I feel for you Firebug. I've been looking into buying a truck that won't bust the family budget, and from where I've looked, $7.5k doesn't buy much truck. I've finally decided to go the route Erin spoke of and am probably going to dive into a new Frontier and bite the bullet every month with the payments. Wish I could afford a Colorado/Canyon, but the lots near me are only getting the top end packages in right now. Supposedly Ford will re-introduce the Ranger next year, but I'm not sure I can hold out that long. Maybe I just don't know where to look, but have found that there isn't much discount for usage when it comes to pickups in the south. Wonder if it'd be worth looking for one in Yankee territory and making the trip for it.