What to look for in a used truck

[GrantMO]

Since I took 11 months to buy a new chainsaw (and I appreciate everyone's advice on that) I plan on taking at least the same amount of time to look for a good used pickup. Just slow, I guess. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I'm thinking about a Ford F250 or F350 diesel for pulling a horse trailer, farm chores and so on. The budget is only going to allow a used one so what should I look for or be aware of when looking at these trucks? I'm thinking about model year 1996 and newer as price allows. Thanks.

 

[LTEnterprises]

the 1996 and newer ford will be a powerstroke...you can get them very reasonable like a 1997 low miles for around 17k. the newre trucks 99 up have made thes sink in price..I think you will be happy with one of these. I am sure you could get a better deal buying from an individual. they are usually selling to buy a 1999 and up PSD
hope this helps
Terry

 

[dmccarty]

Grant,

Go over and look at http:// [url]www.ford-diesel.com [/url]. Its a great website for
Ford Trucks, especially diesels. It if very informative on TSBs, problems,
solutions, towing, etc.

If you are going to be towing heavy be careful with a F250. You will run out
of "legal" GVW before you get to GCVW. The towing section on Ford Diesel
talks about this frequently if GVW and GCVW mean nothing to you.

I don't know when Ford swithed from the old auto tranny to the new. But
I think the old ones had a reputation for failure.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty