So I've been on the hunt for a 99-03 7.3 6speed, and I came across this 2000 F250 4X4 yesterday. It's everything I want and it's in amazing shape for the year but there's a few things that concerns me. First off is the transmission, it grinds going from 1st to 2nd. Which, I have no problem double clutching that gear and living with it, but is it a sign of problems to come? And the last thing is the miles. It has 258,000 which I know is break in for these 7.3's, but is there anything I should look for? Other than that, the truck is great. The clutch is good, the power and torque are amazing. Doesn't leak a drop of anything. It drives straight and stops on a dime. The exterior has one ding on the tailgate, and two spots of clearcoat peeling. The interior is near perfect. Brand new 33X12.50 BFG mud terrains, and 4 inch pro comp lift.

The price is $10,400 out the door, but I still may be able to haggle him down to a little under 10K. Is this truck overpriced or just right?

 

i would also crawl under it and take a hard look at the suspension. The truck is lifted. Find out how.

 

I believe the front was replacement lift springs and the rear is add a leaf. Pro comp shocks all the way around...

 

Your just north of me from Ringgold. Last year I purchased a Crew Cab 4x4 7.3 with 191000 miles for 10k out the door from Crown Chrysler..

So its prob not a bad price but haggle and see what ya can get them down too.

The trans is a potential 3k atleast down the road. May last a long time in current condition, may not.

Mine was a 1 owner well maintained all leather trade in.

Get it for the day and have it checked out.

 

I haven't updated my profile in a long time. I'm from Cleveland, but the truck and I are in Colorado Springs, CO. I joined the Air Force a couple years ago, and this is where I'm stationed. I'm probably donna make a decision tomorrow. Im going to take it for a very long drive and see how she does.

 

FWIW, the price seems high for the miles it has on the clock. I passed on a late 90s 7.3 2WD with in the low 100s for mileage. IIRC, they were asking $10-11K. This was a private party sale, not a dealer.

Check it over for rust since you are in snow country.

When I lived in NM, it seemed trucks were cheaper than they were in the east. That was based on new prices being advertised on TV, but something that should factor in to your decision about "right or too high."

It may be packed with options that justify more $$.

Good luck!

 

That price seems high but it depends on the area really. I bought my 00 Excursion Limited 7.3 4x4 with 271,000 miles on it for 8,000.00 out the door! In my area rust free southern trucks are worth every penny. I wouldn't pay over 9,000.00 for it. Sure the 7.3 will keep going but Its getting to be injector time at almost 300k, Expect front end work as well as general worn out parts. Oil cooler o-rings, Injectors/injector o-rings are a few things that tend to go bad, grinding transmission can be a sign of things to come. If you are un-sure if anything take it to a local diesel shop and have it gone over with a fine tooth comb, even if it costs 100.00 for their time. What color coolant is in the bottle? I would expect locking hub issues as well since the factory ESOF units tend to be problematic. I would also make sure that lift is done right, there are alot of hacks out there that cut corners when installing! It looks like a nice truck otherwise but expect at least 1,200.00 when its injector time and its coming.

 

