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  #1  
Old 06-04-2008, 09:57 PM
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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Need advice, buying used Ford truck from dealer

I am looking for a new to me (used) truck. I would never consider buying new. Usually I would just buy from someone privately, but I thought that there might be some giant diesel Excursions that people had traded in on a smaller car and I might score a deal. No Excursions on the dealers used car lot, but they had a 2002 F250 diesel that would suit me nicely. They had just taken it as a trade-in.

The truck only has 60k miles/100k kilometers (I'm in Canada), but you could see it had been used for work and towing as it has trailer brakes and several small dings on it. The towing makes me worry about the condition of the tranny as I know they had some problems, but not sure what years that was. It needed tires and brakes. So here's the kicker, they give me the keys to try and start it. It's a warm day, I give it a bit of time to glow but don't watch the light. It doesn't start. Ok, I let it glow three times, still no start. ?? So they say it will get new brakes, tires and will start, but they want $16,000, which I notice is right at the KBB for a fair condition, Private party value.

I would of course have the truck inspected by my mechanic after they do the promised repairs.

So my question is, how much do you think I could get them to come down? Should I maybe avoid the truck altogether? I would buy it if I could get it for $12k with the repairs, and I can write a check so no bull*****, and I don't care about any warranty, I wouldn't trust the dealer to honour it anyway.

Thanks

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  #2  
Old 06-04-2008, 10:04 PM
Hatterasguy's Avatar
Zero
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Milford, CT
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Buying used trucks is hard, usualy you are better off with a new one. They either seem to be in good shape and cost almost as much as new or beat to death.

Watch out for the 1-3 year old contractor trade ins. They beat the living crap out of those things.
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  #3  
Old 06-04-2008, 10:15 PM
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My experience with dealers honoring warranties has been about 50/50. My first Honda, the dealer comped several items which were definitely not warranty-related for good measure. My second Honda, the dealer sold me an "inspected" CR-V with a nasty ticking noise (A/C recirc lever failure) when on "fresh air" setting, and a bumper to bumper warranty, and told me that it was my aftermarket headunit which was installed caused the failure that was present during the test-drive. $500 out of pocket.

(Never buy from Courtesy Honda in Sanford, FL -- ever ever ever. I think they're a bunch of crooks, and that surprises me given they're part of the AutoNation family.)

My third Honda was just fine, it had a recall on the Tranny, that I decided to just sell the car for. Then I bought the Benz.
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  #4  
Old 06-04-2008, 10:31 PM
Jim B.'s Avatar
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Why would you pay 5 cents, (nevermind $12,000!!) for a vehicle that WON'T START?????
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  #5  
Old 06-04-2008, 10:44 PM
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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B. View Post
Why would you pay 5 cents, (nevermind $12,000!!) for a vehicle that WON'T START?????
I agree, but I would buy it on the condition it would be fixed. It seemed like it had just come in and no one had looked at it yet. It was in the back near the bay doors.

I do hate dealers, I would only want it if I felt I was getting a very good deal. So I guess that is my question, how much can I squeeze them? Do they have any incentive to give me a good deal? Or will they just send it off to a wholesaler? What kind of mark-up are they adding to the truck?

thanks
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  #6  
Old 06-04-2008, 10:54 PM
iwrock's Avatar
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Wheres Aklim? Wheres Kartek? They both know these trucks really well.


I got a 99 F250 PSD. Awesome truck. Will pull stumps like none other....
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  #7  
Old 06-05-2008, 08:16 AM
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just make sure it doesn't have the 6.0
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  #8  
Old 06-05-2008, 08:25 AM
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Location: CT
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I'd have no qualms buying a (read the right) used truck from a dealer. Let someone else take the initial depreciation hit. That said, I'd walk away from that truck. Use in-and-of itself isn't necessarily a deal breaker but neglect and poor maintenance is.

Given the current fuel prices a lot more people will be trading in their private-use, primary driver pickups, many of which never see more than a few bags of mulch from the home center and an occasional piece of furniture. Keep your eye out and when you find what looks to be a good one ask for service records (shouldn't be too much to ask for a late model vehicle). Don't settle, its' going to be a buyer's market on light/medium duty trucks for the foreseeable future. There are going to be some good values out there for those in the market for one.
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  #9  
Old 06-05-2008, 10:25 AM
G-Benz's Avatar
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With GM getting ready to dump four truck plants, and the other manufacturers to follow suit, dealers should be clamouring to get you to buy a NEW full-sized truck with all sorts of incentives...including the "$2.99 gas hedge for two years" plan.

