I can't answer your question, but I can provide another variable to factor into your equasion...

Consider resale value. Assuming you drive your new truck the same as your Expedition, you will trade again in 2009 and your vehicle will have about 75k miles. Honestly evaluate the truck's condition at reasle (pristine, normal, "beat")and try to determine which will give you the best resale price, compared to original purchace price. A 3-year old truck with 75K, or a 5-year-old truck with the same mileage. Additional research is needed, and will be speculation since we can't be positive of what the used truck market will be like in three years, but the results might be interesting.

Hope this doesn't add to your confusion.

I fail to understand the reason for trading the 2003 Expedition. What could you possibly gain? It's got everything you need in the ability to tow. Sure it may need a repair, transmission issues most likely when doing a lot of towing, especially if you are a bit lax when it comes to servicing, but even at $2000-$3000 for drivetrain repairs, it's still more than $20,000 cheaper than replacing it.

I tow every weekend with my 2002 Explorer, and we are talking about 3800lbs of trailer and equipment. I have 80,000+ miles on my Explorer. It will have 3 times that many miles before I'm through with it.

HI John.
The Expo has the 4.6 engine and it does fine for my current purposes. I'm getting a bigger trailer (8x16 dual axle)and the Expo's capacity is 5,000 lbs but it just wasn't built to tow as much as I do. If I had gotten the 5 liter engine I wouldn't be thinking about trading. The new truck is rated at 7700 lbs without the tow package.

Look at anything on the 04 rams re problems and concerns. Your benefit is that there's now been 2 years to find the issues and have fixes for them. The big thing is that you have to have what you need on the trucks, towing pkgs etc. Factory is closed :)

Otherwise I'd go for the deal and drive that puppy right into the ground. Sure, the resale value is crap but you're not buying list either. Make sure that a mech inspects the vehicle closely since it hasn't been driven in two years. Lube, filter and oil change before it's off the lot.

**Would you buy a new 2 year old new vehicle for the price of a used vehicle the same age?**

Hec YES I would. Wish I'd come across a deal like that when in the market for a vehicle.

5000lb? Thats suprising, but I believe you. A 4.6l is just enough for a car the size of an Expedition let alone be towing with it, and yes the 5.4l would make a huge difference in this case. My Explorer has the towing package on it and is rated to tow 7000! So at 3800, I'm just over 1/2 of what it's rated for and pulling the trailer, I can actually out accelerate my 94 Ranger with a 3.0l. I wish I knew more about those '04 Hemi's to give you some better advice, but typically they would mostly still be under warranty so I have not had much exposure to them for servicing. It does stike me as odd that these things are sitting this long unsold. Plus, I remember seeing reports about some tranny issues when towing with the Ram trucks that had to do with lubrication of the hard parts. (Planet assemblies) I spent a few minutes looking for that information exactly but came up empty. That makes it quite likely that I could be thinking of models that are a couple years older. Best bet is to ask the tranny guy at the dealership how these have been holding up, and if there is anything he recommends be added, such as an additional cooler etc.

You're talking trucks, so there is nothing wrong with a "left-over" so long as it was a good model to begin with (no major design flaws), and if you can reduce the purchase price by the amount of depreciation. Remember, as soon as you drive it off the lot, its gets 2 years of depreciation.

That Hemi is a good choice for moving big tow loads, if it is mated to a transmission and drive line that can handle what the Hemi can dish out.

The trucks are leftovers because the dealer is so small. They only have enough room in the "showroom" for one vehicle.
And this is an area where only the "help" buys trucks. This part of Vermont is SUV country. And the little old ladies love their Range Rovers. I was a a Gulf Station and one old gent was gassing up his Turbo Cayenne! People up here wouldn't be caught DEAD in a Hummer! That's for people from New Jersey and Connecticut!

As far as warranty is concerned, it doesn't start until the truck is put into service. So it has the complete 7 year 70,000 mile warranty from the day you purchase it.
But alas, my wife is fighting me on this, so we might wait until later to buy a new truck. She wants to keep our current rig until Fall.

Sounds like a good deal on the 04's, what dealer is that in Vermont? I may just go ahead and get one for myself what colors where they?

They're at Green Mountain Dodge in Dorset, VT.
There are two Patriot Blue ones and a deep cranberry one.
Dorset is just north of Manchester, VT on Rte 7.