What to look for in Buying a used F150
04-24-2018, 02:34 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
What to look for in Buying a used F150
Hello,
Long story short I was recently accepted to a medical school in New Mexico. I currently live in Oregon so I will be moving my family from Oregon down to New Mexico via I-5 making a pit stop in Anaheim for a week to take the kids to Disneyland. Because of this I am in the market for a used F150 automatic with the 5.4 Triton, to tow a 6x12 u-haul trailer. (I've provided the link to the craigslist add below of the truck I am looking at). After we get there it will be my everyday driver to and from school. Because medical school is so expensive, and I won't have the time to fix a lot myself, I am trying to ensure I get the most bang for the buck and I don't get something that will force me to work on it every weekend. There is a car lot that has a good looking 2000 F-150 with about 145,000 miles. The gentlemen that owns the car lot sold me a subaru outback a while back and seems pretty straight forward and honest. He knows a great deal about Subarus but admittedly doesn't know nearly as much about fords.
I know they have the spark plug blowing out issue, especially on the earlier years. Are there any signs to look for when purchasing a used F150 that might make you think that this is an imminent possibility on one of these?
Im also a little worried about the transmission. I realize they are rated much higher, as far as capacity, but it is an older rig and some of the inclines are not messing around. One such example would be the grapevine heading down to california. How valid is this concern? Do I NEED to put a transmission cooler on it or possibly just a transmission temp gauge that I can monitor? Or am I worrying for nothing and it should be fine?
Lastly this truck comes with a decent CD deck in it but appears to not be hooked up to any speakers. I would like to put a decent stereo in as soon as I get it. Nothing crazy or super expensive but not a piece of crap either. What would everyone recommend? From what I have read there are only four speakers to replace, one in each door. I am not 18 years old so I don't need a crazy subwoofer to rattle my teeth out. But I would enjoy my Keb Mo CD or possibly some other blues or country artists to sound good driving down the road. Any input here is appreciated.
I realize I have a lot of questions I just not only don't wanna get stranded on our move, but I also know we will not have a ton of money to put into repairs while I am in medical school and would, obviously, like the truck to last.
https://eugene.craigslist.org/ctd/d/...561021459.html
Long story short I was recently accepted to a medical school in New Mexico. I currently live in Oregon so I will be moving my family from Oregon down to New Mexico via I-5 making a pit stop in Anaheim for a week to take the kids to Disneyland. Because of this I am in the market for a used F150 automatic with the 5.4 Triton, to tow a 6x12 u-haul trailer. (I've provided the link to the craigslist add below of the truck I am looking at). After we get there it will be my everyday driver to and from school. Because medical school is so expensive, and I won't have the time to fix a lot myself, I am trying to ensure I get the most bang for the buck and I don't get something that will force me to work on it every weekend. There is a car lot that has a good looking 2000 F-150 with about 145,000 miles. The gentlemen that owns the car lot sold me a subaru outback a while back and seems pretty straight forward and honest. He knows a great deal about Subarus but admittedly doesn't know nearly as much about fords.
I know they have the spark plug blowing out issue, especially on the earlier years. Are there any signs to look for when purchasing a used F150 that might make you think that this is an imminent possibility on one of these?
Im also a little worried about the transmission. I realize they are rated much higher, as far as capacity, but it is an older rig and some of the inclines are not messing around. One such example would be the grapevine heading down to california. How valid is this concern? Do I NEED to put a transmission cooler on it or possibly just a transmission temp gauge that I can monitor? Or am I worrying for nothing and it should be fine?
Lastly this truck comes with a decent CD deck in it but appears to not be hooked up to any speakers. I would like to put a decent stereo in as soon as I get it. Nothing crazy or super expensive but not a piece of crap either. What would everyone recommend? From what I have read there are only four speakers to replace, one in each door. I am not 18 years old so I don't need a crazy subwoofer to rattle my teeth out. But I would enjoy my Keb Mo CD or possibly some other blues or country artists to sound good driving down the road. Any input here is appreciated.
I realize I have a lot of questions I just not only don't wanna get stranded on our move, but I also know we will not have a ton of money to put into repairs while I am in medical school and would, obviously, like the truck to last.
https://eugene.craigslist.org/ctd/d/...561021459.html
04-24-2018, 02:37 AM
#2
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Sorry I forgot to ask. About the spark plug issue does this seem to happen at certain times? If there is no way to look and see that it could happen at any moment are there things that I can do to minimize the possibility after I buy it?
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
04-24-2018, 07:57 AM
#3
Senior Member
7000$ for a 2000 with 145k miles? Isn't it a little expensive? Did you look somewhere else? In your area, around your area, etc.?
The CD player should be hooked to the factory sound system.
As far as I'm concerned, a good history of maintenance is the benchmark when it comes to buying used. Pretty hard to have one on a 18 year old truck.
The CD player should be hooked to the factory sound system.