Try and show up, surprise them don't tell them your coming and hopefully the truck will be COLD, or tell them if you want (I wouldn't) but DO NOT let them start the truck. The idea of that is so you can see if there are any leaks and how it will sound when firing it up cold. With the truck still cold get on top of the motor with a flash light (a good one too with new batteries) and look in the valley for new oil/fuel leaks, burnt or frayed wires. I know you said it doesn't leak anything but who knows they could have cleaned it up first. Don't trust them. Take your flashlight and look for oil between the oil pan and the transmission, if there is doesn't necessarily mean the rear main seal is bad, just could be something form the top. While your down their take the drive shaft and try and move it forwards and backwards not so much in a clock wise counterclockwise rotation but in and out, to see if the bearings need replacement also look for oil on the input shaft where it goes into the diff, if there is may need to change the input shaft seal which is not to hard of a job but still cost $$, On both being 4X4. Look at ball-joints, do they look new/old, do they have re-greasable zerks, can be pretty expensive if you don't do them yourself. New tires can be a sign that there trying to hide something weather the ball joints or the wheel bearings are bad, maybe they didn't want you to see the wear pattern on the old tires. Lock and unlock the wheel hubs, are they tuff? If so may need to be replaced. Then fire up the truck, is it slow at starting? maybe need some new batteries did it seem like the glow plugs worked, get out and look for white smoke out of the tail pipe, a little is fine but a lot probably indicates that the glow plugs did not work. Another indication of bad glow plugs is did the RPM's jump up and down a lot is the truck rattling hard at first then smoothens out? After your test drive (with engine still running) take the oil cap off and turn it upside down and put it back on the oil fill neck. If it blows off that could be sign of a tired motor (bad motor), without burning yourself slightly rest the palm of your hand on the oil fill neck to make sure it's not sucking air in which I believe is a sign of bad cylinder rings. Also take a white blank piece of paper and put it up against the tail pipe (engine running) to see if there is any oil blowing out of the tail pipe. Turn motor off and get your flashlight and get back on top of the motor and look in the valley for new oil/fuel leaks. Just some of the main things you want to look at. Write down all your findings then negotiate a number. That is a nice clean looking truck and "looks like" they took care of it, but don't get stuck with someone elses mess. Good luck and please let us know the outcome.

 

Yep. Diesel trucks are very high in my area, not really sure why, but most of them are going for more than blue book value! I paid $13k for my 2004 but looking on ebay at other trucks around the country, I could probably have got it for $10k.

If they are actually selling for as high as I think they are around here, I'm going to start flying across the country, buying them, and driving them home!

 

I parked the truck where it was sitting on Saturday, and came back on sunday after hours and the truck was still in the same position. I crawled all underneath it, and I cannot for life of me find the first leak. No spots on the ground or the truck. Also, checked for rust while I was under there, and all I could find was surface rust on the rear shocks...I'll take your pointers and go give the truck a hard look. And the tires aren't brand new, they probably have 4 or 5 thousand miles on them. They all have even wear...

 

While it's a beautiful looking truck, I feel its way over-priced. I base that upon knowing that dealers hate sticks because they are harder to sell. They also hate high mileage/ 14 year old vehicles for the same reason. Add to that the shift disorder you've described and it's no bargain. Chances are the dealer doesn't even have $4000 in it.

Reverse the sales pitch; help him unload an undesirable vehicle on YOUR TERMS. I'd stick to an offer of $6000 plus sales tax, and NO OTHER DEALER FEEES. Expect them to say no, then let them sit on it for awhile. They will eventually call you back with a better deal. Once again I'd stick to my original offer and wait for round #3. Exercise patience! Repeating: exercise patience.

Depending upon how bad you want it, offer #3 may seem reasonable for you to get what you want, even if it's still overpriced.

Good luck.
Beautiful truck.

 

That's good, no oil leaks. From the sounds of it and how clean looking the truck is from the pics, it was a well maintained truck and that comment "well maintained" is from what you have said and the pics that were posted, but it looks nice! So my truck E99 Ford f-250 7.3 4x4 CCLB w/ 197,000 miles. Trade in value I got $2k did not do it of course, and KBB was $8,500. In Carson City, Nevada, where there is no rust. Snow country, but we don't use salt for the roads just sand. My truck is most defiantly quite a bit more beat up then that one is as body wise goes, we do a lot of off road in these mountains. Curious to see what you decide, let us know. It looks like a very clean truck.

 

I'm in Colo. Springs - 7.3s are still pretty pricey here. I think that 10K is top dollar for a non-crew-cab with a questionable trans. issue and paint that's starting to fail. I think that's an ~8K truck. You wish the 'crunch on shifting' issue was just too-thick gear oil, but with 258K, it likely needs a trans rebuild.

Call a shop and get a price on the rebuild and new clutch, subtract that from his asking price, and see if he'll take that. Colorado Transmissions on Garden of the Gods is a Ford-friendly shop and seem very knowledgeable.