What happens if F250 is Driven with Speedo Disconnected

If it's an automatic it wouldn't shift. Why do you think it's not right?

Just the general condition of the interior; compared to a friends truck with similiar mileage. Maybe I'm imagining things...at a dealer I'm at a disadvantage in that I can't talk eye to eye with the original owner..to get a feel for the validity of his statements.

If something doesn't feel right walk away, your first intuition is probably right.

There are plenty of other trucks to be had...

True.

Some people really thrash their vehicles. If the original owner had small kids, it would be even worse.

I just purchased a used 1997 Mazda B4000 to replace my truck that was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. Before buying this truck, I checked out and drove a lot of Rangers and Mazda B-series used trucks -- I was trying to stay under $10,000.00 but needed V6 4WD.

I turned down several trucks because something just didn't seem right and one of the main reasons I turned down trucks was the condition of the interior. Dealers give their used vehicles to detailers who pressure wash engine, underneath, and exterior and who then scrub the interior and cover everything with some sweet-smelling stuff.

First thing I do is run the a/c -- if anyone smoked in the vehicle, it'll come out of the a/c. Then I check the interior to make certain knobs, levers, etc. are in place. I figure if the previous owner didn't care enough to replace the broken knob on an a/c control lever, or if a piece of trim is broken off, he probably didn't care enough to do his scheduled maintenance. The trashed interior could be the result of dog(s) or kid(s) -- but a trashed interior could also indicate the previous owner didn't give a damn about how he treated his truck.

Walk away from it and keep looking.

Good tips.

Another trick I picked up years ago from a knowledgeable friend (although the OP's prospective vehicle was 65k miles, so it's a tougher judgement-call) was to look at the pedals, and see if the wear on them squares with the odometer's displayed mileage.

I once looked at a Dodge sedan ( 2 years old, one owner, personal use) with "22k" miles on it, and the corners of the accelerator and brake pedals were worn smooth. That's an awful lot of foot-work for just over (ostensibly) 2 years on the road...

S-M

Something else I have heard of people doing, since you can't roll back odometers anymore, or undo the speedo cable, is that I have heard of people changing out the dashes on mechanical displays. It wont work with a digital display, but on like my ford ranger which is a 2000, I can easily go to a salvage yard and get an identical instument cluster that has considerable lower miles on it, and swap mine out. Pkurtz

I wish I had read your post 3 months ago. I love the truck I bought, but one detail frustrated me. It has become very clear over the last 3 months that the original owner smoked. I had no idea a dealership could cover over the smell of smoke so well. Something to think about next time.

It will only come out in the A/C if the previous owner smokes if they ran the A/C on MAX for long periods of time, and didnt use the fresh air setting. I am a smoker, and I do smoke in my truck. BUT, when people get in my truck (non-smokers), they can barely tell I smoke. The reason for this is because I have installed those window vents that allow you to drop your window about an inch without getting rain and what not in the window. I keep my fan on 3 or 4 all the time when its cold outside, and just use the temp control to do just that. It keeps the smoke blowing out the window and fresh air coming in. If I do run my A/C, which is very rare, then I leave it on regular, and still roll the window down so the smoke goes out, right next to my head. Otherwise, if its warm, I just roll the windows down, and it all goes outside. I probably wont sell my truck ever, but if I do, I will have it professionally detailed as opposed to cleaning it myself, and change out the window seals. I doubt anyone will ever know my truck was smoked in. OH, and I have the rubber floor mats, so that also helps, the fabric in the truck is what holds the smell, but if you wash it down it will go away.