Hello,

I never owned a ford truck before, thus have no knowledge about them, is why I am here.

I am looking at this 2011 Ford F-250 XL 4wd Super Cab Long Bed Gas F250 4x4, only downside is it has 208k miles.

http://showroom.auction123.com/ot_tr...lc_work_trucks

Above is the link.

I like it because it is a 8ft bed, which I want, is 4x4, V8 Obviously and accepts regular fuel, not diesel. The interior looks really clean, exterior has some flaws, but none that would be a no goer for me. I buy a lot of 10'x4' sheet metal and the place I buy from charges to cut it which over time can get pricey. All I would need to do with this truck is fabricating/weld me an 2' extension at the end of the bed for support the rest of the sheet metal, that would take care of my cutting charges. This truck would be mainly used for hauling and towing, although I dont tow hardly. Gas mileage isnt a concern for me.

I am mechanically inclined, Work on my own stuff.

I havent seen it yet. What kind of concerns/major concerns would you guys see in the near future if I get this truck, mechanically? Engine? Drive train? Regular maintenance isnt an concern to me, I expect non major things may need replacing.

Oh yeah and price point for me is around 10k.

Also the passenger airbag dash is open...

Thanks,
Brent

 

The truck looks really nice apparently somebody took good care of it. 200k is a good testimony for the 6.2 gas.

 

See if you can check the hour meter and divide hours by the miles and see how it was used. If it's say 30 and up you can figure a highway truck. 5000 would be good 10000 bad.

 

my first piece of advice is to take the VIN go to your local Ford dealer and look at the maintenance history of the truck, then pull a car fax or an auto check and look at the history of it.

The dash split on the passenger side air bag is a sign that something happened to cause the air bag to go off. I would check to see if this has had any other air bags go off and if the air bag light on the dash is illuminated and whether someone has turned its off or cleared it. There is also a ding in the passengers side ddor,m and dount that would have set the air bag off

I would crawl over and under that truck to make sure there is no sign of someone just replacing parts to hide an accident or this possibly being even a salvage vehicle that someone didnt full repair and are trying to get rid of it. You have to remember that if you have to do an out of state inspection where you are that the air bag missing or having been deployed means it probably wouldnt pass to be on the road safety wise

Now could it have went off accidentally, sure, likely not so much, seen oil patch trucks take a beating on lease roads and never seen a air bag go off yet. No where in the carproof report does it say anything about the air bag having gone off or being fixed. I would take that as a bit of a warning sign. My guess is this was bought from an auction and this dealer got it, no way they paid 10k for it.

I would go over this witha fine tooth comb and look for any of the body lines and hood lines not lining up or even being slightly out alignment, I would also look for an new bolts, screws , welds fasteners around the vehicle.

It could be someone changes some auto body parts and did cosmetic work on the outside but didnt worry to much about interior, I would check and see if that air bag was replaced. That wont be a cheap touch to get a working certified air bag

Look it over well but just know it could be something that needs work or cash put into it and I would make any deal conditional to it passing a mechanical and safety inspection if it were me

 

Thanks guys, Ill try and see if I can get engine hours this way:


Yeah that passenger air bag has been on my mind as to why the dash cover for it is opened up. I too didnt see anything on the free carfax report offered from that dealer of any accidents. Will for sure comb it good and copy the vin and bring it to a local dealer. I too think this is probably an auctioned vehicle and what ever problems it had, the dealer tried to cheaply replace the problems/covered it up. Will look for any signs of crumpled areas in all parts of the sheet metal, the frame, the suspension, around the engine, underneath the engine, etc.

But then again, the dealer did take pictures of all the flaws, cosmetically, so maybe they might be legit.

 

I am guessing that since this was truck was at a ford dealer last, then it went to a new owner and something between that owner and this dealer ending up with it happened and this dealer bought it auction like this.

