Duke's Dad

Hi Fellow F-150 Lovers.

I just registered on this forum. It is the only forum I have ever registered on. That tells you how helpful it has been to me as a non-registered viewer. Great job, everyone.

Question: I plan to buy a used F-150 Lariat Crew Cab, 4x4, from the 2005-2009 model years. I'll probably buy from CarMax. I've seen some great prices for trucks with over 100,000-150,000 miles on them. These trucks have a lot of the options I want and can't otherwise afford.

Am I buying into a headache/heartache/moneyache if I buy one with such high mileage? I'll use it for light towing and around town driving.

Thanks for your input.

'08f150stx

I believe the 5.4 3 valve (which is the engine I would choose) was a new design in '04. Do not buy anything from the first year of a new product. This holds true for the 5.4 3 valve, in my opinion. I would push your choices to the '07 to '09 years. A little more $$$ but the 3 valve had a redesign in '07 I believe. Get one that has been inspected by a certifed independent mechanic, and preferably a truck with service records (although that may be a bit hard to find) I have never seen Carmax have a vehicle with such high mileage.

Duke's Dad

Thanks for your input. Good things to consider.

Yeah, I didn't think CarMax sold high mileage cars, either. They now have a category of cars they sell that are over 5 years old or have over 50,000. I like the no haggling aspect of CarMax. I bought an F-150 about 10 years ago on e-Bay and it worked out fine. The only problem is/was not being able to see it in person.

BUCKSHOT

I have 105,000 pretty hard miles on mine and she still has a ton of life left. I have an 06 and haven't had ANY problems other than the normal maintenance....

fstfrd00

In general a 5.4 3v is fine with over a 100,000 miles on it.
I looked between the years of '06 and '09. I believe in '07 they did a redesign of the 5.4.
Who the previous owner and how they drove the truck plays into the "headache" factor.
IMO: Be careful when looking at the first couple years of a total redesign.

BISCUT

Have to agree with you on this being a great site. I bought my first F-150 in July. 2004 Lariat 5.4 3V 60k miles.

Up front I did a tranny service, plugs, radiator service, fuel filter, transfer case, etc...

One place that I have been putting info up on for my 02 Explorer is TRU DELTA. Independent website that tracks real owners repair experiences for all makes and models of vehicles. There are a lot of 2004 and up write ups on the F-150. The vast majority are overwhelmingly positive. You can see a recurrent theme of plugs costing a lot to change and window motors repalced. What I was surprised was that I did not read of cam phaser issues. I started a thread on HOW TO KNOW CAM PHASERS ARE BAD (search BISCUT) and someone posted (THANKS!!!!!!!!) the TSB concerning that.

Hope that helps you.

'08f150stx

A vehicle from Ebay, if bought sight unseen is a crap shoot. Glad you had good luck in the past. Enjoy shopping. I would also purchase a limited slip rear end, stock I would probably go with a 3.73 rear gear ratio. Make sure you put friction modifer in the rear end of that l.s. you buy!

mattark17

I bought an '04 a year ago with 183,000 miles on it. It had been serviced and has not given me any issues other than maintenance. I am know at 204k and am getting ready for the dreaded spark plug change. This will be the second time for the plugs so I am hopeful not to break any. Don't run away from an '04 that's maintained just make sure it has been.

back*in*black

If it is a high mileage 5.4 3v MAKE SURE THE SPARK PLUGS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. This could turn into an expensive nightmare if you have to have a dealership or outside shop do this. Plus if any of the plugs wont come out you are looking at a new head. I just spent $80 on spark plugs that should have costed $22-24 EACH and I believe its a company named Leslie that makes a good plug remover. Fords sucks *** and that glue stuff never holds. Since we got Leslies new tool we havent replaced a single head. Good luck and hope you find yourself in an F150 soon!

Duke's Dad

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I got a lot of good info.
Why is changing spark plugs such an expensive nightmare?
I read somewhere of a guy who bought an older, high mileage f-150, and he said the first thing he did was to change all the fluids, belts, plugs, and filters. That seemed like great advice. Now though, I get the sense that changing the sparks is a huge expense and potentially damaging to the truck.
What to do?