Hi all,

In the market for a F-150 and have been looking at 2021 XLTs. I have found close by to me with the new powerboost engine and had some questions.

1. The truck is listed at $43k and comes pretty much fully loaded for the XLT, but has 68k miles. Is this too many? I would definitely warranty it but was wondering if I should look at the other ones for sale with less mileage but non-powerboost, less features, etc.
   1. Has FX4 off road, Co-Pilot 2.0, Upgrades sound system, 20 in wheels, tailgate step, interior work surface, twin panel moon/sunroof and 302a high
2. Can someone give me some real life examples of what can be used with the Pro Power Onboard? I was thinking maybe a TV and something else for tailgating, or camping. Charging batteries for some of my tools when working. But can't think of what else?
3. Is premium gas recommended?
4. Lastly, oil changes any different? Or just full synthetic should be fine?

Thanks all! Looking forward to join the group

 

1. I think I would prefer a PowerBoost with this many miles over most others because any other engine would be fully out of warranty, but the electric motor and battery are covered until 8 years/100k miles on a PowerBoost. So that portion is still in warranty, even without extension. There has been no indication so far that the PowerBoost can't be relied on any less than other engines.
2. It is a 7200 Watt system, so a TV and "something else" are going to consume maybe 300-600 watts of that, meaning you have miles to go. Assuming this truck has the 7.2kW ProPower, you didn't specify. It could have 2.4kW, which is still plenty for a TV and a couple other items, but would struggle with power tools, some microwaves maybe, portable heater, etc. Right now our entire house, including with A/C running, uses between 4000-5000 watts. So 7200 is more than enough to run an entire house. So think of anything you would plug in at home, and that can be run by the truck. There are some asterisks there, like surge watts, which are usually present with large motor driven devices like an Air Conditioner. Our A/C may use 2000 watts while running normally, but at start up surge wattage can be 2-3x running watts. So that could over run the capabilities of the truck. But that's an extreme example, nobody is running their home A/C off the ProPower.
3. Premium is recommended, but the truck runs fine on regular. I run Premium in mine constantly as the fuel mileage and throttle response are better, which about leads to break even. But you won't hurt anything running regular.
4. Full synthetic is fine, the actual engine portion is almost identical to the standard 3.5L Ecoboost F-150, so nothing unique there.

The mileage is on the higher end of course, not insane or anything, but it will be one of the higher mileage F-150s of this generation out there, so you are in some unknown territory. But a lot of the main components like the transmission and underlying 3.5L Ecoboost are the same as the previous gen in most ways that matter, so I don't see anything to worry about there.

Good luck!

 

Honestly, I don't know if I'd go for it since it's a first-year model and the tech was pretty new at that time. I own a 2022 and am hoping all the kinks have been ironed out.

This is actually a decent deal. I see one with only 3,000 miles for $49,999 and may have gone for that instead since I usually value each mile at 15¢ and 68k is $10,000 less. Some have no issues with mileage as long as it's maintained. To me, a used car is like a warm toilet seat. I usually wonder what was on it before sitting there.

I may be wrong here, but I think PowerBoost would be less troublesome since the engine runs less with the hybrid battery taking over about 20% of the times. At the same time, I am assuming there are more electric gremlins with the PowerBoost, but it's usually the new ones, a hit and miss. If nothing comes up in the first 5,000 miles, it should be good to go.

My friend has PowerBoost and uses it to charge his kids' electric motorcycles while driving. I haven't used mine, but when I go down to the hacienda in Mexico, the electricity is woefully unreliable so I use the truck whenever it goes out. Haven't done that though, but it's there whenever I need it.

Premium is recommended, but not required. Expect a small sacrifice in gas mileage, perhaps 5 to 10%.

Full synthetic is fine.

You will like it, the fun part is the PowerBoost has the coaching thing that teaches you how to brake and maximize the return in electricity. It gives me something to do while I am braking.

 

Caveat - My opinions shared at no cost! 🙂
If the truck was manufactured Job 1 Oct 2020 and its for sale now with 68K then, I hope its a screaming deal. Personally if I'm buying used I look for low mileage unless your plan is to start paying for wearables or whatever the previous owner didn't want to deal with.
The battery has a factory warranty 8 yrs/100k but, I have no idea if its transferrable. If it is then, that's one expensive set of parts that are covered.
The truck has already exceeded the Power train, corrosion, and safety restraints warranties so back to screaming deal or a huge headache waiting to happen.

NOT an opinion!
With PB 7.2 onboard power you can pretty much plug any device you want. (Accounting for startup surge limits) I've had an LED TV & microwave & a waffle maker at the same time. (No real reason other than playing with the onboard power.)
The Ford commercial has the F150 PB powering a house during the Texas cold front. In reality the PB is a fast fun truck and an expensive rolling generator.

With Turbos I have always defaulted to full syn oil. Just a preference. There are tons of opinions on this forum about syn and none-syn..

All sarcasm aside I think my 2021 Lariat PB is the best F150 I've owned. (Previous trucks 2015 w/2.7 EB, 2018 w/3.5 EB)

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your input! I was a bit hesitant since it was the first year of the engine and 68k is good amount on a car less than two years.

And sorry, I forgot to state. It's the standard 2.4kW

I was planning on running premium gas and hoping that powerboost returns good numbers haha!

Thanks again, I will inquire some more info on the truck.

 

Yeah that was my main concern. I will need to take a look at maintenance records and see. I have found others for a bit more but have less miles, around 30-40k less which I will be fine paying a bit more for less miles.

Thank you for your comments, it's appreciated. I do like the coaching aspect of it as well.

I will need to do some more due diligence

 

68,000 miles is ALOT for a 2 year old vehicle. Do you drive 30,000 a year? Assuming the truck was used for long trips (hopefully). Do what you can to find out if it was a tow vehicle... look at the hitch for extreme use. Look in the bed for holes from a 5th with hitch. If there is a liner, crawl under to see if there are holes being hidden. I would not want a 2 year old vehicle that towed a trailer 30,000 miles a year. Look at it this way, the owner hauled a trailer too heavy and it took 2 years for the family to realize they needed the bigger truck so finally traded it.

My 2016 when purchased at the end of 2019 had 64,000. That was a high annual average.
Double the years of your option and about 1 years less miles (my miles per year on a high year anyway).

No premium fuel is not required. (odd question)
No full synthetic oil is not required. (odd question)


You can download the owners manual from Ford if you feel like browsing the features and info such as "what fuel is required".
https://www.ford.com/support/owner-manuals/

 

Looking at the carfax (hoping it's accurate), it was manufactured and shipped 06/28/2021. Seemed it was getting 4-5k miles a month but was getting oil changes within 1-2 months, so I am hoping highway miles.

This has the 2.4kW so might not be able to do as much but hopefully I can get by with a TV and something else small.

Thanks for your help. I am really wanting one of the 2021s as I see great things and seems like an awesome truck. I want out of my old car, 2017 Cherokee :|

 

Yeah I know that is why I wanted some other input.

For the fuel and oil, I wasn't asking about required but more recommended. I know it can take 87 fine but wanted some comments on whether premium was worth it or not!

 

My truck was built at the end of April 2021 and it has been outstanding. It has a lot of features and that which later trucks, especially 2022, don't have. While it's a first year, that has actually worked out for many of us. A lot of the 2022 folks paid a lot more for less, and good chance any recalls and that have been done already.

If you have the VIN and want to send it to me, I can look it up in OASIS and tell you any warranty work done and that.

The 2.4kW is still A LOT. Even a 65" TV only uses 200 watts roughly. You could run that and a mini fridge and a laptop and still have room to spare.