I would definitely look inside the engine bay all around both sides and front, if there were any new parts put on you should see signs underneath and in the engine area as there ought to be new bolts/screws/fasteners to put an new parts on where damaged parts were removed, you may also see this underneath the truck as well. you may see marks from tools on the bolts/screws/fasteners where someone has taken them off and then put them back on especially in places where you wouldn't see any marks say as if someone took a fender off or back on ect

Something is off just a matter of what and are they hiding it, and it is it going to effect you if you buy it and have to have it pass a safety to insure it where you are. This truck was either a trade in or it is from the auction, Ford doesnt make used trucks and being this looks like a dealer with a lot of similar product my guess would be he buys at the auction. Every dealer wants a buyer to believe it was driven by a little old lady who never went anywhere and only drove it to church and buy food for her cats, but we all know that is no where near the case. It is always in the dealer best interest to say as little as possible to make a sale

 

Thanks Pocketlint, will be sure to check all that you said.

This is pretty cool, just found this site that decodes your ford VIN:
https://vindecoder.eu/ford

This is what came up for the truck I want to look at:
Manufacturer:
Ford Motor Co
Manufacturer Address:
American Road
Dearborn MI 48121
Make:
Ford
Model:
F250/350/450/550 Super Duty
Body:
Truck
Drive:
4x4 - Four-wheel drive
Color:
Oxford White
Steering:
Left Hand Drive (LHD)
Axle Ratio:
3.73
Fuel Type - Primary:
Gasoline
Engine (full):
6.2L 16V OHC NA V8 Gas
Engine Displacement (ccm):
6200
Engine Power (kW):
514
Engine Cylinders:
8
Transmission:
Automatic
Transmission (full):
6 Speed Auto Transmission (6R140)
Number of Gears:
6
Air Conditioning:
Manual Air Conditioning
Made:
2011-06-17
Emission Standard:
With 49 State/Non Green State Req
Check Digit:
1
Model Year:
2011
Plant Company:
Kentucky Truck
Plant Country:
United States (USA)
Plant State:
Kentucky
Plant City:
Jefferson County
Sequential Number:
D04080
Equipment:
Steel Grey Interior
Less Front Fenders
Decal - 4X4 Less O/RD SRW STRG GRY
My Key
Tailgate-Black Handle Centre Latch
With Tailgate Lock
Less Second Unit Body Covers
With 8' Styleside Box-Steel
4 Cargo Tie Down Hooks - Inside
With Load Box Edge Protectors
Less Pickup Box Extender
Less Load Box Bedliner
With Base Payload Package
158"/4013MM Wheelbase
(-)"XL"
(-) Version Packages
Kentucky Truck Plant Build
Less Security Lock Group
Less Special Equipment Package
10,000 LB. GVW
With Appearance Package
Less Exterior Appearance Pack
Less Power Equipment Group
Less Memory Package
Feature Content Group 1
Kentucky Truck Plant Build Only
With English Language Label
Owner Hand Book Pack
Brand Owner - Ford
With 2 Ton Mechanical Jack
With Manual Front Windows
With Fixed Rear Side Window
With Tinted Glass
With Fixed Rear Window
Less Heated Rear Window
Standard Ovrhed Console & With Rail
Less Floor Mounted Console
Fixed Foot Pedals
Less Front Floor Mats
Floor Cover - Vinyl Ins - Complete
I/P Insert - Level 1
Sunvisor - Single Driver W/Strap
With Sunvisor Mirror - Passenger
With Level 1 Door Trim Panel
With Grey Grille
Less Exterior Wheel Lip Moulding
Less Lower Body Moulding
Less Side Auxiliary Step
With Dipping Rear View Mirror
Dual Sail Telesc TT Mirror-Manual
