I'm looking into to buying my friends 02 F250 Lariat. Has the 7.3L in it. Has a transmission on it with only 5k on it, has a 4' in lift and 4 new 37' in bfg all terrain tires. I have heard many good things about the 7.3 but it does have 245k miles on it. I have heard that the 7.3 can put like 600k on it, but I am new to the diesel scene and I figured I would ask. He is wanting 13,000 for it, the truck looks very nice, but how safe is this to buy on my part?

 

I bought my first super duty just recently. I have to say I was worried about the mileage as you are.

Mine had 250,000 exactly as I rolled off the lot. Now, I had a pretty clear background on mine. It was contractor owned and dealer maintained (thanks to a carfax) it was also very lightly yet tastefully modded. There are a lot of things for you to check out this link HOW TO BUY A USED POWERSTROKE DIESEL TRUCK - 1 OF 4 - YouTube. His advice can sometimes be a little shotty but this series it pretty spot on for basic things to look for in a powerstroke.

Some questions you can ask,

Why was the tranny replaced?
Do you have maintenance records? (i.e. oil changes, fluids, ect.)
What kind of lift? Receipts and who did the work?
Has it been chipped? If so does it have the supporting mods? Gauges.. Exhaust and up
Are the tires good tread? Those are very expensive


I'm sure others will pipe up with more good questions. I will tell you this, my powerstroke had 250,000 miles and was basically stock. I paid 8,000 for it in the Northern VA area (ford country where I'm at so they usually run even a little high) so 13,000 does sound steep to me.


Good luck! and welcome to FTE

 

13k sounds very steep....as far as the tranny...240k is pretty good to get out of the 4r100..mine only lasted only 160k but i tow alot and heavy...check for oil leaks as the 7.3 is a leaky fella..all the ones i have looked like leak like crazy...i would also check all front end parts...with those 37s...they can wear stuff out fast.