Good Morning Everyone!

I'm hoping I can get some help and insight from the other Super Duty owners on here. Looking for a Powerstroke 250 with the 7.3 4x4 for work and I think I landed on something pretty nice at a dealer close to me. Truck is a crew cab with 85,000 miles, looks pretty loaded with leather and in extremely good condition inside and out. He is asking 25k for it but KBB is only around 17 or so....

I understand the price will most likely be higher from KBB because of the 7.3 and also it being a dealer but do you think that price is to high? I figured I ask some of you guys on here and see what you think!


-Junior

 

Hey Junior, not that I'm any expert, but a 7.3 with that low of mileage around here would sell for 15-18g if it was mint, crew cab, and 4x4. The 7.3 is desirable, but the age of the truck is against it. Good luck, sounds like a nice truck!!

 

Paying full retail for a new one would be a "better" deal than that. PASS.

 

Agreed........ I can't believe the amount if money people drop or ask for those 7.3 trucks.

 

7.3 powerstrokes have a certain reputation, and there are enough people around who believe in them to make a really nice, low mileage, well kept luxury unit a real find, and command a premium price. If you are one of those people, then the relief of having a work-horse truck with no EGR/oil cooler worries, VGT turbo worries, multiple turbo worries, DPF and urea worries is well worth the premium. A truck is a truck, after about 5 years old it's an old truck and will need about the same ongoing maintenance as a 12 year old truck, all things considered.

Other people look at the 7.3 PSD and see an old truck, needs maintenance on something or other right now, and about every two months on-going, woefully underpowered at 235 hp, somewhat unreliable transmission with only 4 speeds, less sophisticated suspension and ride, and way overpriced at $25K, and they wouldn't touch it with someone else's ten foot pole...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have a buddy that would snap that truck up in an instant if it passed his inspection. I would be in at around $12K.

Brian

 

The 7.3's are getting old. And while the mileage may be low, you will have other issues coming up that age does affect unless it's garage kept and never sees bad weather. Some folks treat these trucks like vintage muscle cars. It really depends on what you want. For the money some of these people ask for their trucks, you could buy a newer truck for a lot less, and spend a few bucks to make it a real good and dependable truck. With the things that we know about the 6.0's and the 6.4's, spending money in the right places on those trucks will get you a solid truck with more modern features.

 

I always fjnd it funny how EVERYONE says a 7.3 is underpowered and slow yet they are the most sold diesel Ford ever had, they've towed and hauled the same type trailers etc as these new "400+ high tech money pit diesels" trucks and they're still out there all over the world doing work ever single day..... show me a new diesel 20+ years from now and lets see how good it runs after years of abuse. I bet ya its not gonna run like a 7.3!

galaxy S4 using IB AutoGroup

 

Well they might but it will have a new rebuilt motor, turbo, fuel system etc etc and etc

galaxy S4 using IB AutoGroup

 

Yeah it is funny!! My sons 99 7.3 runs and sounds like a jet plane. I cant believe how fast it runs!! Makes me start thinking of pulling my 5.4 out and 7.3 it. I would not go over 18000 on that truck JMO!! But in my mind as these new trucks go past 55,000, 60,000 my truck will just keep going up in value.

 

The 7.3 market tanked probably 2 years ago now, you still see them sell good every now and then but the days of consistent $20K+ for a low mileage one are gone. Although the engines are rather bullet proof the rest of the truck even in the newest forms are still 10+ years old and just don't have any of the comforts of a truck made even back to '05.

The 7.3L was in the trucks for more years than any other diesel, so of course they were the most sold engine.

IMO $25K is ridiculous for any 7.3L era truck. Go to truecar, edmunds and NADA to see what they say about the price.

 

If you're truly interested in the truck, as mentioned, hit up the online vehicle value sites, enter in the options and mileage, and print out the pages. Take them in, lay them down, and tell the guy you aren't paying more than the lowest one for the truck. If he won't budge, he's shady and isn't worth dealing with.

That said, a 7.3 might be underpowered when stock, but throw just a few mods and a tune at it and it becomes a BEAST. My old F250 SD with a 7.3 had a cold air intake, turbo-back exhaust, and a tune, and I could outpull my dad's stock 6.4 '08 350. That said, I love my 6.0 and wouldn't go back.

 

Any particular reason for the 7.3 over the other available diesel engines?


