if you are buying from a good dealer you shouldn't have much worry. They usually are up front with you and if you are that concerned you csn buy a extended warranty.
campermike60
If it's a dealer they should be able to print a CarFax history for you. If you are going to look at private party sales you might want to go ahead and pay the $20 for a one month subscription so you can look them up as needed. That's what we did...
Teri--the RV.net addict!
DEAR and WONDERFUL husband Eric (& furry faced Angus!) Western Washington
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I do a carfax as stated above and I take the truck to my house, on concrete at home I jack it up and shake it all (u-joints, ball bearings, etc) I check the color and smell of the fluid. Hopefully there hasn't been a fresh oil or tranny change so you can get the look and smell of those fluids.
If you aren't all the familiar with mechanics, take it to a machanic you trust and have them look at it. It should be worth upwards of $100 to make sure you aren't making a several thousand dollar mistake.
Yup, a Carfax report is $20 well spent. If you're buying from a private party, give them a check to hold the vehicle while you take it to your mechanic for a good thorough inspection. As far as prices, there is a lot of discrepancy between Kelly Blue Book, and NADA, etc. Use them as a general guideline but also look at other listings for the same or similar truck to see if it's in the ballpark.
Mack Daddy wrote: Yup, a Carfax report is $20 well spent. If you're buying from a private party, give them a check to hold the vehicle while you take it to your mechanic for a good thorough inspection. As far as prices, there is a lot of discrepancy between Kelly Blue Book, and NADA, etc. Use them as a general guideline but also look at other listings for the same or similar truck to see if it's in the ballpark.
What are you looking at specificially?
Thanks for all the information, it will be used when I purchase my second truck, on this one(the first) I was just lucky gave me no trouble since 2002.
I am looking at 2-3 old F-350,diesel,auto,long bed,low milage,swd,4x4,did not find it yet.
You'll find it- there are many good used trucks to be found. If you're looking for another Ford, read up on the issues the early 6.0 PSD had. Good word has it that a build date of April 04 or later will serve you well. So either go with a 7.3 PSD or a late 04 and up 6.0 PSD. Best of luck.
car fax for vehicle history, edmonds. com for pricing. Edmonds tells you what the vehicles are selling for in your area. Kelly blue book tells you what asking prices in your area are.
I also suggest that after you take delivery of a used truck from a dealer, you take it in for another inspection at the shop of your choice, so that you will know for sure that your emissions, suspension, etc. are all in good working condition before the short warranty period that is required by law is over. Some shady dealerships may push the cars through with bad inspections, hoping you don't find out until the warranty is over.
Another version of the checking on the quality of the vehicle is buy one that is within the mfg warranty. The extended warranties have the issue of was the problem there previously; when its within the warranty period, that does not appear to be an issue (i.e. even if you missed something, its covered). The older it is, the more closely you need to check or have a mechanic check for you.
You can also do a VIN check at a dealer to see that it has been in the shop enough, but not too much.
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