As far as I'm concerned, a good history of maintenance is the benchmark when it comes to buying used. Pretty hard to have one on a 18 year old truck.
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chimmike (04-24-2018)
04-25-2018, 08:32 AM
#5
Senior Member
Hello,
Long story short I was recently accepted to a medical school in New Mexico. I currently live in Oregon so I will be moving my family from Oregon down to New Mexico via I-5 making a pit stop in Anaheim for a week to take the kids to Disneyland. Because of this I am in the market for a used F150 automatic with the 5.4 Triton, to tow a 6x12 u-haul trailer. (I've provided the link to the craigslist add below of the truck I am looking at). After we get there it will be my everyday driver to and from school. Because medical school is so expensive, and I won't have the time to fix a lot myself, I am trying to ensure I get the most bang for the buck and I don't get something that will force me to work on it every weekend. There is a car lot that has a good looking 2000 F-150 with about 145,000 miles. The gentlemen that owns the car lot sold me a subaru outback a while back and seems pretty straight forward and honest. He knows a great deal about Subarus but admittedly doesn't know nearly as much about fords.
I know they have the spark plug blowing out issue, especially on the earlier years. Are there any signs to look for when purchasing a used F150 that might make you think that this is an imminent possibility on one of these?
Im also a little worried about the transmission. I realize they are rated much higher, as far as capacity, but it is an older rig and some of the inclines are not messing around. One such example would be the grapevine heading down to california. How valid is this concern? Do I NEED to put a transmission cooler on it or possibly just a transmission temp gauge that I can monitor? Or am I worrying for nothing and it should be fine?
Lastly this truck comes with a decent CD deck in it but appears to not be hooked up to any speakers. I would like to put a decent stereo in as soon as I get it. Nothing crazy or super expensive but not a piece of crap either. What would everyone recommend? From what I have read there are only four speakers to replace, one in each door. I am not 18 years old so I don't need a crazy subwoofer to rattle my teeth out. But I would enjoy my Keb Mo CD or possibly some other blues or country artists to sound good driving down the road. Any input here is appreciated.
I realize I have a lot of questions I just not only don't wanna get stranded on our move, but I also know we will not have a ton of money to put into repairs while I am in medical school and would, obviously, like the truck to last.
https://eugene.craigslist.org/ctd/d/...561021459.html
Long story short I was recently accepted to a medical school in New Mexico. I currently live in Oregon so I will be moving my family from Oregon down to New Mexico via I-5 making a pit stop in Anaheim for a week to take the kids to Disneyland. Because of this I am in the market for a used F150 automatic with the 5.4 Triton, to tow a 6x12 u-haul trailer. (I've provided the link to the craigslist add below of the truck I am looking at). After we get there it will be my everyday driver to and from school. Because medical school is so expensive, and I won't have the time to fix a lot myself, I am trying to ensure I get the most bang for the buck and I don't get something that will force me to work on it every weekend. There is a car lot that has a good looking 2000 F-150 with about 145,000 miles. The gentlemen that owns the car lot sold me a subaru outback a while back and seems pretty straight forward and honest. He knows a great deal about Subarus but admittedly doesn't know nearly as much about fords.
I know they have the spark plug blowing out issue, especially on the earlier years. Are there any signs to look for when purchasing a used F150 that might make you think that this is an imminent possibility on one of these?
Im also a little worried about the transmission. I realize they are rated much higher, as far as capacity, but it is an older rig and some of the inclines are not messing around. One such example would be the grapevine heading down to california. How valid is this concern? Do I NEED to put a transmission cooler on it or possibly just a transmission temp gauge that I can monitor? Or am I worrying for nothing and it should be fine?
Lastly this truck comes with a decent CD deck in it but appears to not be hooked up to any speakers. I would like to put a decent stereo in as soon as I get it. Nothing crazy or super expensive but not a piece of crap either. What would everyone recommend? From what I have read there are only four speakers to replace, one in each door. I am not 18 years old so I don't need a crazy subwoofer to rattle my teeth out. But I would enjoy my Keb Mo CD or possibly some other blues or country artists to sound good driving down the road. Any input here is appreciated.
I realize I have a lot of questions I just not only don't wanna get stranded on our move, but I also know we will not have a ton of money to put into repairs while I am in medical school and would, obviously, like the truck to last.
https://eugene.craigslist.org/ctd/d/...561021459.html
You can rent a brand new F-150 to tow your trailer and ride in safety and comfort for your journey.
Good luck, and congrats on your acceptance to med school!
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04-25-2018, 03:40 PM
#9
Guy was asking about 2V 5.4 i believe except loose spark plug 2V was solid...
04-25-2018, 04:43 PM
#10
Senior Member
i agree that the price seems high for that truck. as far as the spark plug issues go they were on the earlier 5.4's of the 10th gens but if you torque them to 28 ft/lbs there shouldn't be an issue