The dealer is asking too much for the truck. Some areas of the country still have a high-demand and low-availability market for these trucks, but you can just as easily travel 50-100 miles outside of that area and find a similar truck for half the price.


I just replaced my 2004 Silverado 1500 in October (T-boned by a similar year Sierra running without his lights on in the rain at dusk) with a 2003 F250 with a 7.3 in it. It took me about six weeks to find one nearby in my price range ($15k) and my patience paid off when I found this truck 31.5 miles away; paid about $13k for it (Really well kept considering that I would be the fourth owner- it looked like what I imagine it would have if I had owned it to begin with). I've put almost five thousand miles on it already with very little trouble; replaced the fuel pump and sending unit and the alternator- adding up to about what I expect to have to put into a recently purchased used vehicle.

While I like my truck a lot and intend to keep it for the next fifteen years at least, I wouldn't rule out a newer vehicle if I were you. Depending on your budget and what you intend to use it for (you said work, but would you intend to keep it afterward, or trade it in for a newer work truck- I mention this because you seemed happy that the truck you found had a leather interior). I know a lot of the members here use their trucks almost exclusively for towing, but I use mine as my daily driver (Again it's the only thing other than a '99 Hummer I have been able to sit comfortably in) and not having the systems which would require active regens makes the '03 much more suitable for my use.

If you're in the Souderton PA area, use Cars.com and peruse their listings. I looked through it for a few minutes using the 18964 area code and limiting the search to within 200 miles. There are over a hundred F250SDs alone from $10k - $30k.
I'd recommend going along the lines of 99powerstrokedF250's advice and print out some examples to compare with the one you found; if the dealer won't budge, don't bother with it. Be sure to drive the snot out of it too. Before I had considered F250s I drove a '09 F150 King Ranch at an AutoNation Ford dealership to see what I thought about it (never owned/driven a Ford truck before). Before the salesman reach me I put stepped hard on the running board and watched the truck lean waaay too much- so much so that I almost decided not to test drive it. Did so anyway and the roll was really noticeable when cornering and something was really wrong between the accelerator and the wheels- it wouldn't downshift despite flooring the pedal (literally). Suddenly the salesman wanted to sell it to me for $5k off the asking price, so I figured there was just too much wrong with it for it to be a good vehicle for me and I left.


Seems that I've been rambling for a while now, so I'll just sum up:

Don't discount the other diesel power plants if you find one that has had minimal ownership, minimal abuse, good records for maintenance, and the rest of the truck fulfills your wants/needs for a work truck (If nothing else, all of the exposure to the ills afflicting the 6.0 and 6.4 engines means that if you have a seasoned diesel mechanic he'll likely be able to more quickly and more accurately identify problems if/when they occur).



Good luck truck hunting,


-Kaw-Liga.

 

junior, im in New Hope superduties are abundant around here. theyre overpiced too. That being said for 25k im buying the newest one I can find. Ibelieve newer, higher mileageage is better than old lower mileage. I am seeing a lot of them being used for snow and salt which make them rusty. you have to climb underneath and inspect the rocker supports. you can always buy my 2000 sc lariat 7.3 sb, 4x4 auto 165k for 12k it runs perfect with new rubber. but i dont need to sell.

 

Way overpriced. 7.3 is nice, but the tranny is weak. Mine blew as soon as I chipped it. Even with mods it's still slower than a 6.4 or 6.7. Can't hit 400hp without the powdered rods blowing apart.

I sold it a few years ago with a $4000 bts trans, gears, lockers, 6" icon lift, 37" toyos, full sound system with JL sub and amps, new brakes, and only got $16k for it....

For $25k you should be looking at 2008+

 

Morning all!

Thanks for all the replies, they are extremely appreciated. The only reason we were looking at the 7.3 was because we had one a few years ago, thing ran great.

The main reason why I was asking about the price was because I understand there are other factors that can dictate the price within the market, didn't know if there was something I wasn't seeing......

I talked to the dealer and he was not budging.... He kept trying to sell me on the fact that it had a small lift on it and that is a main reason they were charging so much. Little did he know that I run a full suspension shop and that I was basically calling his bluff.

Oh well, the search continues. We were not in a real rush for a truck so I guess it's back to the drawing board on this one.

Once again though, thank you everyone for the help and Merry Christmas!