I'm going to jump on the v10 bandwagon given your budget, shy away from the 5.4 as at least mine was extremely reliable but a bit underpowered. If you can increase your budget and are totally sold on a diesel recommend a '14 - '16 6.7 - although I have a '13 6.7 and have not had an issue with it.

 

 

Sounds like decent truck. Has the 7.3 engine, which are reliable engines and pre-date the DEF or common rail injectors. I sold a 96 F350 with similar mileage a few years ago and would not have been worried about taking a trip in it.

Before purchase, have you mechanic check it over good...brakes, coolant, transmission etc. Make sure you test out the 4x4 functions prior to purchase.

After purchase, If it was me, I would have the trans fluid and filter changed, oil and filter change along with new fuel filter.

 

I hate rust, but know many can not avoid it. In particular, I do not believe in there being such a thing as "a little" rust, or that the spread can be "easily stopped."

But yes, that engine if well maintained will likely have a lot of life still in it. I use a general rule of setting aside an extra $5,000 to refit a used vehicle. Brakes, tires, shocks, fluids, whatever else is needed. Sounds like it needs a few repairs. The non-functional gauges concern me. In particular, EGT not working makes me very curious what temps it would read. Also the tranny.

But on a quick look, the truck looks pretty good. I can't help determine if the price is reasonable for it, but it does look like a candidate for refurbishment.

 

 

 

 

 

Fleet vehicles may be low miles but high hours (idling time). That is not entirely bad, as there is often less wear on the interior, suspension, and a lot of the running gear.

At some point, the newer trucks got the ability to look at idle hours through the vehicle computer. Something to check for on those.

 

 

Unless you have an awesome paying job or deep pockets I would stay away from a diesel. Its just a matter of time before you have to replace a fuel injector.
Using this link as reference even if labor costs is low, the parts costs for the average Joe VERY high.
https://repairpal.com/estimator/ford...placement-cost

Also I worked at a GMC dealership years back & it was only about 100$ for a vehicle inspection report. A mechanic wants to make money & will look everything over
to the best of his ability.

Just some thoughts I have a 03 5.4 with 184K on the clock & love it. I occasionally tow & its usually always a short distance.
But I love knowing that I'm not sucking v-10s worth of fuel when I drive it to work or across town. I did add a K&N air intake (about 150$, installed myself) & high flow exhaust (140$ installed) for a little more power. It was also a must for me to have 4x4, for peace of mind & we have had bad winters in the past. (Northern Washington)

But! If I was hauling long distances I would of considered something bigger than the 5.4. But if your talking an occasional tow maybe something to consider.

 

It would help to know if its an early or late build 99...the later had some upgrades.
My 99 i paid $10k with 180k miles. I put $8k into it before even putting it to work. A year later the transmission spun a bearing..and it was the ZR6.
Overall the 99 - 2003 were decent. The auto trans were weak though

 

I should add I payed 9,300-500? for mine. At the time 2ish years back that was just slightly below Kellee Blue Book value.

Also put probably 2-400ish dollars into it for changing out all the fluids/ spark plugs/ fuel filter/ smaller items. For the peace of mind & I plan on keeping it a long time.
If you payed a shop to replace fluids I'm totally guessing 5-800ish dollars? You may not even care?

Because I'm curious be neat if you let us know what you end up getting and or have questions about!

 

I've been following this thread on and off, and will now finally jump in and put in my two cents worth. As a long time current Ford dealership technician (working at Ford dealerships since 2000, and other brand X dealers since 1994), also a fellow Ontarian (live in Brampton, work in Toronto), I can tell you that $10,000 is a very low budget to work with, to source out a truck to meet the needs you describe. I'm going to jump into the camp to suggest against buying a diesel truck as well. EVEN IF, you are capable of doing your own wrenching (which by the sounds of things you're not), the cost of diesel engine parts is going to be very hard on finances. For the age of truck of your intended purchase, it is inevitable that said truck is going to need repairs. If the cost of injector(s), higher cost of oil changes, and other diesel engine related parts by themselves aren't expensive enough, the rest of the other items on the truck will more than make up for it. As far as anyone telling you that diesel is "better on fuel" blah blah blah, don't buy into it. Not only as a Ford dealership technician turning wrenches on them (and other vehicles wearing the blue oval) for a living, but also as the current owner of a 2016 F-250 6.7L Diesel (and previous owner of a 2007 F-250 6.0L Diesel), I can tell you first hand that these vehicles are not misers on fuel. And anyone who buys, owns or uses them expecting them to be are living in a fantasy world in my opinion. My personal 6.7L truck gets me on average 13 mpg of daily driving usage. On straight highway use, the best I've managed thus far is only 18 mpg. Although I will admit, I have a heavy right (it's hard to have 440 HP/860 FT-LBS. and not using it). Having said that, a truck within your $10,000 budget is going to get substantially worse mileage during normal use, especially when towing (and I don't care if it's gas or diesel). Does your budget allow that?

 

While I normally would advocate anyone interested in getting into the diesel scene to get a 7.3, for your price range I'd almost echo what has been said previously about a newer gasser. The newer 6.2s I have heard tow fairly well up to 10k, but I have no personal experience with towing on that platform.

What I do have experience with, however, is the 7.3 in my signature. In fact a week or two ago I actually hauled a 10k load of stone with my truck (Grossed out to 21k#) and my 7.3 handled the load pretty well - would've done better had the loader not put all the weight in the back of the trailer. The way he loaded me ended up taking 1000# off my rear axle so I was bouncing a bit when hitting larger bumps. A big thing to keep in mind is that if you do end up getting a 7.3, it will be one of the easiest diesels to learn to turn wrenches on. The parts to make them reliable and keep them on the road are cheap when compared to the newer diesels and the theories behind how everything works (and what is required to make them start/run) are fairly easy to learn. Like with anything, though, you can still sink a lot of money into the truck no matter what. With everything I have in my truck, I have a good daily-driver that gets 17city/21hwy mpg (pre-single shot injectors) and can also pull the paint off the wall. Again, it took quite a bit of money to get it there though.

One thing I will definitely suggest, is not to settle/rush into it. I found my 7.3 after roughly si?) months of searching for exactly what I wanted. Nearly every time I drive the truck it puts a smile on my face and wouldn't hesitate to take it across country in its current state.

If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM, would be more than happy to answer any questions whether it be about a 7.3 specifically or you just want another opinion from some random guy on the internet. Just remember that no matter what you do get, we want pictures of the new ride!