How reliable are Rangers?

I had a 2000 Ford Ranger 4x4 4.0L for four years before trading it in on a 2004 F-150 4x4 and the Ranger was perfect the whole time. My F-150 is also working out to be as perfect as I could hope for. When the 2008 model year trucks come out, I intend to trade my F-150 in for an F-250 diesel.

I bought my third one a couple years ago. The V 6 only get about 20 mpg highway with an auto trans.

4 cylinders made after 01 have more power and get better mileage. Options? AC. split bench seat, auto trans, the usual stuff.

Kid just put #2 in the salvage yard with 174,000 and a new clutch and timing belt were only repairs on it. I figured it was good for another 2-3 years.

I've had 3 different rangers, all 4x4's, & haven't had any problems. If the 4x2's are built as well, & I'm guessing they are, I would say go for it & get the fully loaded model.

I bought my first truck three days ago, a white '05 Ranger, 4cyl stick 2WD XLT. I love it.

I cannot yet speak to point #2, except to say that they received high ratings from JD Power et al.

The XLT package is nice. I don't like automatics, but most do. I never drove an auto. I also don't like power windows or locks, but wish I had power mirrors. The stock CD deck on the newer ones is quite good, sound-wise. The only other options I wish I had were the rear sliding window, and the tilt / cruise option.

I thought about supercabs, but went with a regular cab because of the $2000+ price difference. I went on the basic side with it, because I have other vehicles. I got one with 4700 miles on it for $11,500. Four wheel drive might be nice for some, or necessary for others, but for suburban, Midwestern driving, it isn't really necessary either. I believe good tires and sandbags are quite enough for at least 95% of normal, on-road use. When I was a teenager, I drove many small pickups for parts stores in Connecticut, and in the snow, they never got stuck with snow tires and some weight.

In terms of accessory items, I would recommend getting a spray-on bedliner, rock guard in the front, and a tonneau cover for the bed. Soft ones are very easily removed, and cheaper than hard ones. Some of them have a weather strip seal. I think that's nice regardless of whether or not you have an extended cab. Hard ones, obviously, let the rain run off. My guess is that none of them would seal completely in really heavy rain, but I could be wrong. I'm impressed with it so far. We had one day of over an inch and it stayed dry.

That's my long-winded two cents

"Wound Up" snipped-for-privacy@your.disposal.ask.me> wrote in message news:d%ngg.45734$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...

me too. i owned 3 nissan pick ups before getting a '05 ranger, almost a year ago now. i would never have considered getting a ford, (came from a chevy family, only got nissans because they were used/cheap) but ford had that "employee discount" thing last year and liked this truck. i couldn't stand the chevy styling, too angular, aggressive looking. i thought the ranger had MUCH more attractive styling. obviously i also can't speak to long term reliability but so far haven't had any problems. i actually really like this truck, i think verging on love. very solid feel to it. this one is a 3.0 (6 cyl.) super cab. it came with all sorts of stuff that i wouldn't have ordered if i had ordered it, the "employee discount" was only on vehicles in stock. tilt wheel, CD player, A/C, fog lights... it has a rear slider which i like. i like the super cab too. limited slip differential i've heard is nice and will come in handy (never had one before and didn't even really know what it was!). i put in my own spray on bed liner, it came out OK and was proud. it's a two wheel, rear wheel drive. i'm fine with that. if i had ordered it i wouldn't have ordered 4 wheel drive. with a set of tire chains i could go practically anywhere a 4 wheel vehicle can go (here in the north east) in my nissan and so figure i could save the expense of a 4 wheel drive and get better gas mileage too. i got a set of tire chains for $75. got a standard transmission, wouldn't have ordered an automatic either, i like to feel i'm in control by shifting gears manually. no power windows or locks or mirrors, i always think those things are just one more thing that can go wrong and cost a LOT to fix. my intent is to drive this truck till it dies, hopefully a long time from now. don't want to have an old truck with power windows, locks, mirrors, etc. that are broken, don't work, and don't have the money to get fixed. it came with the CD and that was nice but i'm more pleased with how well the radio works (i don't really use the CD... hardly at all) oh, this one has cruise too. i'm trying to slowly get used to using it, had a few SCARES so far. (one time i did something that caused the engine to REV like up to four grand, etc.) wouldn't have ordered cruise either if it were my choice. when i first got this truck i mis-calculated the mpg and was utterly outraged that i was only getting 11 mpg. (was embarrassing) wanted to SELL it. eventually i figured out it's getting about 20. pretty consistently 20 mpg. that was a tremendous relief!!! my nissan got 21.7 and so i'm well pleased with having more power/towing/hauling capability with only a 1.7 mpg trade off. i still have doubts whether or not i should've gotten the 4 cylinder though. when gas is/was up to $3.00/gal. i wondered if i made a mistake. i do use it as a truck but only occasionally, more usually just getting around. i don't have a rock guard but just put a deposit on a cap. i'm a little bummed that the cap is going to cut into my mpg.... but, oh well. it came with a class

2 hitch, i'm glad about that, haven't used it yet though.

----- Original Message ----- From: "William Wixon" snipped-for-privacy@frontiernet.net Newsgroups: alt.trucks.ford Sent: Saturday, June 03, 2006 11:03 PM Subject: Re: How reliable are Rangers?

-snip-

oh, and, paid $200 to have the dealer put on undercoat. i felt that was a TOTAL rip off. the kid that put it on i felt did a CRAPPY job. i took off the bed and flipped it over and undercoated the HECK out of the back half of the truck, the bed the frame etc. myself. my plan is to someday soon do the front half.

b.w.

Great info guys!!

Thank so much it was a big help

I've never owned ANY kind of truck before... but it sound like a small 4x2 ranger might fit the bill for me.

Own a 95. standard shift, 4 cyl. 130,000 miles and have never replaced anything other than tires and brake pads. Never had a alignment or even replaced a bulb. A/C will still run you out. I just replaced the original battery this winter. Best vehicle I have ever owned. I doubt many are as good as mine has been but if they are only half as good you will be happy.

Rob

Best of luck to you. It's fit the bill for me absolutely perfectly. Toss your junk in the back, and go. Rides nice. First tank, 26 mpg with the

2.3. We have 70 mph limits (i.e., we never get highway EPA ratings), and a good deal of that was city mileage. No complaints here!!!