First of all, I am 17 and I'm on the search for my first truck. Today I went and looked at a 1986 Ford Ranger. It has the 2.9L V6 with a 5 speed manual transmission. This truck is far from pretty, it is a rust bucket. The heater core doesn't work and the freeze plugs need to be replaced. He said he is going to replace those himself though. The paint is pretty much gone on the hood and top of cab. The tailgate is beaten up and has no hinge. The front right fender has been smashed and the grille is cracked. There is a dent on the bed the size of a basketball. The interior is thrashed, the bench seat either needs to be reupholstered or trashed and replaced. The roof is ripped up. The front two tires will be needing to be replaced soon. But, the engine and transmission are great! Its a really smooth ride. It's priced at $750 but he said he will go as low as $500. Any feedback if this a good deal or let it pass

 

Id pass, unless you want a fixer upper. And i know these types of deals really well, they say it looks like hell but they say that everything under the hood or in side the motor is all new, or everything is in really good running order, A LOT of people in my area will pull a lot of crap. The truth is that that truck will probly crap out very soon if the truck has gone though that much **** then theres little to no way they took any good care of it. So i couldnt trust it, unless your wanting to rebuild the truck

 

The only thing is, the owner of the truck is an old family friend of ours. I took a drive in it today and it ran well with no weird clinking noises or anything odd like that. It was very smooth.

 

I would pass from the description regardless of how it runs and the fact you know the seller.That 500-750 range is way too high for all the things wrong with it. It would be costly to repair if you had to pay someone and labor intensive if you tried to do it all yourself. If you tried to sell it later after fixing it up you would never get back what you put into it. If it's that rusty you could have major frame rusting /rear leaf spring mount issues. Doesn't sound like it was very well cared for so you could have numerous other mechanical issues waiting to crop up. Save your money and go for something newer that would be more reliable.

 

If you get it, you won't like the mpg the V6 gets. It was not noted for being an economical vehicle to drive. You might as well get a full sized pickup as get that particular engine.
There are a lot of other vehicles with a LOT less damage in that price range. You would be better served, IMO, if you are cash limited, to get a vehicle that needs some mechanical repairs, if you can do them, rather than having to replace a lot of rusted parts as the rust keeps coming, even after you replace some, the other rusting parts are just waiting to show you what they can do.{what they have done, but haven't shown yet...}
A $500 vehicle is not impossible to find, but do NOT buy from a relative because 1)you will always wonder if they stiffed you and knew beforehand that the "insert broken thing her" was broken before, but was held together with duct tape or 2)they think they are doing you a favor, and will regularly come back to comment on how they 'gave you such a deal...'. At least with another seller, you can insult them and not feel bad about it at the next family get together. You can hardly bargain with Uncle Bob. Parent figure and all that comes into play too. Will your family be mad if you don't buy .. or if you do?
Don't go there is my opinion. But, do whatever you think is right. Too many $ IMO.
tom

 

Id pass too. Mixing business and family/friends is also difficult too.

First off, you are young, with limited funds and limited experience. Realize something in that condition you will end up working on and fixing up more than driving. Plan on an extra $1000 to 1500 to fix it up and keep it running over the next year. For every one thing you know about it needing, there are 3 things you dont know about.

Take a look through craigslist at older stuff, rangers of that age go for 500-1000 in good condition that dont need much work.

 

Times are tough right now for finding a cheap car but hang in there. Any truck or car that needs "freeze plugs" means it leaks coolant and may need head gaskets - not freeze plugs. From the list you made there is not much that is still worth even keeping on the vehicle. Keep saving and keep looking - spread the word to everyone you talk to - and someone will all of sudden have need to get rid of a car/truck that is not perfect but not bad. Remember you can buy something that looks decent but may not be your "thing" and do a little work to make it run good, and elbow grease waxing and cleaning it, to sell for more than you paid and keep moving up to the ride you want. But like the truck you describe you cant work with complete devastation.