With Black Exterior Mirror
Less Temp Control Driver Seat
Less Temp Control Passengers Seat
With Second Row Flip-up Seat
Less 2nd Row Folding Armrests
With Driver 2 Way Mnl. Seat Adjust
With Passenger Manual Seat Adjuster
Trailer Tow Prep Pack
Trailer Tow - Class III Receiver
Less Fifth Wheel
With Front Towing Hook
With Trailer Sway Control (TSC)
Less Fifth Wheel Hitch Kit
Exterior Door Handle - Black
Super/Super Single/Super Cab 4 Door
Frequency - 315MHZ
With Manual Door Locking
Less Door Entry Remote Control Unit
Less Keyless Entry System
Less Sun Roof
Less Tu-Tone Accent Colour
Less Body Tu-Tone Paint
Less Acct Stripe-BdySd Color
Front Bumper - Steel Chromed
Rear Bumper - Steel Step - Chromed
With Front Licence Plate Bracket
Side Air Bag - 1st & 2nd row
Adjustable'D'Ring-Drivers Seat Belt
With Passenger Air Bag Deactivation
With Adjustable 'D' Ring Pass Seat
With Frame Mounted Tyre Carrier
With Conventional Spare Wheel
Std Duty Dual Front Shock Absober
With Standard Rear Shock Absorbers
With Single Rear Wheels
7.5 X 17" Steel Wheel
LT245/75/R17E A/S BSW
Less Wheel Covers
With Bright Wheel Hub Cover
Less Engine Idle Shutdown Timer
Less Immersion Heater
With 49 State/Non Green State Req
With Monobeam Suspension - Narrow
Less Stabilizer Package
Less Attitude/Ride Height Pack
With Standard Duty Front Suspension
With Front Stabilizer Bar
Less Rear Auxiliary Springs
Less Rear Stabilizer Bar
Less Rear Axle Package
3.73
Less Elect Locking Differential
6.2L 16V OHC NA V8 Gas
Less Exhaust Pipe Extension
Power 4-Wheel Disc Vacuum Boost
Less Brake Control Valve
Less Anti-Lock Braking System
Roll Stability Control Brk W/Betc
Less Engine Traction Assist
Normal Fuel Fill
Less Fuel Kit - FIA
Less In-Dash Internet Device-FIA
Less Tracking System - FIA
Less Remote Starter - FIA
Less Transmission Power Take Off
Electric Trans Case And Auto Hubs
With Skid Plates
With Mid-Ship Fuel Tank
Fuel Cap-Non Locking Flex - Yellow
For Unleaded Fuel
Less Gaseous Prep Pack
Less Diesel Fuel Content
With Man Rake/Col Shift Strg Column
Basic Type Steering Wheel
With Speed Control
Less Auxiliary Heater
With MPH/KMH Speedometer
Tyre Inflation Monitor
Instrumentation Pack #2
With Reverse Proximity Sensor
Less Anti-Theft Alarm
With Safeguard Anti-Theft Sys(Pats)
Standard Duty Battery
Heavy Duty Alternator
Less Power Convertor
With AM/FM CD Player
With NAAO Radio Frequency
With A/V Jack
Analogue Audio Broadcast
Less Television Package
Less Sync
Less Camera
Less Homelink
Less Daytime Running Lamps
Headlamps - U.S. Symmetry
Less Front Fog Lamps
Less Roof Marker/Clearance Light
Tail lamps - Level 1
With Conventional Headlamp Control
Less Spare Accessory Switches
Oxford White
Generic Country Group 1
250 Series
F81A-5310-AED (4800 LB.)
F81A-5310-AED (4800 LB.) #2
Less B&A Control Codes Issue 030388
6 Speed Auto Transmission (6R140)
F250/350/450/550 Super Duty
(-)"N"
(-) GVMT Service Administration
(-)"CDN"
(-)"GU"
(-)"BRN"
(-)"BZ"
(-)"IS"
(-)"ATG"
(-)"IL"
(-)"AW"
Less Ultimate Package

Still trying to find a link of checking the histroy of the vechicle, thought that the ford owner website would allow you the information but it doesnt.

 

You will have to take the VIN to the Ford dealer and ask them to pull you an Oasis report. The Oasis report will tell you everything that was done to the truck when ever it came to a Ford dealer for Maintenance or warranty work and usually what mileage was when it came in each time and what they found and what the customer got serviced