You have more leveraging power than they do. If you MUST buy used, there will certainly be far better pickings than a borderline truck in need of attention.
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  #10  
Old 06-05-2008, 11:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mistel View Post
I agree, but I would buy it on the condition it would be fixed. It seemed like it had just come in and no one had looked at it yet. It was in the back near the bay doors. ... I do hate dealers, I would only want it if I felt I was getting a very good deal. So I guess that is my question, how much can I squeeze them? Do they have any incentive to give me a good deal? Or will they just send it off to a wholesaler? What kind of mark-up are they adding to the truck? ... thanks
A good dealer would have put a "HOLD" ticket/sticker on the vehicle if he hadn't had a chance to look at it...just to avoid the faux pas that you experienced...that's if their reputation meant anything to them.

I'd walk away from this particular truck...it should have started if it was "just" traded in...the fact that you "...didn't pay attention to the light" shouldn't mean anything after the fact that you then waited THREE TIMES for a full glow and still, no go.

Let me correct myself...RUN AWAY FROM THIS PARTICULAR TRUCK AND THE DEALER!

GEEZ...does this thing have flames painted on it, or what? Isn't the point of owning anything is that it STARTS WHEN YOU WANT IT TO? EVEN ON A WARM DAY????

Either that, or you better have a good, Canadian-based, AAA Auto-club card...'cause on those cold days...I don't think it's going to get any easier to start...
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  #11  
Old 06-05-2008, 11:11 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G-Benz View Post
With GM getting ready to dump four truck plants, and the other manufacturers to follow suit, dealers should be clamouring to get you to buy a NEW full-sized truck with all sorts of incentives...including the "$2.99 gas hedge for two years" plan.

You have more leveraging power than they do. If you MUST buy used, there will certainly be far better pickings than a borderline truck in need of attention.
Yeah you can probably get some amazing deals right now!

Price out a new gas F250. If you are not going to drive it much the gas engine is fine.
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  #12  
Old 06-05-2008, 11:49 AM
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I've had good experience with my '00. The '02 doesn't have any special problems that I know of. It has powdered metal rods which will limit potential engine mods to around 400HP if you're thinking of doing anything like that. The drivetrain also has a 100K mile warranty.

The auto tranny is a known weakness and if you're serious about working it, it'll need to be swapped out with a performance version from someone like BTS. This runs around $3500-4000. The manual is rock solid, though the clutch master/slave is somewhat weak.

The cam position sensor (CMP in Ford speak) is another known problem to the 7.3. Ford currently has a recall on the part and you should ensure that the work has been done on this truck. If the engine cranks and cranks without firing, it's likely it's the CMP. The HPOP resovoir check valve has also been known to fail allowing it to drain empty which will starve the pump for oil needed for the injection. This is another reason it might not crank. If the previous owner installed a chip, it may also contribute to a no-start if it wasn't installed properly and the contacts are intermittant.

To echo what H-guy said, there's not much justification any more to have a Diesel truck unless you plan to put it to work hard. You'll never recoup the cost difference between the gas and Diesel version.
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  #13  
Old 06-05-2008, 02:50 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 214
Thanks for the responses.

I'd still like to hear from any car salesman on how much they may drop the price.

I plan on running it on WVO, so it has to be a diesel (flame suit on). No use buying a new one as I will void the warranty. I have a small truck now that I have been running for several years on WVO but I need a bigger truck.

The transportation plan right now is I am converting a 1996 Saturn SL1 to electric. This will be the "town" car and will do all the local short trips. The truck will be WVO and used for longer trips, because WVO needs to be warmed by the engine so it is not practical around town. So I need a truck that will fit the wife and two kids. I know a local guy who is considering making biodiesel and I am going to help him out so I can get my starting fuel for free. That way when I am done I will be 100% free from fossil fuels.

Thanks
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  #14  
Old 06-05-2008, 03:11 PM
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I was trying to find a diesel Excursion too, when I ended up with my F350. It had a dealer "Hold" sticker, or something that said words like car not for sale yet.. but, that's the one I wanted, so he let me take it for a test drive. It's got the 6.0, with no problems yet, but it's been only 4k miles and 9 months. EGR cooler has already been done, and if I can find the time, I'm going to do the disconnect.
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  #15  
Old 06-05-2008, 03:38 PM
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<- Ryuko of Kill La Kill
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mistel View Post
I plan on running it on WVO, so it has to be a diesel (flame suit on). No use buying a new one as I will void the warranty. I have a small truck now that I have been running for several years on WVO but I need a bigger truck.

Thanks
7.3's do very well on S/WVO. There's plenty of room along the frame for the extra tank and the need for major fuel pre-heating is minimal because the fuel flows through the head to the injectors.

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Benz Fleet:
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