kelcschw

Hey guys, I'm new here and looking at possibly buying my first Ford truck. I'm 25 years old and currently drive a 2007 Toyota Tacoma double cab with 125k miles. I bought it at 88k about 3 years ago and haven't had any work done outside of routine maintenance, so overall I've been really pleased.

My brother mentioned wanting to purchase my Tacoma so when browsing local Craigslist ads to see if there was anything of interest, I found a 2004 F-150 FX4 flareside extended cab that I am interested in. It has 144,000 miles and appears to be pretty loaded with a lot of extras - leveling kit, mud tires, toolbox, etc. The only downside is that it is missing the tailgate - the owner says that he has it but that it's dented badly so he took it off.

I have two questions that I am hoping you all can help me with. The first is, what major issues am I at risk of running into at that many miles? I know that every vehicle is different and I'm unsure of what he's had done at this point, but I am assuming nothing major such as an engine or transmission replacement since it wasn't mentioned. Just wanted to try and make sure that I am not walking into a money pit if possible.

Second question is, what is the likelihood that I'll be able to find a matching tailgate and what is a ballpark figure of what that would cost me? I haven't contacted any local scrapyards and have no idea on the probability that I will even be able to find what I am looking for. I'm pretty OCD so not having one at all is not really an option I'd like to consider.

Thanks for making it this far and hope I didn't ask too much!

birdhunter_1

i would not recommend it. I have an 04 FX4 with the 5.4L. I have had nothing but engine problems ever since i hit 100,000 miles. I am now having to replace the engine.
I would not buy this truck or any of its 2004 thru 2008 variants with the 5.4L. hopefully they did a better job with the newer models.

MD4x4

Stay away from 04. Have one and its nothing but problems. Saving up money to get rid off it and get a diesel.

zx12-iowa

Keep your toyota. Why get a new truck? You are 25. Cheaper to keep er

yoda13

I would not do it. To get a newer truck with fewer miles, sure, but I don't see a huge upside for you here

Manuellabour247

If you can find an XLT with the 4.6 I think you'd be just as happy. 04-05 were the really bad years for the "gremlins". For what they might be asking, I'm sure you could find a truck that would better suit your needs for less money (and probably a lot less worry). I had an 09 4.6 and it did everything I needed it to. They are great little engines..

lewissa81

I wouldn't do it either. I'm not one to say the 04's are terrible, but with any used car/truck, there's a chance you're going to run into some problems. The yota has been good to you. If you're happy with it, then stick with it. Plus if a guy is willing to just take off a tailgate instead of fixing the truck before he sells it, then he probably didn't take very good care of it. At least not good enough for me.
Just my two cents.