Hi, everyone!

Fast cars has always been a passion of mine. I've owned numerous cars, from 442s to corvettes to chargers. Haven't had a Ford yet.

I'm looking for one vehicle that can serve as a daily driver, haul stuff, and still be fun to drive.

Pickups seem to fit my need, but which one? I like R/T Dakotas, but I don't like Dodge reliability especially in the auto transmissions.

The Ford Lightning has always impressed me, both in looks and performance. I raced one at the track with my vette, and got beat. Instant respect from me

So with all that out of the way, I'm seriously thinking about buying a used lightning. Naturally, I have some questions, so please excuse my dumb questions as I know nothing about Ford trucks

Most important, how reliable are these trucks? I'm thinking about buying a 1999, or close to that year. I think 1999 was the first year for that generation, so do I have to worry about 1st year bugs? Is there anything in particular that breaks on lightnings?

Second, what are the transmission choices? Since this will be my daily driver, I prefer an automatic. If auto is available will it hold up?

What kind of mileage do these trucks get?

What kind of prices can I expect, say for a mint condition 1999, with 75K miles?

I'm hoping to keep the budget around 12K, so that might knock me out of the newer trucks. What about the older lightnings?

Thanks in advance! Any informationn is greatly appreciated!