first and formost. say you get it, you get the loan, you get it fixed. Do you have the money to put insurance on it and have insurance on both vehicles for the winter? that can be pretty expensive and usually not considered right away.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but that looks like a $1500 truck in this neighborhood. And that is if it is mechanically right, which you say that one isn't. The rust kills it for this market.

As far as insurance goes, you could drop the car in the winter and just insure the truck. But if you aren't wanting a project, I'd keep looking.

If i did get the truck i wouldn't have insurance on the bonneville too. It would be parked, and be used as a back up incase something happens to the truck, or if i can't afford gas on the truck
Thats why i have to crunch some numbers before i buy it. I have to calculate loan payments, insurance, gas, etc. and figure out if i'm making enough.

Up here trucks go for a lot, because there is a market for them. I'm guessing in Arkansas the market for this kind of truck isn't as high. A decent 4x4 can be very pricey around here. If i could go to arkansas to buy a truck i wouldn't have to worry, but for whats for sale around here its not a bad deal.

Plenty of market for trucks of all types here. Just not rusty ones.

Well ,most cities won't allow you to have an uninsured car sitting (not sure where exactly you are) but storage insurance (comprehensive) shouldn't be too bad. I know mine is like $100/6 months or something like that. You also have to remember, you can just swap the plates onto the bonneville if something happens to the truck, or you don't like the gas mileage. You'll have to turn in the plates on the bonneville once you stop insuring it (even with storage insurance) This will require a trip to the DMV and could mean a re-registering fee for the car, plus depending on how registration is there, you might lose some money if you haven't gone a full year with the registration (here you can get credit for any un-used years that you paid for, but not anything less than a year, so registering a car for 1-2 months isn't always economical.)

Also, don't forget to factor in Tax on the $3000, Title, registration and licensing fees, and inspection if you have them. These can be some expenses you don't often think about in a purchase.

As for my opinions on the truck, I follow the majority of the other ones, but to be objective, here is what I would consider: How is the cab of the truck? are the corner, rockers, floors of it rotted out? Firewall and roof solid? Right now, from the pictures it looks like just the bottom of the front fenders and the box have rust. Those are two parts that can easily be replaced without body work (assuming you find good ones with no rust and the same color) If the cab is rusty, then that is the main part of the truck and I would be hesitant. The rust on the bottom of the fenders might hide cab rot behind them, so check that closely.

When it comes down to it, you need to decide on what is best for you and what you want. If you are adamit about getting it, offer $2500 and see what happens. Just know that a loan may not be something you want to do, especially if you are young. For me, I took out a $3k loan for my car over 5 years. I got an awesome interest rate of just over 5% (thanks mom) and I pay about $100/month for it. Plus another $160 for insurance. Which leads me to another thing. If you take a loan out for a car, you are REQUIRED to have collision on it so the bank doesn;t lose money if you're dumb and wreck it. Do you have the money to pay the extra that collision would add? Also, it means that even if you take the truck off the road, it will have to have collision until it is paid off, which can be pricy.

If I were you, I'd first check the rot situation. Then I would call your insurance company and ask them what the cost difference would be for the truck with the car in storage from what you currently have for the car. I would then try to figure out where you are getting a loan from, cause if you are young, and have no cosigner, be prepared for getting rejected, or 12%+ for an interest rate.

I've done all this before, having owned 2 cars since I was 21. There were a lot of unexpected expenses. I'm just trying to help you make a wise decision.

With the sensor unplugged you won't have cruise or abs. You only have rear abs anyways on that.

You'll want to make sure the oil pan isn't leaking. They tend to rott from the inside out and are a real B* to change out; have to pull the engine half way out...

Thats an 1200 dollar truck with that rust....

Thats $3-4k here. That rust is actually on the light side here in NY.

same here trucks even with rust sell for more where there lots of snow and stuff.

KBB-
Excellent $4,690
Good $4,260
Fair $3,675

I say with a lift thats a good price

hat rust is nothing for a FORD, Just cut off the rust and put fender flares on