FINALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Reel Smoker]

Cool Dan yours first, If I get this project 20, ill take it to Mike and he can take his time,im not in a hurry.I forgot to call him today.I thought I saw your boat posted in the Big Pine Winn- Dixie a while back.
John that was 1 of the reasons I went with a chevy because the ford look has been around awhile.The 5.3 will pull it easy especially with the tow button.The truck runs like a dream,smooth.The ford 5.4 like Dan says is an animal.RS.

[ScottM]

LT - it's good to hear you like the F150. Right now a couple dealerships are offering the '03 F150 extra cab 4x4 with the 4.6 for the right money. If the 5.4 is not too much more, I'll go with that.

John - I'm familiar with your truck preferences through Striped-Bass.com. I read a rather long-winded "conversation", shall we say, between some members about the superiority of the Dodge Ram over everything else. Hopefully that discussion isn't still going on. Thanks for the feedback. I'm partial to the Silverado/Sierra myself, but Ford seems to be offering better rebates right now, probably because of the model change you speak about.

Have a happy New Year guys.

[John R]

Scott - that thread was a pain. It was too much to bear and I was guilty of feeding that fire... Are you registered over there under a different name?

I can't complain about that Ford. It was the best truck I've ever owned and only had 3 problems. A coin got stuck in the console lock and jambed it -not Ford's fault, the pass side door sill moulding would never stay on, and the scary one: the throttle cable froze northbound on the Expressway in Dot at 75 mph & 3500 rpm. I had to quick shift down the offramp to get it off the highway. Turned out condensation had built up around the linkage and froze under my high speed run down the X-way. Also probably not Ford's fault.

Right now the rebates from GM are great too - 3K.

I just have problems buying a vehicle in it's 1st or last year of a particular generation. So I'm up in the air too.

Later,

John

[Jon G]

Great Boat Dan congrats! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] You are very lucky top have Florida weather to work on it this winter. Send a little North for us NewEnglanders! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Jon G

[ScottM]

John, I'm not registered at all on your board, although I should because I visit it quite a bit and know a lot of the members there. That frozen throttle thing must have been quite scary - I'd consider that Ford's fault, not yours. That should happen only in the most extreme situations, not by going a very normal (by today's standards) 75mph on the highway.

[Scott]

What ever you do and like others have said .... get the largest motor you can and a trans geared for that type of weight if you plan on pulling the boat around alot..... and as I’m sure you are aware....less stress on the tow vehicle...

[Reel Smoker]

I agree with scott, get the 5.3 on the chevy, or 5.4 on ford, I woul'nt go any smaller. I heard today Ford is offering 0 % for 4 years. That sounds very nice.RS.

[John R]

Scott - it was about 10 degrees out and I was doing 75. It was a cold snap and whatever moisture melted when the engine warmed refroze on my little stroll down the highway [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] . Where a bttere design would probably prevent that it does get into the realm of more extreme conditions...

The nice thing about the rebates right now is that with many banks you can get below 6% normal rates instead of the 2-4% from the factory. Then you grab the good outside rate AND the factory rebate and you're even more ahead. 0% interest on a 30K truck is more $$ than 5% interest on a 27K truck (but not by much [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

And that's OK - we get plenty of lurkers [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[ScottM]

RS, in this past Sunday's paper I saw adds for 0% up to 5 years for F150s.

John, AAA members can get 4.39% for '02 and '03 vehicles, so your idea sounds like the way to go. You sacrifice the rebate for the 0% factory rate, so instead get financing up front, walk in with a check and walk out with the rebate. According to my math, even with 6 or 7% financing, you still spend less money getting the rebate than using the 0% financing from Ford.

[Matt1121]

Hey JOHN R-

What year is your Bronco? I have a Black 1996 XLT Bronco with the sport package (leather seats, grille/bumpers/ mirrors painted to match body color), 5.8L engine and the towing package. No rust, either.

It is a complete workhorse and regularly pulls my Mako 231. I've had a few minor problems (oil leak, rear window motor burnt out) since I bought it 2 years ago but nothing major. Have you had much problems with yours?? I know the rear window motor and the fuel pump burning out early are common problems on the Bronco but I was wondering what other problems Bronco owners were experiencing.

Speaking of Ford pickups....my buddy Jodi (the guy that owns Wilco Marine Restorations in Newbury) has a Black 1999 Ford F-250 with the V10 and the club cab. It is really, really nice and he hasnt had one problem with it and he regularly hauls boats to and from the dealerships in the area. I think it is warrantied through Ford for 100,000 miles as long as he has them do the oil changes. Firestone even replaced his tires with new ones even though they were not part of that EXPLORER recall.

-Ed-