Sell the wake boat.

 

HAHA thats like telling a hunter to sell his guns.

 

To each their own but I wouln't drop 6K into an 03 or an 04 like mine for that matter unless you want to keep that truck until it falls apart. You can fix everything on there for the next 3 years and it still will won't be worth more than a few K's more than now. Sounds like you want the newer one so I'd get that now or later, but without first throwing money away. Maybe it means getting the newer one without all the extra for a year or so. Sounds like you want to keep the boat, the truck and your guns :P so at least with something newer and possibly warranty, at least you can maintain your budget numbers without having to worry about a tranny or other big unexpected expenses.

 

I don't know how old you are but i am 17 and was in the same situation a few months ago. i had a 2000 dodge dakota that needed about $2000 worth of work mechanically not to mention every body panel was rusted out when it was only worth $4000 on a good day. i ended up doing the work to make it mechanically sound, but was never fully satisfied with the truck because i wanted to make it look new. so i ended up putting it up for sale at a high price of $6000 and got lucky and someone bought it for $5200 and then went and bought a 2007 dodge ram 1500 hemi for $18000. But the only difference between me and you was that i didn't have to finance anything. so basically what i am trying to say is that if after the work you want to do will you be completely happy with the truck or will their still be that thought lingering to get a newer truck? and if you will still eventually want a new truck don't do what i did and dump money into a truck that will never make you happy because i lost about $800 with my truck and only drove it for 750 miles after it was mechanically fixed. that is over $1 a mile. also i can tell you from my experience i am so glad that i stopped dumping money into my dakota when i did and bought my new ram because for me my dakota was a never ending money pit that was never going to be perfect like my new truck is. but, in the end it is all up to your choice and i ended up choosing the newer truck. hope that helped.

 

Well I'll drive something even if it needs repairs lol unless it absolutely needs them. If you do need $6000 I'd trade it in and use that money plus the $6000 for a down payment. IMO stay away from the 09, first year trucks typically have more problems. I'd go for a 10 or 11 if I were you.

 

In all honesty, take the 6k you were going to need to fix your old truck, sell your old truck as is for 5-8k (depending on how the truck market is in your area), put both amounts towards a newer vehicle. You can get a nice newer 3rd gen for 12k, or a 4th for 17-ish.