I'd find a better deal. That is about $1500 more than the truck is worth. I gave up on buying my last ride from a dealer. Find a individual with a truck you like & save your money. I found a clean 03 Ranger for $5000.Dealers wanted $7800 to $8500 for the same truck. Mine has 105,000 miles but it had a Ford re manufactured long block just installed. I got it with the break in oil in it. Don't rush to buy a truck. Watch the want ads & get a good deal. I paid $10,000 below the loan value on my F250. A friend was in a bind & sold it to me for the loan payoff.

 

Why does it seem the dealers are marking up everything 3to4 thousand dollars. I could understand say 2000 and let you talk it down to 1500 and everyone is happy. You keep going back to get a fair deal. Very disappointed in the prices and the high miles for the price. If i don't find the right one soon i may be in trouble the wife she's now looking cars also. She found today while i was working a 2001 taurus with 44,000 miles, asking price $6600. I do have a buddy with a 2004 52,000 miles that he wants to sell to me. I offered him $7000 cash and my 1993 ranger. He laughed and walked away.

 

Having owned my F150 4x4 for a limited amount of time (about 3 months now), I am not the person to give you a durability review at this point. However, I did do a lot of research of all the major trucks prior to buying my used F150 XLT 4x4 5.4L extended cab. Overall, I was like you, looking for a dependable truck with reasonable capacity inside & out with minimal problems. Over the couple months of research, I decided upon the Ford F150. Now, I must say, I was partial to the Fords to begin with but after looking over the problems that the varying competitive trucks were experiencing compared to the Ford, I couldn't ignore that data. The problems I saw with the competition were usually more major issues (i.e. transmission, engine, transfer case, etc....) while the Ford issues usually were more minor issues that could just be a nuisance if left un-repaired. As for my personal experience thus far, I haven't had but one issue thus far & that is posted here about a probably faulty window switch & I bought it that way. Other than that, the truck has driven well in any weather we've had here in Wisconsin & never failed me yet. Anyway, I hope this helps. Either way, do your homework & good luck!

 

Id say that price isn't a bad starting point but I'd be more inclined to look at that truck if it had the 5.4L rather than a 4.6 (you didn't specify). The other issue of buying a 4x4 at this time of year, depending on where you are, is that winter weather makes people shop for 4x4's. They know this because most people think, "well, if we are going to get a truck, we may as well get a 4x4 for the weather". So.... they know they don't have to be too flexible with the price. Just be ready to walk if you don't feel you are being treated fairly.

 

i work at a dealer, and they are not all made the same. some of the extra cost is the warr. the dealer puts on the truck i.e. 30 day. at my dealer anything that happens in those 30 days is at the dealer expense. some of the other money (at mey dealer at least) oil change, inspection and wash & detail. oh and free oil change. i am not say go buy from a dealer just trying to shed some light on were some of the cost comes from.

 

Thanks Mish, i've given up on the 97 for now. If they call and fix some things and work on the price i'll think about it again. Yes, i would be more interested in the 5.4L and i don't need 4x4 just most around here have that. I agree benningstspeed1.0 if the dealer is a good one they may not hide the things that need fixed. A private party truck may have some issues that are not out in the open. Do you think the bigger the dealer the bigger the overhead the bigger the profit needs to be? I should find a small car lot smaller bills and they need less profit. Makes since to me. I saw a four door F-150 on craigslist for $8000 but no year or motor size was given. So i emailed and asked for more information. It looked really nice though. I'll let you guys know thanks again.

 

Nobody NEEDS a 4x4... well most people.... but if you are getting a truck, especially if you live in an area where you get snow, a 4x4 is always a welcomed addition. The 5.4L does make a big difference & for 8k, it should have a 5.4L (unless you are talking a super clean, low-mileage, 4.6). Lastly... & not to insult your intelligence or anything.... be careful with Craigslist & trucks. While I was looking for my truck, I found two ads that had very nice trucks & the owners were both "in the Military" & "shipping out soon for Iraq/Afghanistan" & the trucks were in another state (even though they originally said they were in my area). When I contacted them, they "assured" me the truck was sound & once I sent them the payment, they'd ship the truck to me all inclusive of the price. When I pressed them to look at the truck & stated that I would be in the area, the replies stopped. To... make sure you see the truck & know it is actually available & not some scammer.

 

Hey Mish, you are right on spot with the trucks from craigslist. I got an email back on the 8000 dollar truck. They want to do the deal through email and if there is a problem they will call me. All i need to do is email them my full name and address for billing purposess. So no i wont be doing that and another lesson learned if they don't have a number to call don't bother. No worries about insulting me. My intelligince is questioned everyday at work. I'm getting used to it. Thanks for the advice, again you were right.

 

Very high i pad 5000 for a 99 but it had like 150000 miles, but thats extremely high

My uncle got about 260000 miles on his 5.4 and bout 10,000 miles it was NOT pulling a bobcat, he owns a construction business, other than the 04-08, the 5.4 is a great engine!

 

I've got 75,000 mi. on my 2001 F150 4x4 and I've had to dump a lot of money into it repairing theings that should never have failed. I am a middle age guy who does not abuse equipment. Do yourself a favor and buy a Toyota.

 

thats funny a guy came into the dealership just the other day. he couldn't wait to get out of his toyota. he said it was the worst truck he had owned.

 

Interesting, perhaps you got one of those built on Monday or Friday trucks. I'm curious as to what you've had to replace.

I've got a 97 5.4 E4OD with 158k on it, I've replaced lower b/joints, tires, pads and rotors, alternator, battery, plugs, filters, fan belt, both u-joints on the rear shaft, some bulbs in the I.P., all fluids, m/f switch, a few exterior bulbs, and a few cops. Also repaired the broken wire to the stop light switch and one of the two wires that feed the radio.
Pretty sure that's it, at 12 years old with that many miles I figure that's normal wear and tear.

Maybe your truck just has a bad attitude..

 

Well, forgive me please but today my wife found a mercury sable she likes. Now i know it's not a truck like i wanted but it's still a ford so you guys are okay with that i'm thinking. Now to the good part after a few hours of back and forth this and that we settle on a price. Out the door and two year warranty with no deductable. So i wait for them to put in the computer and getting ready to sign and OH NO THAT CAR IS TOO OLD FOR A TWO YEAR WARRANTY. DO YOU JUST WANT THE ONE YEAR INSTEAD. It was like a brand new 2000 sable and i even liked the car and i think they thought i would give in and just take it. So the search is still on.

 

wow man seems like your having some bad luck!

 

I didn't know that was bad luck. That's the story of my life, nothing easy. I was trying to buy local and get a fair deal. Now i'm starting to look at the bigger cities about an hour away. There are a couple smaller towns close i'm going to look at today, if i see something i'll go monday after work.