Son's First Truck

[Stevenpigsooie]

I had one for 6 years and have family and friends put hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing more than routine maintenance.

 

[Ratket]

I had one for 6 years and have family and friends put hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing more than routine maintenance.

If only they still made Vehicles like that....

 

[Dixie Highway]

It’s called a Ford F-150 with the 5.0 V-8

 

[Joshua Miller]

Gents, wanted to follow up on this thread. I just found a 2011 Ford Ranger single cab with 128k miles. Took it out today and it drives well for a four cylinder, tires and brakes are good. I talked the dealer down to $6500 from $7000 and got him to throw in a 12 mo/18,000 mile warranty. Good deal or not?

 

[OCMD]

Drive the hell out of it while still under warranty just to make sure all the issues are out of it! Seems like a great deal, and the warranty was a great get, since it is a Ford. (I drove several Crown Vics over the years as police cruisers which were pure junk, so I am biased) BUt truly, IMO a great deal and with the warranty you killed it!

 

[AboveTheBest]

The warranty sounds like something nice to have on an older vehicle, but I’d grill them to find out what it actually covers. I remember buying my second or third car from a dealer and getting a warranty that turned out o not actually cover any of the things that went wrong with the car.

If I were in the market for a used car for one of my kids I’d be watching Craigslist or Private sales on Auto Trader, and would steer clear of the dealership. The truck you’ve got him down to $6500 on could probably be had for around $4k from a private party. As most states have lemon laws, you’d be somewhat protected against a bad choice.

If a used 2wd Ranger is what you’re looking for, I think you’ll find you and your son can fix almost anything yourself with junkyard parts for next to nothing. That’s the nice thing about buying something like that where millions were sold and the drivetrain remained similar throughout the years.

 

[AboveTheBest]

Here’s one 80 miles from your locationPrivate Party with the same asking price as your dealer, almost half the miles, and quite a bit better looking.
Offer him $6,000, settle on $6,500, and take a road-trip with your son.

Auto Trader Listing

 

[Ronnie]

Seems like a great deal too me but I don’t know what the blue book or market value is. I’m basing my opinion on my purchase of a 2006 Honda ridge line for my son. It had 140k miles on It when I purchased it for below blue book value ($8,500) for $7k (Craigslist). That is you got a newer truck with less miles for less than I paid.

For notice purposes, you may want to see what, if anything, tends to break down on the model you bought then check your extended warranty paper work to see if any of those items are excluded. I say this because I just spent several months fighting two ford dealers to cover a broken air suspension part on my 2010 expedition. In my case I made the cut off before ford changed what is covered and what is excluded. If it was excluded the parts and labor would have been close to $2k. Ford eventually ate the cost because my contract says I’m covered and I still have 4K miles left on my 24k mile extended warranty. Be forewarned, if you bring it in for warranty work, they charge $200 to look at it, in CA anyway, whether they fix it or not. If they fix it out of warranty the $200 is credited toward the repair cost.

 

[Joshua Miller]

Here’s one 80 miles from your locationPrivate Party with the same asking price as your dealer, almost half the miles, and quite a bit better looking.
Offer him $6,000, settle on $6,500, and take a road-trip with your son.

Auto Trader Listing

Thanks and I tried looking for private party sales to keep the cost down but in MD you can’t register a vehicle without a current state inspection and they do a full bumper to bumper inspection. All the private party sales I asked about didn’t have a current inspection and the seller didn’t want to get one done to close the deal.this is what drove me to a dealer inside the state.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Seems like an ok deal based on some quick local research from dealers. Rangers are very simple vehicles mechanically, and didn’t really change much from 1993-2011. A 4-cyl stick shift will be pretty much bulletproof, so my play would be ask the dealer to drop the price and keep the warranty. With proper care that truck should last a good long time.

 

[Ronnie]

If there is any chance that you end up using the truck a lot, I suggest you get the model you want versus the one you want for your son, if the models are not the same. I wanted to get the upgraded model of the ridgeline (sun roof, seat memory, leather, tow hitch, etc.) but my wife talked me out of it, “He shouldn’t have a fully loaded vehicle for his first car. He is only 16 years old!” etc., etc. so I bought the lower model and end up using it as my commuter because we found another car for my son (smaller, better mileage, etc.).

