Good evening y'all. Well as it is told, everything is for sale and I was offered $35k for my '15 model F-150 so like a good little boy, I sold it. Yes buyer was aware that there was a difference in it's worth versus his offer but-it's gone. Now, I am Ford-less and currently putting around in my wife's Optima. I stumbled across a good looking F-250 and I have had an eye out on those powerstrokes for a while now. It is an '08 FX4 with the 6.4 in it. Has 175k and trans was rebuilt at 164k. I did some generic homework and went to KBB and the best price for private party purchase that I could produce was to the tune of about $16k....he wants $22,500 so there is a big gap. Before I noodle with this fella, is there anything I should know about the 6.4? Problematic like I read regarding the 6.0? I don't want to be hit with the nickel and dime stuff, I just want a good truck at a fair price. I'm done with the $40k purchases until I get these kids raised.

 

I am no expert on 6.4s by any means, but from what I've read on here and other places and heard about them from owners, it's a toss up if you get a good one or not. From my understanding, the emissions(EGR, DPF) kills these motors. Deleting and running a mild tune does help, but if someone slapped a 300hp tune on there and ran the **** out of it, I don't think thats any better than leaving it stock with all the emissions stuff on. You said you don't want to be nickled and dimed...typically when a 6.4 breaks, you'll be breaking out $100 bills. All that being said, I know a couple people who have 6.4s (both of their trucks are tuned and deleted) and they have had no major issues with the motor or trans. As with any diesel, maintenance is key (and also expensive). I'd see if the guy has maintenance records and I'd also ask about the trans rebuild. The transmission behind the 6.4 is pretty damn bulletproof. If it broke, it might be because he towed heavy or he tuned it and ran the **** out of it. I'm not trying to scare you from buying the truck, but just know that diesels are very high maintenance motors. I will say that when 6.4s are running right, they are fun trucks to drive and will pull just about anything you put behind them. Hope this helps .

 

I don't want to rain on your parade, but $22K for a ten model year old vehicle with 175K miles is WAY too much! And to add insult to injury that 6.4L will not be nickels and dimes to repair, in the event of anything that let's go. More like remortgaging your house would just about sum things up. Let's see, crankcases that "make" oil, repeat radiator failures, over fueling injector(s) that lead to melting or cracked piston(s), frequent regens resulting in single digits fuel consumption, and on and on.... Need I go on? I'll take a 6.0L any day of the week over a 6.4L. A 6.0L with problems won't cost you nearly as much as a 6.4L with problems. I've said it before, and I say it again. The 6.4L ran for model years '08, '09 and '10 for the Super Duty lineup. That's three model years too many.

Your '15 F-150 was ten times the better truck than that '08 6.4L will ever be. '08 is probably easily the most problematic year for the Super Duty.

 

X2 on that. Glad you said it so I didn't have to!!

 

I would heed the advice from m-chan68 the man knows what he is talking about when it comes to Ford trucks and especially the diesels.

Let me ask you this, do you need a diesel? You are coming from an F150 why would you be looking at a diesel truck? This is not an attack it's more of trying to figure out if you need a diesel for a truck? If you seriously needed a diesel I would tell you to look at a 6.7, now a 6.7 isnt going to be cheap but it would be better than a 6.4 to purchase in my opinion.

If you need the ability to pull a travel trailer or equipment trailer or want to buy a fifth wheel down the road to tow have you given a thought to a 6.2 Superduty?

The 6.2 can tow and it will pull with no issues, and it is cheaper maintenance wise vs a diesel truck for oil changes etc and if you doing short or long commutes it wont matter because your running a gasser, with a diesel, they dont like short commutes because they dont have time to do their regens.

A 6.4 is not a truck you can cut corners on, you have to use the ford oil and fuel filters and you have to do your oil changes religiously, but it also requires a lot of monitoring of egts, trans temp, coolants temps etc. and it's not a truck where your going to climb under the hood and repair a lot, a lot of 6.4 engine work is cab off and that can mean some big dents in your wallet.

If your hell bent on a disel, do not put any money down or sign a deal until you have the truck inspected, and I dont care if the guy shows you an inspection that says its awesome unless that inspection is from a Ford dealer and even then I would take that inspection to the dealer that did it and ask them what they all did. If your seriously looking at a 6.4 ask the seller to meet you at A Ford dealer and have a Ford dealer look under and over the truck and test the trucks with IDS, IT MAY COST YOU A COUPLE HUNDRED TO HAVE THEM LOOK AT IT BUT IT COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS DOWN THE ROAD.

Now the thing is if you get a 6.4 that someone rode hard , you could be getting someones problem child, and the 6.4 is brutally expensive parts wise because Navistar still has their hands in the pockets of 6.0 and 6.4 owners. You really need to read up on the issues that 6.4 can have and the costs and what it takes to repair them before you throw your cash down on one.

Seriously, if you need a diesel go and look at a 2012 and up 6.7 but I would advise you to pass on the 6.4 and if your going to buy a 6.4 you need to start banking cash in case of any emergencies thata re engine related with the truck cause the bills for those repairs can add up quick!

I would advise you to look at a 6.2, I own two of them and they are great truck and have absolutely been dead on workhorses and are cheaper to maintain than a diesel and cheaper in repairs IMHO.

W ere just giving you our two cents and opinions it's still up to you what you do, but your free to ask questions and we will do our best to answer for ya.

 

Thanks guys, all of this is great as I expected. I'll answer what a few have asked and the main one is why I want/need a diesel. First off, I like the look of the trucks so thats where anything begins. Secondly, we have discussed a camper in the near future so my first thought was "justification for my powerstroke". However, after reading this and talking to my old man about it, I'm going to hold off on it. The 08 that I found caught my eye based on looks, the price tag however was way high as this truck books at 15k give or take. My quest now is to find a 150 to replace the one I just parted ways with (miss that truck-not the payment) and pay cash for it for now. After all, with 2 little ones at home and one in college, freeing up funds is always the goal. Again, thank you all for taking time to respond in great depth and steer me in an educated and likely less problematic direction.

 

I was like you in that I liked the looks of the Super Dutys and wanted a diesel. But after reading about the labor of love to maintain them and the added expense, I chose to go with a 5.4 and am very glad I did. I had a hiccup when I first bought mine but it's been fantastic ever since and I've realized a diesel for me would've been complete overkill. So don't rule out the gasser if you want a Super Duty

 

do you need diesel
do you need 4x4.

or tricked out interiors...?

check around for a fleet/least large truck dealer.. they also have 250/350 trucks.. gas and diesel..

I needed a truck to pull a 10,000 pound trailer
I found a nice fleet 2012 F250, 6.2L Gas with 2 wheel drive an "XL" model. for 16k... 2 years ago.