Keep my white 04 SE or go for an 08 PRO4X? HELP!

HVT,

I was thinking like you at first, but they to have snatched my attention. The seats alone I love in those. It all matters what is more important you..

Less payment but longer or..

More payment and almost payed off ?

I would do it in a heartbeat, it's a new truck! Yea what ever mods you have done will have do over, and the chrome you may get over. If not replace them.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I just traded my smoke 04 LE 4X4 BT OR for a Blizzard 08 LE CC BT Long bed. At first I felt guilty leaving my 04 behind and was questioning my decission. No more. The 08 seems to be more solid and the new car smell is just AAAAHHH. Road bumps that used to have my old 04 rattle and shakes are just a hushed thump. The leather seems better quality. Some have said that the plastic is better but I realy can't tell if it is any different. The location of the Heated seats buttons and the 12 volts plugs are a huge improvements over the 04. The blue tooth phone is to die for and the elctronic display is way cool. The RF with the XM (three free month for now) sounds way better than the 04. The guages are better looking and have sharper colors. 20 inch wheels and tires. The heater work better (it is not a tempreture thing, but my feet were always cold in my old 04 no matter what, not an issue with the 08 and don't know if they readjusted the flow angle or what) and the dual temp is great. The steering wheel controls are lit and better design. When i was at the dealer, I parked the two trucks side by side and the front on the 08 is higher but the rear is lower. The 08 is more level than the 04. The load capacity of the bed is higher by about 500#. 37 Gallon tank for the long bed (I am still on the dealer fill). I don't know about engine power and throtle response yet as my truck has only 160 miles so far and I won't be doing any WOT for another 1500 miles or so. You should also go under the 08 and look at those brakes. WOW. The darn things look like a super dupper large size pizza plate and they are made by Bosch. The large electric rear window is very nice and I think it will be used often during the summer. $5000 back from Nissan and don't forget the new car smell.

The cons: Went from LE OR to just LE (I will tell you what I have done in this area later). Now, instead of one thing reflecting on the rear window I have three (the radio and the two electronic readout for the heater). The truck is so long that the rear end is about four blocks away behind the truck (though the long wheel base might be the reason why this one rides way more smoother than the 04).

I did not like what they did to the OR/PRO package. The front end is out of the XE and I wanted white for my new 08 and with the long bed it was way too much white. The mirrors and door handles were black. I did not like the white faced guages and the leather texture on the Pro. So here what I did. The OR/PRO package have the following: Rancho shocks, Elocker, different rear gearing, the OR/PRO stickers, skid plates and what I mentioned above. My new 08 had the tow package so i have the same rear diff as the PRO package. I took my skid plates for the rediator/oil pan and the transfer case out of my 04 and installed them on my 08. The only thing I am missing are the Elocker (did not use it once on my old truck and most have been installing the Tru Track) the shocks (don't care for the Rancho) and the PRO sticker ($16 at the dealer).

My truck had an MSRP of $40,440, LE long bed, under seat storage, chrome rear gate handle, tow package, side rails, floor mats. I got it for $31,000 after rebate. They gave me $20,500 for my 04. I paid the $10,500 difference and 617 of taxes and fees on top of that for a total $11,117. I am going to install a SS Lund Bug Shield, and my prodigy barke controller which I removed from the old truck.

Oh I forgot, did I mention the new car smell, AAAAAAhhh!!

C4RACER said:

Don't count on more equity. I picked up a 6 month old 06 LE 4x4 crew cab with 6K miles on it for $10K under sticker. 1 year later I am trying to trade it in on a Chevy SUV and the most the dealer will give me for it is $19K, which is 50% of the MSRP.

I say you are way better off keeping the 04. You will take a bath on the trade in and then the value of the 08 is going to plummet hard and fast unless there is some relief in these gas prices.

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The newer 08 will always have a higher trade in value than the 04 because it is newer. That is where the equity lies, barring that you didn't structure your loan to get you upside down on value.

Vehicles depreciate, that is understood. They are not an investment but you can minimize your losses. I sold my 05 privately and got into an 07 for little to nothing by leveraging that rebate. If I unloaded an 05 vs. an 07 on for an 09 model, the 07 will have higher trade or resale value.

The 50% hit is not a valid number because you bought the truck for $10,000 under MSRP. Your percentage hit should be based on your purchase price compared to the trade price, which will certainly be less than 50%.

Bottom line question for Hudson is "do you want to extend yourself for a few more years to go with the 08, or keep the 04 for the same monthly obligation?" Your going to run into repair bills at some point in time. I calculate $2000-$3000 major repair or repairs around 100,000 miles. Factor those variables into your consideration and see how the numbers work for you. Good luck with your decision.