroof ect..) then go for it. If you want it because you can get FX4 decal's & rim's I say don't waste your money & wait.

Sorry about the long post Dan.
just my .02
Mike

 

3.73's are really nice, I've been thinking about trading my 02 in on an identical 03 just to get the 3.73's....well, and the chrome steps! Total cost = $3500. Doesn't quite seem worth it since my 02 only has 7,000 miles.

After all the pics and talk of the 04, I'm going to wait. Everyone thinks they will be too expensive and they won't be dealing on them - wrong! There is too much competition in the truck market, combined with a poor economy and the fact that everyone has recently bought a new car with all these rebates, they will be dealing on these shortly after introduction. The new 6.0 PSD is already going for $6500 off sticker around here, if that's any indicator.

Anyway, for my $, I'm going to wait for the redesign and 300 hp. I've already had 2 in this body style and a change would be nice. My $.02.

 

I went from an 01 to an 03, and I can tell immediate differences.

The 03 is MUCH quieter inside the cabin. Road noise is nil! Also, the interior has no squeeks/rattle *knocks on wood*.

 

Well after doing some number crunching, it isn't worth it for me to do a trade up. I would be losing quite a bit of money on the trade in.

So I most likley will be waiting for the 2005's (let the 2004s get the bugs out first) Then I will trade up.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

I think that is a good decision. I only upgrade to an 03 beecause I did'nt want an 04 until the bug's get worked out. Also my 01 was paid off and I get a 500.00 per mo. car allowance from my work,so it really won't cost me any out of pocket money.

The more pic's I see of the new style the more I like them. Seeing one in person though would be nice .

Fall