Hey all, new here and hopefully posting in the right section.

I'm looking at my very first truck, looking at a 2011 FX4 that I test drove a few days ago...
Truck has about 157k miles on it.
Engine and transmission are both working fine, right now...
No leaks under the truck.
It has a few dings, both sides on the rear have some minor damage, also the front bumper sags a little on the left side - this doesn't bother me too much as if I was to get a perfect body truck I would be too OCD
Carfax is pretty clean, has reported the damage to the rear, and was put down as minor - title is clean.
Overall it's pretty clean inside, has some wear but nothing major and has pretty much all features that I would want. Only thing on the inside is the backup camera in the rear view mirror, it shows a blue screen - from what I have researched this seems to be something common on these, have not gone deep into seeing how to fix and how much - but maybe someone can throw out some info here...

Anything I should take a closer look at before deciding on this truck?

Here are a few photos...




And as to price, it would be about 15k out the door with the tax and fees here in Cali. (good/bad...?)
Also, would be looking to add a third party warranty for 3 years / 36,000 miles for the major stuff like the engine, transmission and driveshaft... I think they said it would be about $1,600 and think would be a good investment or at least a good "just in case" investment...(100% with $100 deductible)

Thanks for any feedback

 

Just got off the phone with Ford service in SoCal, they say the camera alone is like $600, so would be around $1k for parts and labor if they needed to replace it, I'm glad I have seen some cheaper options... and doing it yourself for sure is that way to go.

 

sounds about right on the price, I do not see any signs of rust on the rear panels so no issues there. will this be used as your only source of transportation? if so are you somewhat mechanical to fix future issued? if not than het the warranty. I have a 2011 FX4 with 178k miles I got it with 138k miles in September of last year, but I use it for work and I drive a lot. only issue, other than the engine knock, and the corner rust, was the dreaded fuse 27 which ford replaced. I would get a quote for the repair on the back panel, other than that the truck looks normal for that year. my truck's front bumper also hangs on the left side, adds character to me!

 

no, it wouldn't be the only vehicle. I do little stuff here and there but if engine or transmission was to give up no way I could do that myself. I didn't see any rust and non was pointed out to me when my mechanic inspected the truck.

so guess I would have to look at fuse 27 and see if that is an issue, what is this fuse anyways? this would have anything to do with the backup camera and the blue screen, assume not but asking anyways...?

not sure I would bother fixing the dings, like you say, it adds character



edit: just found some info and watched a part of a video about the fuel pump fuse 27, so guess not camera related.

 

I would negotiate on the price of the warranty and read over it closely. Check out the 4wd.

 

think he said that was their cost, $300 for 3 months and 1,000 miles, $680 for 1 year and 12,000 miles, and think it was $1,600 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. And for sure will read it in full. The covered items are covered 100% with $100 deductible is what the guy said.

I went thru the 4hi and 4low but only on the street, maybe if I decide to look at the truck again I'll ask them if I can take it off road, just to double check.

The only place I think I have some room to negotiate is the blue screen backup camera, since they advertised it to be working and dude said its just the settings, which is crap, he don't even know the truck... he didn't even know how the remote start worked and he thought it was broken...lol

It's a small used car dealer. They got this truck at auction, didn't mention in my original post, so they are most likely getting a good profit even if they were to come down in price a little more.

 

Definitely look up the warranty company name before you buy it, a lot of third party warranties are not very friendly to repairs. Find out if they are a decent one or not. Also, the dealerships will always say it is "their cost" for their warranty, but this doesn't include all of the back end profit from selling them. They might say it costs them $1600 up front, which is technically true. But then they get $1000, or whatever the amount is, back if you buy it because they sold it and that is their bonus for selling it. You can get it cheaper.

Either way people at warranty companies have gotten it down to a science on what customers are willing to pay to make them a maximum profit (never a loss overall). They are charging you $1600 knowing that only a few people out of the thousands will actually use that much in repairs if any at all. You would be better off putting that money into a savings account and just letting it set there. But if you value the piece of mind the warranty gives you then get it.

 

yes, was going to ask the name beforehand to check up on the company and even go as far as asking my own mechanic if he knows anything about them. my mechanic recommended getting the warranty, said it can be costly if I need work on the engine or the transmission and not knowing exactly how the truck was cared for I have no idea when something can come up...

 

forgot to mention, drove it about 60 miles with a reset on the counter, I got about 12.5 mpg average, city, highway with a heavy foot, this is also with the off road tires 35x12.5 20. Is this about average/normal?

 

i get about the same with 33x12.5r20 tires, mud terrain