Greetings, brain trust! I’m jumping back into the SD world (I’ve owned a 1999 SD 7.3 CC F250 and 2001 Ex Limited 7.3), and am solidifying opinions:

Contender A:

A 2000 F250 crew cab 4x4, Lariat model, auto, V10 (original owner) with a solid history. It’s blown out a could of plugs years ago. Passenger side doors need work to open from the outside, and there’s some rust to contend with. Fuel tank reads empty at 1/2 tank. 245k miles

Contender B:

2000 F250 ext cab, 4x4, V10, manual, XLT model. Some rust, new clutch, original owner. 250k miles.

Contender C:

2004 F250 XLT, 4x4, V10, auto. 2nd owner, aftermarket rims and tires (unknown size). 259k miles.

Contender D:

2005 F350, 6.0, auto, Lariat, 275k miles.

opinions on what to get/stay away from?

 

It's going to be hard to give a real opinion, little to no history, no pictures, etc, etc.
It really depends on what you're going to be using the truck for, V10 is a decent motor, but depending on how it was actually maintained, at 250K +/- it could be coming to the end of it's life or it could possibly go another 100K, who knows? I guess without seeing or hearing them or driving them I myself would vote for the 2000 with the new clutch, just for the simple reason that the auto's already have high mileage and most people don't service their transmissions as they should..

 

I'd stay away from the 6.0, their reputation precedes them for a reason. The v10 is solid, has a few issues but nothing as bad (or expensive to fix) as the 6.0. Personally, I'd go for the crew cab truck over the extended and regular cabs.
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Minor correction- the 2000 manual is a 5.4 vice 6.8...

 

my 03 F350 4x4 has the 5.4L, it's a strong runner, but it won't win any races. 137K on it, pulls my little dual axle trailer like it's nothing hauls heavy loads in the bed. But it would be no match for the v10. Although with a standard shift I bet it has a little more nuts coming off the line than my 4r100.

 

Are you wanting it to last for a few years? 250k on a gasser is getting into the lean years. 250k on a 5.4 is going to a pretty tired motor. 6 blows, that's all about how its been taken care of, egr delete, studs, programmer for the delete. If the diesel has been maintained and the issues mitigated its probably the best of the bunch listed, it also has the 5r110w which is stronger and lower possible issues than the 4r

 

Which of the trucks has the best maintenance records? At this age/mileage/timeline it’s all just chance . Getting one that has maintenance and repair records could mean the difference between spending 10k on a truck or 10k plus a immediate 3-4k on repairs.
i know a lot of people din5 like extended cabs. I haven’t needed a crew cab for 30 years. I recently grabbed one cause I got multiple dogs and it was dirt cheap.
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i had the same aversion to 6.0 diesels. But it’s 20 years later…..most have either been completely fixed or at least some bullet proofing work was done. I bought a 6.0. Im the process of doing a full bulletproof and going through it bumper to bumper.

personally I would stay away from anything

with rust and bodywork issues (for me rust to a car is cancer to humans. Expensive to get rid of)
with no records of maintenance regardless how slight (this shows a complete lack of care. Even the most absent minded owner is gonna have some receipts.)
multiple owners with short ownership time. (To me this shows a vehicle that has a lot of issues or was a flip car)
anything that’s wrecked or salvaged (unless you’re buying it to rebuild. Some guys don’t mind salvage. I would want to see the car pre repair, who did the work abd have the work inspected. Even then I don’t care fir salvage vehickes).

 

I would stay away from all of them.

these are all 20+ year old trucks with super high miles.

unless you need a hobby and are being paid to tow it off the lot.

V10's and 5.4's are great engines when young. I would skip the 5.4 in a truck. the V-10 has a lot of HP and only lacks in TQ. if the maint was done under a severe duty schedule (severe duty is about half the hours and miles of regular duty) that would be a plus.

the 6.0 needs a approach to keep happy. the fuel system injectors are oil pressure driven. nice diesel sound but unless you have 0W40 or 5W40 you are not going be able to start it in the cold. most folks put 15W40 in it becuase thats a mans oil. head gaskets are a problem and you will need to replace the studs with ARP studs. the injectors stick open and will blow a hole in your pistons like a tourch cutting thru cheese. there is a problem with the cooling system that involves excessive air accumalation in coolant cavities...coolant circulation is effected and you will get hot spots on your cylinder walls leading to cracks. to prevent this...there is a mod that puts a fitting on the top rear of the block and runs a hose to the tee the goes to the coolant recovery tank...this purges the air. if you dont get the air out the air out, your water pump will cavitate and when the water pump hosing developes a hole from cavitation the coolant will leak into your oil and you will be running a light tan milk shake that will spin all your bears. the EGR is a new experiment that will rust and result in a hole that will leak coolant into your intake system via the egr piping...this will hydo lock your engine and spit your crank. the 6.0 was designed by international for school bus use. ford decided to stop making engines and out source. the 6.0 was never intended to be run on an emmissions vehicle. this is the 2nd scariest motor to own besides the 6.4. BUT, if i could get a garage queen with low miles and hours , I would buy it and do all the preventive mods (known as bullet proofing) and then run the engine into the ground.

 

Got a link to that coolant T mod? I just bought a 6.0 and in the process of doing a full bulletproof soon. It already has studs

 

I've been in the 6.0 world for a long time and this is the first time I've ever heard of this being an issue. Do you have a link?

And FYI TooManyToys over in the 6.0 forums has pretty much debunked the head bolt issues. Its actually a head tenting issue...the studs don't really fix anything.

 

After 20 years of the 6.0 brig oit in the market pretty sure that they got the quirks and issues with the 6.0 ironed out. It’s more service intensive than the 7.3 imo but I wouldn’t be afraid of one today

 

when I had a 6.4 I spent a lot of time watching powerstroke help.com videos. bill goes into great detail on 6.0 problems and fixes. People drive from all over the country to take their 6.0 to his shop in Georgia.

 

exactly. There are plenty of shops that can make the 6.0 reliable where you’re not at the edge of your seat when you drive it. When 6.0s first started being plagued with issues I was glad I didn’t buy it.
today…I bought one a few months ago. I did extensive research and looked at multiple videos and what it costs as far as DIY and shop cost and truthfully I plan on doing a bullet proof and getting it reliable and driving it. While I still have two 7.3s I need a crew cab now as my extended cabs are getting to be marginal for long distance driving. And if it breaks it breaks. You can buy a new car and eventually it’s gonna be out of warranty and it’s gonna cost to repair it .

buying a used car isn’t something to be afraid of. If the car was well maintained with records and receipts of the maintenance and repair performed and yiur mechanic gives it a thumbs up after a inspection i would buy a used truck. Hell even if you had ti dump 20k in a engine deans interior and paint it’s still only 1/4 of buying a new truck.
6.0s at one time we’re a nightmare for Ford and owners. Today if it’s maintained and doesn’t look like a Mad Max movie set reject I wouldn’t be as hesitant to buy one. Dont get me wrong I still like my 7.3s

 

The 6.0's aren't bad if you're mechanically inclined and have the ability to lift the cab if you need to do major engine work, otherwise, shop labor rates are gonna drain your wallet..

Seeing how the gassers are all around the same mileage, it's gonna come down to maintenance/repair history and overall condition. I'll take a well maintained, high mileage, truck over a clapped out lower mielage truck or one that just had a bunch of parts thrown at it to sell it.

 

Look for a 2013 or later 6.2.
Worth the money.