OK, here's the deal. I currently have the two trucks in my signature. The '91 is a good ol' truck, but it needs the attention any 15 year old vehicle does. I love my '01, but I really could use a 4x4 crew cab long bed one ton... Which would allow me to let go of my '91, which I'm pretty sure I can close to double what I paid for it a year and a half ago (I've cleaned it up alot, and fixed alot of things on it).

Anyway, I've found (in an ad, haven't seen it in person yet) an '04 F350 XLT cc lb V10 automatic - just what I want, even in my color (white). Priced at $14K... the catch (of course) is that it has 128K miles. I did call, and the salesman said that it was a 2 owner, in excellent condition, and that they had maintenance records on it. He said if I'd come look and was interested he'd give me the previous owners phone number if I wanted to call... I didn't think to get a vin to run a carfax.

128K miles doesn't really scare me, I see no reason a well maintained V10 shouldn't be able to double that and more. It's just that I'd be trading off (or selling) a 57K mile truck that has performed flawlessly for the year and 17K miles I've had it. Should I let that scare me?

I've seen some 80K - 90K mile similiar trucks advertised for $20K... maybe down around $18K if they're a couple of years older. I'd really like to not have to put more money in the "new" one than the 2 old ones will bring, and I think I can do that, maybe even with a few bucks left over with this one.

Let me know what you think - I appreciate it.

 

Why.......?

 

Wow, 128K on an '04, I thought 95K on my '01 was a lot. I don't see how it's possible to put that many miles on a truck in that period of time, the previous owners must have lived in that thing. I'd be cautious if you are considering purchasing that truck. You could get lucky and have absolutely nothing go wrong with it while you own it, but are you willing to take that chance. It's good to know that the previous owner kept good maintenance records but even with that, 128K is still a lot of miles on an '04. 2 owners and 128K for an '04 isn't something that I would personally consider. Just my 2 cents.

 

If it has been well maintained, you can probably get another 100,000 miles out
of the V10, but the other parts, trans., ac compressor, and etc. will be failing soon
if they have not already been replaced. Drive the truck, talk to previous owner
and then make an offer based on what you think it is worth using Edmunds.com or
other sites to get the current value.

Jack

 

Get the VIN and go get an Oasis (from friendly Ford dealer) and CarFax report. Helps to make certain of what you are getting.

Also find out what the truck was used for. If it was for towing...more than 50% of its life, then walk away. The 14k sounds reasonable if it is the XLT or higher packages. These V10's are a buyers market right now due to fuel prices. So...you might be getting a GREAT deal for a great truck.

The V10 can last 200-250,000 miles easy, but as another has mentioned, it is the other components that might need attention. The 4R100 tranny, the ball joints, etc.

I hope it works out for you. Post back should you buy it...and create a gallery so we can all see.

biz

_______________________________
2003 F250 SD SC 142" XLT FX4 V10 Auto 4x4 3.73s

 

OK, fair question...

Why 4x4? - Feeding cows every day from November through March (at least), hauling fuel, seed and fertilizer over rough and/or plowed ground... Besides the fact that if it should ever decide to rain again, or snow much, we need a four wheel drive to get to town, even.

Why crew cab? - 3 kids; one 13 year old and two 7 year olds. We all fit in the super cab now, but it's gettin' pretty cozy. And we show cattle, so the family needs to fit comfortably enough to travel, in a truck that can pull 8 - 12K.

Why a longbed 1 ton - See above... And, my '01 V10 easily pulls anything I hook onto it, but I think the longer wheelbase and extra gvw would still be a good thing.

Right now I use the '91 for the farm, and the '01 on the road. It works alright, but we're starting to really need a crew cab to travel in. And it'd be nice to be able to trade the two trucks for one and get rid of maintenance, tags, and insurance on one. So the one truck has to be everything these two are now, if that makes any sense.

I agree 128K is alot on an '04, but it probably means they're almost all highway miles. If they're highway miles, not towing heavy, and it's well maintained, I don't think that's too bad. But those are all really big ifs...

I'm aware there are alot of things that are just going to wear out in a certain amount of miles/hours. I drove a '99 F250 sd 5.4 to 190K miles, with surprisingly few of those kind of problems (it was just 3 years old), but I know that's no guarantee.

The truck's at a Ford dealer, so I'm going to call tomorrow and see if they will fax me an Oasis on it. It's a good two hours away, so I need to know everything I can before I go look.

Honestly, the miles do scare me a little... If they didn't, I guess I wouldn't have asked about it here. It's not something I have to do - I can sit tight where I'm at, knowing that the trucks I have can do what I need. But I thought it could possibly be a good move...

Thanks for your input. I'll let you know if I find out anything else.

 

Ramblin'-
You looking for a cowboy cadillac or a work truck?

 

If you don't mind me throwing in my two cents worth.....

1) 128K miles in two years means the little wheels never stopped turning. I think it's safe to say this truck had mostly highway miles. The real question is, "hard" miles, or easy miles? That's the answer. Unfortunately, OASIS won't tell you much, because it rolled out of warranty pretty rapidly.

I have many customers knocking down 40-50-60K miles a yr. All are business rigs, and they're well-maintained (somebodies living depends on a reliable truck). I've bought a few of them myself over the years- something to think about.

Oh- 128K is nothing on a SD for miles, if it's maintained. I've got a few tow companies in the area running a few times that on the odo with minimum issues.

edit: if it looks good, try to get it for $11-12K.

 

lotsa miles, but other than that looks good, I'd kinda have to think since its a350, it might have towed something that many miles....

 

Not sure if I'd put my kids in a truck that has been driven an average of 175 miles a day for the past 730 days. Plus, pull cattle with it ta boot. Now maybe if it was just gonna be the farm truck...

Surely you can find something else out there?

 

Well, I talked to another salesman - he didn't send me an oasis, but he told me what it said. 3 tranny's in the first 100K. That's all I needed to know... I'll still be watching for another one, but as I've said, it's not something I absolutely have to do anytime soon.

Thanks everyone for your help.