 

[Joshua Miller]

If there is any chance that you end up using the truck a lot, I suggest you get the model you want versus the one you want for your son, if the models are not the same. I wanted to get the upgraded model of the ridgeline (sun roof, seat memory, leather, tow hitch, etc.) but my wife talked me out of it, “He shouldn’t have a fully loaded vehicle for his first car. He is only 16 years old!” etc., etc. so I bought the lower model and end up using it as my commuter because we found another car for my son (smaller, better mileage, etc.).

With the state still partially shut down my son still can’t take his drivers license test so this might be may daily commuter for the time being. At least until the newness wears off.

 

[BlkGS]

Those and the s10 were the official "my son is off to college" truck when I was going to school because they were cheap, reliable, and good all rounders. Not luxurious at all, but honest little trucks. My roommate got t boned in a ranger, walked away no issues and upgraded to an extended cab s10, lol.

Good little trucks that were selli g for the same or less money.... 15 years ago. Now I feel old, but that says something good about those trucks.

 

[OCMD]

Go for the red one if you can snag it for 5800. Take it to someone you know for the MD inspection. They will find a few things out of kilter, but at 5800 even if you had to shell out 500 for repairs, you ar still ahead of game. Youd be surprised what 5800 cash in hand will get you, if you are strong enough to walk when he says no. It is a buyer's market not a sellers, and the plus is (if you can confirm) it was owned by a geezer. PLus it looks so much better than that white one. And I just filed a lawsuit over one of thoe crap warranties. They always try to get out of paying what they must, but when I am your friend, I file the suit for you. It's a hobby of mine, taking money from these scum bag warranty and/or insurance companies.

 

[Joshua Miller]

Go for the red one if you can snag it for 5800. Take it to someone you know for the MD inspection. They will find a few things out of kilter, but at 5800 even if you had to shell out 500 for repairs, you ar still ahead of game. Youd be surprised what 5800 cash in hand will get you, if you are strong enough to walk when he says no. It is a buyer's market not a sellers, and the plus is (if you can confirm) it was owned by a geezer. PLus it looks so much better than that white one. And I just filed a lawsuit over one of thoe crap warranties. They always try to get out of paying what they must, but when I am your friend, I file the suit for you. It's a hobby of mine, taking money from these scum bag warranty and/or insurance companies.

I went ahead and closed the deal on the white one last night. $5400 sticker plus tax, tag, and title fees. And the warranty— I read that contract line for line and was about to turn it down but when I started reading the state exceptions it said for Maryland I can cancel within 20 days for a full refund. So I kept it figuring I’ll drive it hard for 10 days then call and cancel if everything is good.

Appreciate everybody’s input and advice!

 

[Yamahaboat89]

I had one for 6 years and have family and friends put hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing more than routine maintenance.

I gotta agree I have had my Tacoma since I got it new in 2014, it’s got 160k miles on it and never had a single issue just routine maintenance. And it tows my 212x just fine

 

[OCMD]

Ahhh, Toyotas......I picked up at 1998 Camry two years ago from my mechanic for $2000, to use as my beater car. Had about 170k miles on it. Haul wet dogs, runs to the store or office, and not give rat's ass about someone hitting it in the parking lot or trying to cut me off and force me to stop or swerve because I will just keep on going "C'mon hit me little man in your 3 series BMW!" And that beater car keeps on going and going and going. A very good $2000 investment.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Seems like a solid deal. Way to go!

 

[mark_m]

Reviving this thread! My wife wants to go Honda (civic or accord) I'd like truck option as an alternative. Any deals out there? I'm willing to road trip for the right vehicle.

 

[Ronnie]

Check out used Honda ridgelines. 2006 though 2008 are first generation and can be had for $6k to $7k. Second generations 2009 through 2014, I think, share the same body style, have some improvements but cost a little more. I expect anything in the third/current generation to be a lot more expensive.