I want a 97-03 reg cab 4x4 5.4 that I can drive anywhere and everywhere and it'll me my everyday driver etc.. Found alot of trucks that are 11 hrs away and only 1 that's 10 miles from me that has 180,000 but it's in great condition.. Question is should I still shoot for a lower mileaged truck? I have alot of plans for one when I get it ( lift rims tires etc) and later down the road a ford racing engine and tranny.. Only thing is that most of these trucks that are far away I'd be buying blind eye and having then shipped since it would cost so much to go there.. Should I hold out and wait for a lower mileaged truck?

 

If I were reeeallly interested in a truck that was 11 hours away, I would drive out to look it over. I can't see how having it shipped would be cheaper, and buying blind would be a no no. If you are planning on a new drive train anyway, go for the more local one if you like it.... or keep looking and one will turn up

 

I have a friend who buys vehicles from out of state. He hires someone outside of the dealer to go and test drive/inspect the vehicle and relate the info back to him. If everything is good he buys it and sets up delivery which costs him about $400. But he waits to find a company already heading here with other vehicles and room for one more. Personally, not something I would do.

 

There's professional outfits that will go out and inspect a vehicle for you. I found a king ranch ex-cab in NC and had one go out. Wasn't particularly thrilled with the results though, a lot of he said, she said from both the inspector & the dealer. I ended up passing on that one, I think it was $150.

I'd never buy something sight unseen though. I've traveled 100's of miles in all directions looking for my f150 and mustang, and seen some utterly terrible vehicles with low mileage on them, while of course being reassured that they were "mint" and essentially wasting hours of time and boatloads of gas.

 

I bought my '03 7700 from a small dealer about 1100 miles away. The dealer had about 30 pics, and I also had them bring it to the local Ford Dealer for a survey (about $150). Everything looked ok, so I got a cashiers check and boarded a plane (using my frequent flyer miles).

I buy from a distance because vehicles in Minnesota are rust buckets. In addition, what I was looking for was so specific there weren't available. My search took about one year. Had things not worked out, I would have just cashed in more miles and returned.

Good luck!

Boarding the Plane to Montana.

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I searched for about six months to find the truck I wanted. I wanted a single cab FX4 which wasn't very easy to find.

Then one day a dealer less than a mile from me took one in as a trade with only 44k, one owner. I bought it the day it went on the lot lol.

Like other have said, don't ever buy a vehicle without seeing it unless someone you trust can check it out. I drove 400 miles to buy a truck that looked perfect in the dealer photos, but in person it looked like crap. Some dealers do use programs like PhotoShop and use professional photographers to hide things.