In shopping for F250 I had my trade priced at 1 dealer. trade is 2006 F150 SC Lariat 5.4L 4WD 183,500 Miles. Dealer trade price was $6500. I have 10% sales tax so $6500 + $650 tax savings yields a $7150 total value.

I ultimately ordered my F250 and put my F150 on 3 online sources. Average price on 2006 F150 Lariat with 150k-200k Miles was about $12,450. I listed for $10295.

Not much activity the 1st week or 2 so I dropped price below magic $10,000 Mark to $9795. Much much more interest.

I mentioned selling F150 to salesman where I ordered...... he said if I find a buyer bring them in and they would do an in and out courtesy trade and give me trade credit.

I did just that yesterday. First person that saw truck wanted to buy without even driving.. They drove 1hr and met me at dealer. Trade value/credit = sale price of $9000 giving me $900 tax savings.

So by finding a buyer and doing a Courtesy Trade I came out with a $9900 value rather than $7150....... An increase of $2750 or 38%..

Great benefit compared to straight trade-in. Not to mention the dealer did all documents, title transfer, etc at no cost!!

 

Brilliant!! I need to try that next time.

 

Man, I cannot believe someone paid $9k for a 2006 SC F-150 with 183k on it! That seems crazy. I'm not knocking your truck...it may have been in great shape and running well...but how many more miles will you get out of a 5.4L? Most of the 2006 F-150's up here have rotted out frames by now...

Nevertheless, great deal for you...congrats.

 

At the time of trade price it had 183K. By the time I listed and sold it mileage was 188.4K. But again..... doing a 500 mile search on Autotrader for 2006 F150 Lariat 4wd the average price was about $12450. When I listed originally at $10295 there was only one 2006 less/cheaper and it had 196K miles priced at about $9700. This was a mix of dealer and private seller listings.

I will say my F150 was extremely well maintained ...... by me. I did most all plug changes, fluid changes, shock changes, brake changes (with DOT3 flush), etc. All ball joints and front end components had been replaced at about 120,000. Truck steered and drove almost like factory or better. This was the magic 5.4L with the special head/plugs. I read and sweated over the TSBs for the plug change and read about it online for a couple of years. Finally at 105,000 miles, equipped with the Lisle spark plug removal tool, I started the plug change myself. Even going above and beyond the TSB, 7 out of 8 plugs broke. But I was able to get all 7 out with the Lisle tool. I changed plugs twice after that with no problem/broken plugs.

GY Duratracs only had about 10K miles. Rear shocks and all brakes had been changed 6 months ago. I put in a brand new 3-yr full replacement Motorcraft battery in yesterday AM (with receipt for replacement). I had 3 key fobs and 4 chipped keys. The transmission had been rebuilt about 20k miles ago by a professional 100% transmission shop.

Biggest factor..... I replaced the drivers bottom seat cover + cushion. The cushion cost $100 but it made a ton of difference in the looks and the feel sitting/driving. It was like adding a 2" lift and extreme shock absorber. The cushion was worth every penny.

And, I had an after market HD Bodyguard rear bumper that I put on a few years ago to protect me from texting drivers (after I got bumped in the rear for the 3rd time).

But, I did not have time to remove my onboard air system. Compressor under hood, tank on frame rail under passenger seat, quick connect on rear bumper. With my 35' coil hose I could hit every tire on truck and trailer. I used it several times a week (helping stranded motorist, law mower, etc. etc.). System kept a 115 psi charge of air ready to go 24/7/365. All I had to do was connect hose. Really wanted to remove this but I will build a totally new/better system on the F250 upon arrival. The guy buying my truck nearly wet his paints when I showed him the system. He decided to buy the truck before he knew it was on there. (I even used it one time with impact to pull my rear tires off, and with a nail gun doing a repair on the eve of my house).

Anyway....... based on Autotrader and my looking a dealer probably would have taken my trade at $6500 and priced it at $10000 or more and probably would have sold it for at least $9000. But after getting the $6500 trade quote at one dealer I was ecstatic to get $9000 trade credit where I ordered F250 with a $900 tax savings. Huge!!

 

It does sound like your 2006 truck was extremely well maintained, and down in LA where you are I imagine the frame was still totally fine.

 

BTW.... I thought the brand new MC 3-yr full replacement battery was a nice touch.

But.... I had ulterior motive.

This is the battery I pulled out that is only about 18 months old.

That battery will be going in my F250 day 1. I am totally sold on glass mats and this has better specs than anything else I've found. In the last 10-years since using these batteries in truck and boat........... I have never once had to clean a terminal or post, and I can let my boat sit for 9 months and crank it just like the last time. It never looses charge like the lead acid batteries.

