Hi guys,

I know my slick 60s and have a '65 and '66 F100, but my daughter wants me to look at a 1998 F150 with 250,000 miles on it. It has the 4.6 with AT and 4x4. It is a one owner trade that the dealer has priced at $3500. Are these good for over 300K miles or am I looking at heartache and misery with the drivetrain at this mileage? I know a lot depends on how it was driven and maintained, but would like to hear from the folks that know these trucks.

Thanks for your thoughts- Tom

 

have you seen/driven the rig yet? yes the way it was driven is an unknown, can you get a Carfax for this?
at 250k, I am sure there will be a lot of maintenence to do

 

That is more than I would pay with that mileage. I had a '97 4.6 F150 that went over 300,000 and is still running. I traded it for a different truck. The only thing that would concern me is the transmission. If the oil (engine & transmission) looks clean after an extended test drive and the rest of it looks good you might see if they will wiggle on the price. It is tough to appraise one without seeing and driving it especially not knowing its history.

 

Walk away. My 97 Expedition 4x4 with a 5.4 and 288,000 miles cost me $500. I've put another $700 in maintenance and repairs in it as well to correct for prior owner neglect. Plus, a few 'sanity upgrades' like rebuilding the trailer harness, adding headlight relays (prevents switch burnout), recharging the A/C, new keys/fobs/locks all keyed alike (junkyards are great...) and all the necessary parts to retrofit a digital HVAC system (with a small tweak for recirculated air on demand) and 99+ overhead display including trip computer, temperature display & digital compass.

Tell your daughter to get on Craigslist and you'll find a similar truck for $1,000 if you look correctly. Save the result for a transmission rebuild.

 

Thanks for all your input. I have not physically seen the truck. My daughter found it on the dealers website, which is about 30 minutes away.

Tom