I am looking at a 91 explorer manual it has 663000 miles on it and it wont go in Reverse or second but everything else looks good no dents in body interiors good except the dash is cracked he wants 500 cash do yall thank this is a good deal and also how much would it cost to get the tranny rebuilt

 

Is that a typo or is he really admitting to 2/3 of a million miles? My first thought is, with a 5 digit odometer, he must be pretty honest to admit to rolling over the odometer 6 times. Either that or the DMV has kept very careful records to document each time he turned it over. Either that or you meant to type in something else.

Whether or not I think it is worth $500 cash depends on whether or not that mileage is right. I would be hard pressed to buy anything with 2/3 of a million miles on it.

 

no that mileage is right so you dont think i should buy

 

you did get a chuckle out of me.

that sounds to me like you should pass.

 

660K miles is a lot of miles. I would be little surprised if a bad transmission is the only issue it has had. I would consider the purchase if the seller could tell me when the engine was last rebuilt, when the front end was last rebuilt, and when the rear end was last rebuilt and any other maintenance records. Any major system with more than 200-300K miles on it would need to be carefully inspected to see how much life it has left. Then factor in the cost of rebuilding that system. I don't know the M5, but I expect you will have to pay $1K-2K to rebuild it. If the engine has more than 300K miles, then it could very well need a rebuild soon (depending on how well it's been maintained) which runs $2K-3K.
On the other hand, if he's taken good care of it, and the rest of it has been rebuilt in the last 100K miles, then I would consider it.
Just for fun: Assume 17 years, 40Kmiles/year*17yrs=680K miles. 40Kmi/yr=3500mi/month. That means at least an oil change every month (maybe 2 where the mileage is likely highway miles).
I'd approach it carefully. I wouldn't completely dismiss it, but I'd be careful.

 

663,000 miles are enough to drive to the moon...and back...then back to the moon again. And staying there. ("Tranquility Base, your ride is here...")

If that mileage is correct, it's gotta be some kind of record. If the owner can document the mileage, he can probably sell it back to Ford so they can use it in a commercial.

I don't think I've driven that many miles in the 32+ years since I got my license. I think someone's having a little fun with you.

 

In addition to what everyone has pointed out, don't forget the 4x4 and radius arm bushings. Assume they will need work as well. When was the last time it was actually driven?

 

663,000 miles is one heck of alot of miles.
But, not unheard of. A local taxi company has a 90 Caprice with over 700,000 miles. But it's had 2 engines, 2 trannies, a rear end, and countless tires and brakes.

There are also some trucks that are state-owned that have close to that. Trucks that are driven every single day by at least 2 differant shifts.

If this truck wasn't commercial owned at some point, I'd be hard pressed to understand how a personal driver got that much miles in 15-16 years. Just to give you a better idea, let's break down the math.

663,000 Miles in 16 years.
That's 41,437.5 Miles per year
or 3,453.125 Miles per month
or 863.281 Miles per week.

I'm not saying it isn't possible, but it isn't likely. My father put about 1,000 miles a week on his car/truck for the better part of 6 months commuting, but that got old really quick, and he started car-pooling. 1,000 miles a week in commuting can be anywhere from 3-6 hours a day just driving back and forth to work everyday.

If you have ideas about building a project truck from the ground up, and this truck's frame and body are OK, then $500 isn't a horrible deal. But, if you expect to just pay $500, and put another $1,000 into it to make it a reliable car, then you are NOT going to be happy with it. With that high mileage (even if the mileage is really just half that) and the problems you mentioned, you're probably looking at a new tranny, maybe an engine rebuild, I'm sure there are electrical issues by now too, the brake and fuel lines will need replacing if they haven't been already, that suspension has probably taken a beating over the years, and the shock mounts may need attention, and all the bushings would probably need replaced, the rear differential will at least need flushing and new seals..... And more. You are looking at anywhere between $3,500 and $9,000 (price depends on your connections to get parts and work done cheap and your level of "Perfectionist") to make it a worthwhile truck.

Now, if you want to build an off-roader or something that will require a ground up project, then you might have a decent base to start with.

 

buy it for 100 bucks as a parts vehicle or don't buy it at all.