"Cherry" 2003 vs "Ordinary" 2000 Diliemma

Howdy TW,

I've been losing sleep thinking about my truck recently, so I thought I'd throw my mental debate to the peanut gallery and see if yall have any thoughts/advice:

(sorry in advance for the short novel here)

I currently own a mint 2003 TRD Xtracab V6 5-speed J-shift with only 140k miles. Dealer maintained since birth. Perfect inside and out. I just completed the timing belt (and all related parts) as well as the valve covers (and related parts). I also have purchased all the parts for a full suspension upgrade, bumpers, and a lot of other smaller goodies. I've waited over 15 years for one of these trucks since they came out when I was in high school, and bought this truck assuming I would build it exactly how I wanted and never sell it. But since I haven't had the chance to install any parts outside the engine, it is still bone stock as it's sitting right now.

Well.........

Life never goes as planned, and now my priorities are needing to shift toward a bunch of work on my house. It's looking like I won't have as much time or money as I originally hoped to put towards the truck. I'm learning the hard way that sometimes the boyhood dream of a dream truck has to take the back burner...

There is a very well maintained 180K 2000 Xtracab V6 5-speed J-shift for sale near me. It is not a TRD but I think I would honestly appreciate the older manual components more than I would use the Diff lock. I also imagine it would be easier to add a ARB air diff lock to a older non-TRD than it would be to replace all my newer electronic components with manual (Windows, Climate Control, Throttle body, etc.) Also, the 2000 truck already has 90% of the parts installed and ready to go that are sitting on my workbench for my 2003.

The main kicker is that I could hopefully "profit" $5-6k by selling mine and buying the 2000. Not to mention saving the time and effort to install all the parts my 2003 is waiting on. This time and money would be huge in helping me wrap up other projects.

Since I will be using the truck for a camping/hunting rig as well as a DD, I can't help but think I would be better off with a truck that is already set up for what I want and I won't be afraid to beat up a little. I'm sure my mint stock 2003 survivor will not look that way in a couple years, and might be appreciated more by someone who wants to continue to baby and preserve it.

Lastly, am I off-base assuming that 140k vs 180k miles is essentially equal for a truck that is known to commonly go over 500K? Obviously maintenance is everything with this question, but assuming all else equal, should I really worry about those extra 40k miles?

I am going to see the 2000 in person this week to make sure everything is as advertised, and will obviously check all the main points (frame rust, LBJs, general upkeep and maintenance, etc).

The main thing that is holding me back is that the 2003 runs, drives, and looks great (and gets 23 mpg!). A big part of me feels I am overthinking this and should just keep what I have- If it ain't broke, don't fix it? Also I have bought and sold enough cars over the years to know that there can be a large difference between what a car is worth and what buyers are actually willing to show up and pay, so there's a good chance I won't be able to get as much cash as I'd hope for my 2003.

TL;DR:
Should I trade my fully loaded and mint 2003 for a similar but cheaper 2000?

Thanks for any thoughts on the matter!! Maybe you guys can help me actually get some sleep this week. Sometimes this truck and hobby make me feel like I have a difficult child (except you never have to debate selling your child!)...

Attached is a picture of my current truck just for fun.

Alex

 

You waited 15 years to get your truck. You say it's perfect inside and out. I wouldn't sell it to buy another 1 you know nothing about.
I understand you will profit a few grand in the deal, but to Me it's just not worth it.
Enjoy what you have. (And flip it back over).

 

OP: Should I flip my truck?

Also OP: Flips his truck.

 

The Devil you know…. I agree with Cucvfan.

 

What you have is often better than what you don't.

 

Fn’ A!

 

I'd say looking at the pic, current truck has superior grip.

 

Thanks for all the input! I managed to get the truck flipped back over, luckily there wasn't any damage...

 

Also FWIW here's a pic of the 2000

 

I wouldn't do it. For the sake of a couple of thousand $ it's not worth the uncertainty of the 2000. Especially since it sounds like your current rig has been well taken care of.

 

I agree, I am a strong believer of this philosophy as well. 1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush...
My only hesitation is that I've only owned the 2003 for about 6 months and 5k miles, so I can't claim to have a long history with it.

 

That would be enough for me, at least enough to carry some weight in making a decision, especially if I did any serious preventive maintenance on it.
But hey, if you talk to the person and you get good vibes, and they give good vibes and the truck gives good vibes….,

 

Keep what you know... I'm remiss for selling my 2001 and now relying on my 2 years to find 2004 low miles version...

 

If you're only owned your current for 6 months, then flip it and buy the 2000. But MAKE SURE, the frame is mint on the 2000, if not then walk away. 2000 looks clean.

 

Heres what I’d do:

keep them both.

 

The 2000 looks great too. Buy the 2000 and take the $5K to show your wife that your priorities are at the right place.

 

Realistically, you can’t say “all else equal”.
But if that were the case, pocketing $5k would be the way to go.

Again, realistically “equal” isn’t a good thing to base your decision off of.

You need all the service records, and like maintenance to be done.
Good luck with your decision..

FWIW, you almost NEVER get back what you paid for parts.
I’d keep the current and make time to install the parts.

 

The Longs Peak view pullout on highway 7, in front of the Salvation Army camp

 

I guess it boils down to not so much the financials, but why you want one or the other. Mine is an 03 and I wouldn't trade it or sell it for anything. I've only owned it 6 years, but I knew when I saw it this was the truck I wanted, so much I paid WAY too much for it. You had a TLDR, bear with me . . . .

I was making a fair chunk of money in 2020 as a coder. One day we all got a video chat, "we sold the company bring in your computers, you're done." With 25 years experience you'd think a new job would be easy peasy, I'd get these leads - we love your resume and samples, let's chat! As soon as they saw I was older, it was all over, they figured I was in the early stages of dementia or something, no go. (I can still outcode half these guys/gals who cobble together buzzword technologies without a clue what they really do, but that's another discussion.) Long story short, I wound up working at a factory and 10 hour days, and still do, at about half the salary I'd made in 2020. Lo and behold, we kept our home and SOMEHOW have more money now than we did in 2020, including the time and money to throw at my Taco. I had been waiting to do a lot of upgrades since 2018, like the ones here and here (and more,) and it took until this year to get to it.

My point is life takes us places we're not ready for and it may seem like you can't do the same with your truck now. NOW. If you want it, it will come, just get your s**t done that you need to and the horizon will open up when you're ready.

Aside, since 2018 I moved halfway across the country, rented for a while, changed jobs before the above incident, and bought a house that I've thrown tons of money and work into, so I totally get the homeowner pains.

 

Thanks everyone for the input! It's nice to hear others speak the thoughts that have been banging around in my head, makes me feel 10% less crazy haha.

Here's the update:

I agree with the opinion that the money side shouldn't influence my decision too much. So instead I've starting thinking about what I truly want for my truck... I do prefer the interior and exterior looks of the 2000 more (hate the 01-04 grill and flares!), not to mention the manual components. When I was shopping for my current truck (a grueling 1.5 year process), I talked myself out of any smaller preferences such as these and forced myself to focus on condition and mileage-- that's how I ended up with a 2003 instead of an earlier model that I would have preferred... I'm starting to regret this impatience and am getting eyes for the little details again. And it's just my luck that the truck that I was looking for shows up just 6 months after I buy mine. Now I just need to decide if these little things are worth the effort of buying/selling and the risk of inheriting a new set of issues...

I am going to check out the 2000 in person this week, I'll snap some pictures for you guys. I'm not going to bring any cash the first time so I'm not tempted to make any split decisions, I have terrible self control when I'm standing in front of a nice Toyota for sale