I am looking for an '11+ F150 Screw, any of the engines would do for me but I did have a Mustang with the Coyote before and while admittedly the Mustang wasn't fast enough for me the engine seemed pretty nice so I do like the 5.0's. Anyway, I have found while looking in the price range I've set for myself and it seems like the majority of trucks I'm finding have minimal records. My guess is for the owners per Carfax/Autocheck/etc. that show no service records that they probably used small shops that don't show up on there. I have a hard time imagining someone buying a truck brand new and then never taking it in for service in say 80-90k miles.

This will be the first truck I will have owned, so I am used to looking at cars but it seems cars have much more consistent service history/records. Should trucks that look good, don't appear to have been abused, and otherwise seem to drive good be considered if they don't have lots of records?

I found a nice '12 5.0 Screw XLT (RWD but with rear locker), forgive my ignorance on what packages there are but I know it has the turn signals in the mirrors, chrome bumpers, and the screen in the gauge cluster. It also has the towing package which I am guessing is what makes it ride more stiff and bouncy than a '10 4.6 Scab I looked at (no tow package). This truck has 125k miles and besides a scratch here or there, looks nice and at $15k is right in my price range. Only bad thing I noticed driving it was a clunk when I'd take off from a stop. It only did it from a stop, kickdowns didn't induce it. Someone said it might be slip yoke clunk.

Found a '12 5.0 Lariat Screw 4WD (no locker, but it has 4A) with a lot of records, leather, floor shifter, etc. with 147k miles for just under $18k. Bit more than I wanted to spend, but this where I'd like some advice on records vs. just getting an inspection on a truck if it seems nice. For all I know on that Screw XLT, first owner may have towed the hell out of stuff with it and did no maintenance. Would an inspection reveal that, or would that slowly reveal itself over time of owning it? I've yet to look at the '12 Lariat so can't speak to how nice it drives or anything.

 

I've looked at quite a few trucks recently. Carfax and autocheck only show major events don't they? Ownership change, accidents, Factory buy backs etc. Of the 20 or so cafax/autochecks I've seen none have shown maintenance or repairs.

 

No, it depends on the place that does the reporting. Some places are real generic with stuff like "Maintenance performed" but others detail out every thing that was done. Here's one I pulled from a truck I saw that had a lot of records.


Lot of 'em just say stuff like registration renewed and that's it. Lexus dealerships are obsessive typically with their level of detail...


This is kind of what I'm wondering, I mean before Carfax and Autochecks existed people just had to inspect a vehicle and see if it looked decent. They certainly can miss accidents, just not sure for most others if the lack of these detailed history reports would be a cause for concern or not.

 

The other important detail that gets overlooked is what the truck was used for and how long it was in a possession. What I get from the first set of data is the truck was used by a Dodge dealer for 75K miles in nearly 3 years. They either used it for a parts delivery truck or a rental. That's 25K miles a year...pretty high miles.


In contrast, the Lexus dealer, again probably using it as a parts truck only put 10K miles a year for about 3 years.


In both instances be sure neither truck was a "Program Vehicle" returned under Lemon Law or a Salvaged Vehicle and it will say salvage on the title. You can also ask and then they're bound by the answer they give you if you find out later they lied.

 

I should clarify, my example pics were snagged from other vehicles just for illustration purposes. The first one was from a Dodge Ram and the other from some Lexus SUV. I have looked at a lot of different vehicles to arrive where I am at now, looking at an F150 SCrew.

At this point I'm just wondering about the '12 XLT SCrew 5.0 RWD with diff locker @ 125k miles for $15k but possibly not as many records and possibly clutch yoke clunk, or a '12 Lariat SCrew 5.0 4WD @ 147k miles for just under $18k but only one owner and thorough records (Yet to drive). Should the miles discredit the Lariat completely or would the one owner + good records mean it might be perfectly fine? Might be able to contact the PO and ask what they used the truck for and why they sold it in that case.