I do find them on sale and picked up my last one for about $225 (same web site).

Anyway I sent off the F150 with good battery/warranty. But, I also kept my Odyssey glass mat.

 

Hey..I'm an Odyssey fan as well! I put the same battery in my 1992 Range Rover off-road rig some years ago. That truck only had a 100A alternator but was loaded with a lot of battery-draining accessories like power heated seats, heated front and rear windshields, heated mirrors, Hella halogen off-road lights...and a Warn XD9 9k winch. It ran everything like a champ, never had an issue. Great battery! I'll probably put in Odyssey's in my F-350 once the original batteries get weak...but I can't see replacing new batteries at this point. Odyssey is better than Optima, in my opinion.

Your truck did seem to be a good value. Most folks don't ever touch the brake fluid; a lot of time the front end is not taken care of either.

 

Odyssey did made the Sears Diehard Platinum II until a few years ago. If you looked at the Spec sheet for the Platinum II and Odyssey they were identical except one said Sears Diehard at the top and one said Odyssey Battery.

The great thing is you could buy the $300 battery that said Diehard Platinum for $180-190. The one in my boat is an old Diehard Platinum II (buy again an Odyssey with different label).

Anyway...... my brother just picked up a new boat (center console) and had battery issues. I tried to convince him to go with 3 new Odyssey's. He did go glass mat but he bought 3 Optima's. Oh well....... better than lead acid.

 

If I was still commuting with my current truck, I would definitely have gone with those Odyssey-made DieHard Platinum AGMs (930 CCA) three years ago when I bought new batteries. But the truck doesn't get used as much as before, and I don't know how much longer I'll have it, so I went with the DieHard Gold 880 CCA. Sears offered both with the 8-year pro-rated warranty.

 

Man, an 8 year warranty on a battery is incredible. Odyssey is only 5 years.

 

Agree....... but I've almost never had a lead acid last 5 years. Most of the time I was trading them in at the 2-3 year mark. This includes Interstate and other brands as well. And after 3 years (2 years on some manufacturers) you pay a differential pro rated amount based on age of battery. After trading in my 3rd 5-year battery inside of 5-6 years at an Exxon station I tried to simply get my money back for the value remaining on the current battery. They told me they couldn't do that........ that their system was really kind of like renting a battery anyway. You pay for one and then get a trade in value on the new one, etc. I left the battery and told him not me..... I want a 5-year battery to last 5 years. I know others have. I don't think I've ever had a 5 year battery last 5 years. I know.... some do. My brother bought a cheapo 3-year Wal-Mart battery one time that lasted 7 years. It happens.

The Odyssey, on the other hand ......... will last 8 years or more as my 2 past ones did. Most good glass mat batteries will. And during that time I never cleaned a battery connector or terminal/post, and never had to charge one to get it to work.

I have spent hours in my life cleaning battery corrosion.... wire brushes, wire wheels, etc. etc. then the baking soda etc etc., charging batteries after leaving unused for a period of time. Even using corrosion preventative sprays, etc. Never since going to glass mats.

And..... since there is no free "acid"..... the battery can be shipped to my door, no problem. I know they are not for everyone. But when I buy one I get what I pay for. No maintenance and continual dependability for the life of the battery. I never found that with any brand of lead acid battery.

 

I did exactly the same thing when I bought my F350. I had a 2016 F150 sport 2WD to trade in. I found a buyer and had them meet me at the dealership. The dealer did a courtesy trade for a small fee. This was a $30k+ trade so tax savings at 6% was plus I got $3,000 more from buyer worked out to significant savings for me.

The dealer did all the paperwork for both vehicles. The buyer of my F150 even got his first oil change and rotation for no cost. He was happy.

 

My buyer and I had to drive an hour to get to dealer......... but before we left he told me how nice it was that the dealer did everything. He and I didn't have to lift a finger...... except to sign a documents or 2. This was one of the best things about it.

 

My Odyssey PC1700MJT starting failing prior to the 5 year mark. I bought it online and those scumbags wouldn't talk to me, saying they no longer carried that model. A local brick and mortar store did warranty it for me, no questions asked, after they tested it and confirmed it was bad.

No corrosion is definitely a great benefit. I've been thinking about changing my batteries on my trailer from dual lead-acid 12 volt batteries to dual 6 volt Trojans but I'm not sure if I'm going AGM or sticking with lead-acid.

Getting back to the topic of selling a truck, the guy that bought my Titan last week walked away with a good Odyssey installed in the truck and an identical one that was still in the box, brand new.