 

Few quick questions, are you limiting your choices to a truck, do you really need a truck? For my first car, if I didn't ned a truck, I'd go for a larger car. Several reasons here. For one, trucks are not as economical, and for a first time owner, that can be a big deal. Cost of ownership is important for a new car owner. The next thing to consider, is that you will have to admit that you are young and inexperienced, and because of that, the chances that you will make or be involved in a poor decision, even if its not your fault, are fairly high, which means the car you choose may get totaled or severely damaged. You want a vehicle that is safe that will absorb the impact, and that ideally has a low tendency to roll. You also want it to be something you can walk away from.

For my first time car, I'd take an old '80 or early '90 Buick or Mercury, something that has a low resale value, so you can get it cheap, and that still has reasonable affordability. While it doesn't have much cool factor to it, but it can haul several friends, more than an old Ranger. Unless you need to haul lots of large stuff in a truck bed, the people carrying capacity should outweigh the bed. If this type of car is too large for you, maybe like a '90s Taurus or Cougar or something. The cougar has some cool factor since it a coupe.

 

Just about everything you tell us about the truck waves flags of neglect and abuse.

 

My parents actually want me to get a truck. I'm going to Oregon State next year. They want me to have a 4x4 vehicle. They also want me to get a truck because it saves trips for them because I will be able to carry my things in the bed of the truck. In a car or bigger SUV you can't really carry as much

 

Well if you know the family and know what the truck has been through then id be totaly up to you, Because it sounds like these ppl arnt tryn to scew u over or anything

 

I had an '86 Ranger. Stuff in the back gets wet and gets stolen. Fact of life with a PU.

That truck is more trouble that it will be transporation.

Keep looking.

 

I'd be concerned about the need to replace freeze plugs. The combination of their needing to be replaced as well a replacing the heater core indicates that there is a lot of crud (maybe rust) in the cooling system. That suggests that you soon will need to replace the radiator as well. I don't know how gunky the block and heads are. It maybe a problem of getting it cleaned out.

Remove the radiator cap and see if there is a coating of rust on the underside of the cap and on top of the radiator core.

Look thru the LMC Truck catalog to see what it is going to cost you to replace parts and use that as a guide to what you will have to spend on the truck to get it into shape. Your $500 truck may cost you a good deal more than just the $500 you will pay initially.

In addition, you need to take into account what you will pay for plugs, wires, hoses and belts as well as any other routine maintenance items you need. You may be better off buying a newer truck that doesn't require all of the replacement expenses this one does.

 

I have my wifes 09 Santa Fe (not my idea so do not put spells on me), 93 Big Bronco, and 96 Explorer both rebuilt, plus 85 Chevy 1 ton pick up /plow. You would be surprised how much stuff I can pack in the back of the Explorer or the Bronco for cargo when needed. Plus you can keep the cargo clean, safe, and dry as mentioned before. You can carry more than one other person in comfort etc.

For 4 years I sent my son to college at the University of West Virginia all the way from Connecticut in a Honda Passport SUV with trailer hitch and rented U-Haul small trailer and he carried everything he needed in the two. If your parents want you to have a certain type of vehicle see if they can help you pay a little more to find something safe and capable of a few years of dependable use. The smaller trucks like the Escape have 4WD for safety in snow / weather but also get reasonable fuel economy.

Avoid Passports, Rodeo's, Pathfinders, and Troopers which all get terrible fuel economy in the real world and are not the greatest for quality in some cases. I know many hate them but I have owned six Explorers and have enjoyed them all. The older ones get the rust issues in our area but run. Like I wrote before you can always buy something (anything) that with a little elbow grease can be sold for more than you paid and work up to what your dream vehicle is but all trucks have poor fuel mileage vs car and more parts to go bad if 4WD.

 

My focus wagon can hold just as much as my Ranger. Obviously not the physical weight but cargo space is the same. And you can hold more than 2 people with the rear seats unfolded. Plus 30+ MPG. With gas at close to $4/gal that helps a lot also.