I am looking to buy a ranger extended cab with 4x4 have about 6500 I can spend. Been looking on ebay and I cant believe the miles that are on these trucks and what they are bringing, is it me? Personally I would like to find an older ranger with fairly good miles on it. I like the old body style alot better. Havent found a decent older one yet, I have looked everywhere on the internet. Would also consider a nice Bronco 2.

 

Eh, New York. So you're used to searching a long way for good autos frugal to own there? Still, have you picked up an actual Autotrader at a convenience store? I also think good Ranger deals tend to be seasonal at least in Michigan. Shoot, much of SE Michigan is FORD country and still hard to find ones I like. Worth it, though. That being said, you can still expect many issues to fix in that range to make it good. Good Rangers can be pretty costly to get.

 

Yh, I see that.

 

You don't find many Rangers being sold because they are worth keeping! You can probably make a better deal on buying new right now with all the incentives in place. I did!

 

Yh but the payments, dont need them but thanks.

 

Can't help with what they cost, but if you're shopping for a truck in NY, the worst spot for rust, as far as I know, is the radiator support panel, behind the grille. That's where it seems to start, and where it gets worst fastest. Take a good look there if you're buying a northern truck.

 

What years are you looking for the 93-97 older styles. if thats so, just come down to the allentown region. a bunch of them are for sale right now down here. Check out cars.com, and do a search for the ranger within a 50 mile radius of 18080. there are alot of good one sittin ther, but most are near 100,000 miles.

 

Also try Autotrader.com. Seems fairly common however that good ones are gone either before or not long after they hit the 'net. It's a question of good timing. If not going private seller route sometimes you just have to stay on top of the dealer inventories and see what trades are coming in. You want to catch the ones that come in before they might decide to wholesale them since many of them only want late models and they might not keep trucks from the early 2000's and back. If you get a line on one you typically can get a decent deal because they were just going to wholesale it anyway, so any money above book is better than they would get at the auction.

Oh yeah and I agree, radiator support panel is a rusty pain in the behind. You can get the grill off to fix some of it but without taking all the front end stuff off its hard to get everywhere there may be rust. I'd be interested if anyone has solutions. Next spring I may think of covering the whole darn thing with undercoat spray or something.

 

That's how I got the '03 Edge. All around not bad, but they would have sold that one on the lot anyway.

 

Remember where all the dealers are within say 20 miles radius and scour them. You're probably going to select one that would never be advertised anyway in an ad. I look over perhaps 20-30 Ford Rangers every time I need one. Test-drove a Camaro RS last time 'round... Fun, but no good as DD.

 

Same. Was calling on another truck I saw, which was sold, and sales guy told me about on that had just come in on trade. They said they had not prepped it and were not sure if they would keep it or wholesale it. I carfaxed it then drove 2.5 hours to check it out. Traded in on a Friday, sold on a Monday. Got a good deal since I saved them both the prep and auction hassle. Timing was everything.

 

If you wouldn't mind a bronco II, it's a buyers market for them, they sell really cheap, but since they haven't made them for so long, it's hard to find low mileage ones, but there's alot on ebay with good bodies. You find the good deals when your not looking, set tight, one will come along.

 

Bronco 2 is my first choice if I can find a good one!

 

You can hit on an older Ranger in good condition at the stealership. They come in on trades alot. However, I'd say chances are slim/none you'd see a B II. Maybe try Hemmings.

 

I have...really I looked EVERYWHERE.