NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm out to buy another truck, somthing that doesnt use nearly as much fuel as my F350 ( awsome 14 miles to the gallon goin! ) but still lets me move some stuff around.

I looked around a local dealer, and I found a 1994 Ford Ranger Ext Cab, 2RWD,140hp 4 Banger, white.

Paint and body is in pretty decent condition.

Tires are about 85%. The truck has 170,471miles on it. Inspection is good until next year, and the salesman claims it will get about 24-27 miles per gallon.

I looked under with a flashlight, No body rust at all, no rust on the frame or drivetrain, or transmission. The only rust on the body is on the front bumper, and theres just a few spots on the crome, not bad at all.

The clutch was replaced 12,000 miles ago, and appears to be working just fine, ( its a 5 speed manuel ).

He wants 1950 USD for it.

Good deal? Or can I do better?

http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/default.cfm?page=news&newsid=8367485A-D56F-E112-437E728764001CA0

I say get this one. Because it's a robot. That's all I got.

I would check those claims about gas miliage, doesn't seem likely.

170k miles is a lot, especially on an American truck. There might be a consumer report somewhere on that year, I'll look but you should as well. If you really need a truck (and I won't question that you do) and you want miliage you might want to look for a diesel. You get power and efficiency. You might not get it for $2k, though-and if you can't afford it you can't afford it, that's all there is to that.

But consider, with a 170k mile truck you might be paying for repairs down the road that you can more or less just add to the $2k asking price. Though that does actually seem fair, but it's because you have a series of small and irratating repair to make in your near future.

If you can, take it to an independent mechanic for a look over. If they don't see anything massive on the horizen, you might be fine.

Here (http://www.internetautoguide.com/auto-recalls/67-int/1994/ford/ranger/base/index.html)
is a list of all the recalls for that model, make sure they've all been done.

http://www.nadaguides.com/home.aspx?l=1&w=28&p=0&f=5000&aid=63814&iid=51264&nozip=1

that should help you as a guide

If you scroll down you can find the JD Power rating for the truck here (http://www.edmunds.com/used/1994/ford/ranger/6715/ratings_jdpower.html)


EDIT: Considering miliage, he may not be giving you too much of a deal, looking at average costs, here (http://www.edmunds.com/used/1994/ford/ranger/6715/prices.html)

The problem is that I dont have anything else to trade in, expect my F350 ( which I NEED/ Present ). ANd I'm defiantly not trading that in.

Considering this guy is below most Dealerships by almost a 1000 dollars, wouldnt that be good?

As far as non-american trucks go, what would be a good foregin comparison for a ranger? Tacoma or somthing?

( Not mazdas, beacause those ARE rangers )

You could get a veggie van (http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/3/0/84081930.htm)...

EDIT: Okay, so looking around in order to get a diesel for the same price you have to get a much bigger truck and at least 10 years older, which might be a push all the way around, thus not really worth it. Though you could replace your F350 with a diesel F350 and you'd get the effeciency upgrade and be able to get rid of your current F350. But meh...

Yeah, the Tocoma and if Izuzu still made a pick-up at the time. The Tocoma is probably the best of the bunch, but pick-ups aren't my strong suit. My roommate and it seems some of his friends all have Tocomas and like them.

My current F350 has to stay, as it was a gift and would probably piss off ALOT of people if I sold it lol. The point of buying this truck is so I only have to drive around my 350 whenever I'm doing an install, which is not often.

I should mention there are a few other brands there, and am wondering what could be a better option.

This is a small town car lot, so you see ALOT of american brands. ( Westeren PA, alotta of ' American only ' stuff goin on )

There is a 1991 Dodge Dokota Sport V6 Automatic ext bed right next to the ranger. Black, paint in decent condition, its 2500 Dollars, it only has 76,000 miles on it. But upon closing inspection, the transmission slips and I noticed some rust on the lower parts of the body.

Theres also a 93 S10 with cap, and a 5-speed manuel for 2100 dollars.

There also a 89 F150 V8, for 1200, what kinda gas miliage would that get?

My current F350 has to stay, as it was a gift and would probably piss off ALOT of people if I sold it lol. The point of buying this truck is so I only have to drive around my 350 whenever I'm doing an install, which is not often.

I should mention there are a few other brands there, and am wondering what could be a better option.

This is a small town car lot, so you see ALOT of american brands. ( Westeren PA, alotta of ' American only ' stuff goin on )

There is a 1991 Dodge Dokota Sport V6 Automatic ext bed right next to the ranger. Black, paint in decent condition, its 2500 Dollars, it only has 76,000 miles on it. But upon closing inspection, the transmission slips and I noticed some rust on the lower parts of the body.

Theres also a 93 S10 with cap, and a 5-speed manuel for 2100 dollars.

There also a 89 F150 V8, for 1200, what kinda gas miliage would that get?
V8, bad.

Consider, you already have a really big truck that can fit all of your truck needs. If you need to haul something, etc, you have a truck.

