My father in law Gary has a nice ford F150 its equipped with ac and its 4x4 it has the manual transfer case and the truck looks good for its age. However Gary drives the truck hard and neglects it often. the truck has 4 mismatched tires with hardly any tread and i am sure the oil hasn't been changed in 4 months he says its a ford it will last forever. Now not blowing smoke up your backends but i have seen Gary go places in this truck that i wouldn't take a tank and it comes out unharmed. The reason for this post is that Gary is planning on selling the truck and it pains me to think it wont stay in the family this truck after all brought my wife to our wedding( yes my wife got out of a 4wheel drive in a wedding dress and yes we are of the southern persuasion) So i am considering purchasing this truck the asking price is $4,000 dollars now my wife and i both know that we could get a nice truck probably nicer than this one for that amount of money however you take a risk of buying something you know nothing about and i know all about this truck. My question is what could i possible be getting into when purchasing this truck i know the worse thing could be a new engine or tranny but other than that is their anything else that could passably cause me alot of grief and need replacing. like i said this truck has been the most dependable truck that i have ever seen. what do you guys think knowing that its been driven hard should i just let it go?
thanks in advance i just feel passionate about the truck and was wondering what you guys think?

 

i bought my 92 f150 for 1000 a few months ago, but it is 2wd and the ac doesnt work. my truck runs like a top and i put a some new front end parts in so it drives really tight. drive your father in law's truck and see how bad the front end is and if the motor/tranny seems to be operating correctly. 4000 sounds a little high price wise. it might be time to let the truck go.

 

i forgot to mention that the truck is a supercab shortbed. anyone else have any comments on the 4,000 price tag

 

Well you didn't say what the mileage is. Regardless 4k is a little steep I think.

 

Thats too much to pay for that truck. If you did pay that you would be paying for the sentimentality of it. Can you not get a better price being family or is he just one of those stubborn older southerners.

 

$4000 is wayyy to much i paid $350 for my '94 f150.
Granted it has 245k+ and needs some front end work, 4K is too much. How many miles,hows the body? 2k is the absolute most i would pay.

 

That sounds like a whole lot of $$ for the truck, but I think you already know that. Knowing history (good and bad in this case) is a plus. Even adding for sentimental value still makes that a stiff price though. Just plan on never getting your money back out of it...never ever, no matter what. On a side note, I hope your inlaws aren't like mine were. The first time that beat on, poorly maintained old overpriced truck craps anything, it would have been all my fault for abusing that 'perfect' pickup they 'let me steal for a song!'

 

$4k is WAY too high, like dasvigo said it would be just for the sentimental reasons

I paid $4k for a VERY clean 92 F150 XLT 4x4 Shortbed with 85k miles, and that was back in 2003.

I think a realistic price for it, given the way you say it is driven and (not) maintained, is more like $2500 and thats only if the body and interior are in good shape and the mileage isnt astronomical.

 

First: Believe me that I do understand the "sentimental value" side of hanging on to vehicles...have a friend with 2 cars (not Fords) that he hangs on to just because they belonged to his now-deceased father even though he could sell at least one of them and generate some much needed cash (he's not working). My '99 Ranger had a lot of sentimental value to me as well, but alas, I'll never see that truck again.

As has already been said, that price is high for that truck. $2500 -$2750 might be more realistic depending on body and interior condition as well as mileage. I'd say that if he's going to be stubborn about that $4k price, as much as it would bother me to do so I'd just let it go. Driven hard and seemingly slackly maintained, you may end up putting a ton of work into it on top of a steep purchase price...may not be worth it even with the sentimental value.

 

I paid $5000 for a 95 F-150 2wd single cab XL in 2/08. It had 95,000 miles, and Ford had replaced the motor at 38,000. The sheetmetal is perfect, and even the bed had few scratches. It was always garaged, and had a fiberglass shell.
my point is that you get what you pay for. My daughter just wrecked her 97 F-150 SWB single can with 140,000 and scratches in the paint. Insurance gave her $6,200. Maybe it's because I'm in California?

 

$4000.00 ??? WOW.... He's not doing anybody any favors is he??
There is no way I would even consider this truck at that price....
family or not.... sounds like you could get a better truck from a complete stranger for a better deal here.... I would just think it over

 

bought my 94 for 750. its a i-6 4x4 5 speed. thats the truck i wanted from the start. however it needed a transmission,ball joints,wheel bearings,u-joints, a tune up,a fuel injector,and a rear end rebuild. i did all the work myself. after all those parts i now have a truck thats going to last me another billion miles.runs and drives absolutely beautiful with 240k.i wouldnt get rid of mine for anything(beides a powerstroke) 4000 is wayyyyy to much. give him 1500 bucks.

 

I talked to him today and we have reached an agreement of $2500. The trucks worth that because i drove it today and it does drive good and the interior is great a few dings in the body but no rust.

 

I'd say that's a more reasonable price. If you drove it and you're satisfied with everything - then good luck and enjoy it.

 

i still think thats a little high but it seems like it means alot to you. go for it.