Those of you guys whove been reading my posts know im having alot of problems with my '00 Ranger i recently bought, the list is so long its painful including a cold engine knock a trashed tranny, and a few leaks anyways im beginning to suspect its not a lemon problem but the problems youd expect from a ranger with 80-90k+ not 46k, i had 2 dash lights out so i pulled the dash apart and the sticker under the gauge assembly appeared as tho it was peeled off, that made me feel funny cause why had someone been in there i got the truck with 42k on it? maybe it fell off leaving half of it behind? umm not!
today i mentioned this theory to the guys at work and we were lookin at it and the front desk girl said "just look at youre steering wheel" its something i hadnt noticed Duh! it appears pretty bald around the top and just worn looking as does the gas pedal which sticks, yet the break and clutch look new.
i also have the firestone wilderness which all have a date code from 99 and they look like they could have 46k on em, not that the truck could have ridden on other rims, but they are the right tires to be the origional ones
so my question is what are some other clues to indicate the trucks actual milage, i already carfaxed it and the miles hadnt been stated since 2001 and it already had 18k. does the computer store the miles in it?
any ideas guys? thanks in advance
-Sam

 

I had a friend of mine that ended up in the same boat as you....with a truck showing low miles but lots of problems. Maybe take a look at it closely under the hood and around the undersides of the body. If this was in a wreck that was not reported car fax would not show it. Make sure there is no signs of other body repairs done and that all parts of the truck match. The gauges and dash could have even been from another truck with low miles replacing the one with higher mileage. Just a thought but very possible. Will be curious to what you find out. If you bought it at a dealer I would definately be having a long talk with the management there.

 

Or possibly the previous owner just did a very poor job of maintaining the vehicle and abused it as a work truck. I only say this because I am guilty of this being a self-employed contractor.

 

something is definately way fishey about the truck, the front bumber is painted and has alot of small rock chips in it, also has a couple dents on the bed rails and the tail gate has three deep scratches showing some moderate pickup truck abuse. I bought it 3 1/2 months ago, the dealer was no help 3 days after i got it they wont be any help now. They dont care once you sign the dotted line youre done,
its just soo odd my 75 has less problems with it and its been thru god knows what. the thing that bothers me the most is that those dealers do this stuff all the time, there were several used cars on deep discount with lower than usual miles on their lot, and of corse they told me up and down that it was fully inspected and wouldnt be on the lot if it was a lemon. well some red lights went off when the gas tank was on "E" so we couldnt go too far for the test drive but i still bought it.
trust your instincts
-Sam

 

One thing that I see here is the 18K miles in 2001 and it's a 2000 model. So when did carfax show initial registration and was it a one owner ride? Let's say the 18K was reported exactly at the one year of ownership point and it's one owner. To me, that would suggest possibly 18K miles X 5 years = 90,000 miles. Of course, I'm only speculating.

Things I look for to prove/disprove miles:

*Tire wear that doesn't jibe with the mileage. Ditto for tire replacement at a mileage that is not logical
*Worn pedals
*Worn seat uphostery, carpet, shift ****, radio controls
*Worn logo (painted letters) on PW, PL, etc buttons
*Wear on the ignition key
*Excessive paint chips
*How clean the underside is, ditto on the engine compartment. I hate it when they've been renovated.
*Excessively sand blasted windshield glass
*OEM muffler or has it been replaced
*Worn door hinges. You can lift the door at the bottom rear to test for this.

Too many of the above, put together, can raise big suspicion on "low mileage" vehicles. Lease returns, commercial vehicles, auto auction vehicles, and repos are also on my beware/walk away list.

 

The part about the lights behind the dash... I have a lot out and mine is an '01. I think there's just some electrical connection problems with that. A friend smacked the dash above my speedo and the light behind the 60-70 came back on, but it is back off again. Stupid MI roads...
My Ranger has 90k now, and I haven't got a lot of problems with it, but it's starting to show its age in a few ways. For example, the passenger door (manual locks) is sometimes a little difficult to shut, and locking/unlocking it with my key at times is difficult as well. The stereo area has some of the coating stuff rubbed off... but that started quite a few miles ago. That steering wheel thing you mentioned is really interesting, because mine isn't even showing that! My shift ****, however, is starting to show its age.
Good luck figuring everything out... hopefully it all works out for you!

 

I've bought two '98 B-series trucks with over 100k miles. Both had some small and moderate issues (like gauge bulbs out, clutch needing replacement), but were for the most part well kept (oil changes, driving habits, etc). I think this made the biggest difference, as I looked at several similar trucks (years/miles) that were in far worse shape mechanically and asthetically. I would buy a truck with 80kmiles that has been well kept over a truck with 20kmiles that someone has beaten the snot out of and/or not maintained (oil, fluids, cleanliness, etc).

You may be able to find evidence of tampering. Sorry you're having so many issues.

-Jim

 

went over coybobilly9mile's list today (good list by the way)
the under the truck has alot of grease and leak evidence toward the front, and in the back where the rear end leak has slung grease everywhere but its not bad. the engine under the hood is immaculate but im sure the dealer cleaned that real well, the interior is ok, its got platic floors and vynnal seats those last pretty well and look fair, except the drivers floor its kiny lifted and lumpy
the drivers seat belt is rather dirty and it doesnt retract so well, also the drivers side door lip's paint is comletely chipped off like it was opend into a stucco wall 100 times, so i dug further i pulled the kick panel trim on both sides and found alot of stuff...
a square pencil (like construction workers use) -this cant be good.
at least $2 in change
4-5 cigarette butts
lots of dirt and rocks
a fishing weight
and some gum wrappers
no oil change stickers to hint the milage tho
the cigarette lighter was full of ashes
and the passenger side seat had some type of a really good patching on it in the front bottom, hardly noticed it its a small spot but the pattern dont match the area its in
other odd things
the steering wheel has a deep little scratch in it and so does the shifter **** which is loose
the drivers side window has a funny chip in the top of it like it was rolled up on something
this truck was not taken care of very well obviously
damn...
im young and i guess ill have to learn from my mistakes, should have noticed this stuff at the dealer not 3 months later
thanks again guys
-Sam

 

Well, sounds like you found some evidence of bad maintenance. I know how it feels to get someone else's beater. But, you can look at it as an opportunity to turn this into a really great truck. A good interior cleaning and scrubbing will get that looking good. A little RTV on the shift **** will hold it tight. Get some touch up paint for the door edge or door edge guards that cover the chips. Then just go mechanically one project at a time. Pretty soon, you'll have an awesome, reliable truck and more importantly the experience of having done it yourself. And I bet next time you'll know what to look for to talk the dealer down a lot.

-Jim

 

yea thats probably what ill have to do
ive already priced some of the parts i need its all pretty cheap just irritating
front sway bar bushings
idler pulley
oil pan gaket
rear pinion seal
front coil spring
transmission..
then what ever causes my mystery occasional pinging, and once in a great while ill accellerate and it will feel like i ran out of gas, i take my foot off the gas and reapply and its like nothing ever happend
the only thing stopping me is the engine knock when its cold, the sound reminds me of a rod bearing sound that the old 360 in my 75 made befor it got replaced by its 429
but this sound is different. its only there when cold, and its wurst when its run for a few seconds then you turn on the heat or ac and the compressor kicks on (load?) but its faint and i dont have any oil fluctuation, ive treid to locate from where it comes from but it seems to resonate thruought the whole motor and if you rev it up it gets drowned out, or dissapears, maybe this is a normal sound? just a lifter? it really dont seem to come from the valve area and its not a tick its a knock.
anyone else hear this?
-Sam