Which used F150 should I buy?

Just about any well maintained used truck should do you well. Once you find one you like ask for any sevice records, and it's always a good idea to have it checked out by a reputable mechanic. It would be nice if you can verify regular oil changes of around 3000 mile intervals, as this alone is probably the single most important thing you can do to insure the longevity of any engine. Avoid anything that has been modified to high performance, you can bet they have not been "babied" and will most likely become money pits.

As to Transmissions: unless the truck you are looking at has been primarily a highway vehicle expect to be doing a trans rebuild around 100K. You might get lucky & get alot more out of one, but if so, do keep $$ in your budget to have it done when it goes out. For what it's worth I would prefer a vehicle that has mostly highway miles.

I'd also steer you toward the small V8 (ie. 4.6 liter or 5.0 liter) over the 6's or 351's. These are great motors, long lasting and very dependable. The 6 in my experience really does not get significantly better fuel economy and just feels a little wimpy when you need to load it down. That said, the older straight six's are very easy to work on, and I once owned an old Sears fleet truck (E-200) with the 240 six and three on the tree that was still running like a top when I sold it with 345,000 mile on it (I put over half of those miles on myself, many times rediculously overloaded).

As to the thought of getting a diesel: My current truck is a 2000 F-250 Powerstroke so I can speak from some experience there too. First let me say I love this truck, but if I had bought it to save some money on fuel that is more than lost in other places. Sure, no tune ups etc.,, but when you change the oil it's 17 quarts and a $20 filter. When the trans needs rebuilding it's no less than $2K. At the dealer it's closer to $4K. My point is that they may not need parts & maintenance as often as a gasser, but when they do all the parts are more expensive. And if you have to put in in the shop for anything you'd better have the K-Y jelly handy. Also, diesel is not always cheaper than gas. It tends to follow the price of regular unleaded, although there is about a 2 month lag; as gas goes up diesel is cheaper, but as gas goes down diesel is more expensive. All that said, my F-250 does get over 21 MPG on the highway at 70 MPH, but my last truck ('89 F-150, 5 liter, 5 speed) got 19. If you are pulling any kind of load the difference is much more noticable, that is the diesel still gets

18 - 20 with a 5000 lb. trailer, the gasser gets 12 with a 4000 lb. trailer.

My overall best experience with a pickup truck so far has to be that '89 F-150 XLT , which I bought new. I put almost 200,000 miles on it and did nothing but a water pump, a starter, 1 of the 3 fuel pumps, and replace the A/C system to R134, and besides that all I did was put in gas, change the oil every 3K and drive it. Oh yea, 1 set of brakes,1 muffler & tailpipe, &

1 battery, 3 sets of tires. That's all. Reluctantly I just sold it 2 months ago, but the guy who bought it sure is happy......

The main thing is to look for one that has been maintained and generally taken care of right. Then keep doing that. I hope any of this helps. I just got started & kept rambling......

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Hi JohnH!

WOW, what a thoughtful response! Lots of very useful information! Thanks so much!

Moffett

1991 F-150 5.0 SCab SB auto

Trans went at 75000 miles and $2700 here to replace, 118K today working fine with extra cooling this time

134 conversion, never found the r-12 leak. water pump f calipers 2 front brake sets

I do 17 hwy, 12 city. 25 mi to work and back avg 15. EOD (auto)

With complete maintenance and receipts, worth about $4000. Not really for sale, but then again everything is always for sale so to speak.

That's reassuring. My'89 F150 has needed little in the way of repairs. It is only up to 107,000 miles. '89 was the last year they assembled them in Australia. It is great to know that my truck has plenty of useful life because it is my favourite vehicle and literally irreplacable - in Oz anyway.