Even if you do a lot of hauling, most of the time you're not hauling stuff. If you're going to keep the F350 and are looking for something more efficient when you don't need something like that you're not going to find it in another pickup. You might want to consider an actual car or something smaller because that's where you'll find enough of a change in efficiency to make having two vehicles worth it.

I never thought of it like that, what I am wondering is how many miles to the gallon a 4-banger Ranger would get?

THe main reason is, I dont like cars. I dont know why. Theres just somthing about sitting so close to the ground, I feel vunerable being that low. I remeber driving my freinds honda accord, scary stuff. I know they're some of the best vehicals on the road, but still scary.

How much would the difference in gas between a Ranger, and say a civic or escort be?

Poke around Here (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm) to look at and compare things about miliage. (they rate the Ranger at 22 mpg with an auto).

Also, since you can now consider cars you can also consider diesel cars again, and if small bothers you there is always the Mercedes diesels, or if you can get over the small thing (I thought I could never drive anything but two door sports cars and the like, until I got a vintage van...you adjust) then there are the VWs. Unfortunately, in the US that's about the breadth of your choices for diesel.

EDIT: Side by side, the Ranger got 22, the Civic got 32, and the Escort got 26. All the same year.

The problem is, I'm better a D Merecedes is REALLY expensive.

And those old V-dubs go for alot more than what they're worth Imo.

How many miles to the gallon would an 80s F250 or 150 desial get? If they even make them in the 150, which I think you can only get in speical order.

The problem is, I'm better a D Merecedes is REALLY expensive.

And those old V-dubs go for alot more than what they're worth Imo.

How many miles to the gallon would an 80s F250 or 150 desial get? If they even make them in the 150, which I think you can only get in speical order.
Well, I was going to argue that the mid 80s Mercedes where in your range, but looking at the sight they only get 22 mpg, so at that point you might as well get a pick-up if that's what you like.

I don't know the miliage on the F250 diesels, it wasn't on the site but I'm sure if you do some googling you can find that out (that's all I'm really doing, by the way, I'm jut googling for the answers.) Consider, though, that I added a diesel Golf to that comparison from that site and it was 40+ mpg. I mean, damn...and you can run it on vegetable oil, if you where so inclined...

Yeah, which isnt much better than the truck.

I could google, but I'd rather ask someone whos knows more about cars than I do, kuz I hardly know anything about cars and trucks, just that I need my 350 to hual, and a small truck to drive around in.

I took it for a test drive today, everything seems to be in order, only I dont know if they could improve this on that dodge or one of the 5 S10s they have, the suspension is probably the stiffest I have ever felt.

Still trying to decide, is there anything that Chevy and Dodge have that the ranger wouldnt?

Not a ford guy but one of my employees drives and beats the living hell out of his Ranger and its flex fuel if you have e85 in your area.

I'm trying to figure out what your exact use for this truck is. Since you say you aren't a "car guy" the USE should determine what you get rather than the vehicle itself. I suspect that you need something to get to and from work everyday, possibly carrying larger items for work, and then some hauling room on the weekends. When you really need to move the big stuff, you'll still have your 350.

My dad drove a Ford Ranger through two styling changes from the early 90s until just this year. I was too young to drive the first one, but he put damn near 250K on it and it was still going strong. His '96 got decent mileage, the extended cab was large enough for the occasional 3rd passenger or baggage that shouldn't be left in the bed. He had the 3.0 L v6 and the truck never felt all that capable to me.

During my job in high school I drove my bosses early 90's s10 or his 00 s10 for small landscaping deliveries and short hops to the farm. The older one had the 4.3 and the newer one had a 4 cyl. They had roughly the same size and capabilties of the Ranger, but always felt more capable. A bit more tourqe and certainly a better ride than the Ford.

I think you're looking for trucks about that old. Comparing the two the Ranger sits and feels like a bigger truck, its higher, has a more robust (if uncomfortable) suspension, and is geared like a truck, it will not go much faster than 95 mph. The s10 sits lower and feels more like a car. There isn't as much ground clearance (which can make loading easier) and it offers a smoother ride. A possible advantage of the Ranger is that its going to have the same controls as your 350.

Decide what you want to really use the vehicle for. If you are looking for a daily commuter, but are just worried about occasional larger loads, you'd be surprised what you can fit into a car.

I hope my experience helps. I think the ages of the trucks I drove are in the range you'd be looking to buy used.

Look for shared models too. The Mazda B2000 IS a Ford Ranger, the GMC Sonoma is an s10, and I think one of the Japanese collaborations got some s10 parts too, not sure though.

Also, try to find a copy of the Top Gear (BBC car show) and watch their destructive testing of a Toyta Hilux. Thats the model of truck you see on the news in Arabia and Africa, the one running off of dirty gas, never had an oil change, with insurgents and AK-47s in the back. Rugged doesn't quite cover it.