Hey everybody, I've tried to search the world over for this and I know the generic service list for buying a new car, but this used Screw is a new creature for me so I'd like some input.

I just recently (take ownership tomorrow) purchased a 2004 Lariat SuperCrew from a dealer auction which looks like it was lived in. I didn't get the best price for it IMO, but I didn't want an anemic 4.6 and 5.4's are VERY hard to come by under $15k. The only way it seems to do it is if it has a ton of miles, and this one has 112k on it.

The body is in near perfect shape, the tires need to be changed though. The front brakes have a little squeal to them and the interior is definitely used (to the point that the tan has come off some parts of the leather).

When I got it, the radio was busted, the mirrors were broken, the drivers side door-lock didn't work, there were no headlights, the foglights didn't work, a rear vent was damaged, and the rear window didn't open/shut. Other than that it's mint

The guy who went to the auction for me;
(1) Fixed the door lock
(2) Fixed the rear-sliding window
(3) Replaced both side mirrors
(4) Replaced the headlights / fog lights
(5) Fixed vent

All of this being said, I've never purchased a used Automatic (and I wouldn't have now if I had a choice in the matter!). My initial impression is that I should change the oil, possibly change out the coolant, and possibly change transmission fluids. It also needs tires soon. I have no idea on the history of the vehicle, so I'm not sure what the situation is with the timing chain or spark plugs.

Knowing these vehicles, does anybody have a link to a "do this yesterday" list and a "do this in the next couple of months" list?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Nobody wants to throw me a bone? I'll even take a "google this" at this point

 

Pretty much standard stuff. Change all fluids and filters. Give it a thorough inspection. You may also want to consider changing the plugs. Search here for the headaches invloved in that little venture.

Go here to look up the maint. schedule for your truck. http://www.genuineservice.com/genuin...ault?page=Home

Sounds like it has been ragged. How much did you give for it?

 

I would have the tranny flushed, change the oil as you said, change the coolant and change the fuel filter. The timing chain should be fine. The sparkplugs need to be changed for sure. You need to do a search on the "sparkplug TSB" and do some reading about the problems with these plugs, if you are not familiar with them. When doing the plugs, I would also change the boots. Look at the brake fluid, if it is murkey, I would have it flushed too. Moisture can contaminate and eat up parts.

Hope the truck works out well for you.

One other note, you can pick up factory take off seat covers and replace those if it would help.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure what the history of this vehicle is, but I'm normally wary of "auction" vehicles, but I couldn't find anything decent on my own. I paid $14,700 OTD for it, but they did an amazing job cleaning it up. Dealerships in this area would push this vehicle for $18-$19k easily. The engine bay is amazingly clean, and I'll check the fluids this evening. I have read up on the spark plugs and believe I'll leave the first one to the experts. Is there anyone in the Richmond area that can recommend a dealership that's NOT Sheehy off of Midlothian?

 

O2 sensors and fuel filters are two biggies on these trucks. The O2's should be changed now and about every 30,000 miles there after, and the fuel filter should be changed every 10,000 to 15,000 miles.

 

Sooo, I took it to the dealership to get worked on, expecting this list to take approximately 4 hours:

(1) Spark plugs
(2) Fuel Filter
(3) Oil Change
(4) Coolant Flush
(5) Brake fluid flush
(6) Transmission flush
(7) Inspect/Replace O2 Sensors
(8) Air filter
(9) Normal inspection

After 1 hour, this is what they came back with:

(1) Spark Plugs : 3 hours ~ $450
(2) Fuel Filter: 1 hour
(3) Oil change: 45 minutes
(4) Coolant Flush : 1 hour
(5) Brakes : Not necessary
(6) Transmission Flush : 1 hour
(7) Front O2 Sensor: 1 hour
(8) Air Filter : negligable
(9) Torn CV-Boot: 1 hour
(10) Clean mud off transmission/underside of car, check sensors and relube: 1 hour
(11) Take truck to exhaust shop due to broken hanger

Total quoted: 10 hours, ~$1500.00

There was a medium-sized garbage can full of dirt from the bottom of my truck. It seems the previous owner had a lot of fun with the truck I was unaware of.

Now I have a few questions. Was that a fair price? I'm basically bogarting a technician for a day and a quarter, but I don't see parts being more than $300, so am I really paying $1200 in labor? If so, does anybody have a job I can make $1000 / day at? :-p

Additionally, the bottom of the car is FILTHY. Is there anything wrong with going under the car with a hard-bristled brush and a hose and going nuts on it? Is there any area I should avoid (obviously I would be delicate with any obvious sensors). Any cleaners anybody could recommend if necessary?

Now knowing this truck was offroad at least once, is there anything I should look out for or any ADDITIONAL maintenance I should do beyond the 11 items mentioned above?

 

They are getting to you for about an hour on the plugs. The fuel filter costs $13 at a parts store and takes about 10 minutes.

 

45 minutes for an oil change? Wow.

 

Seems about right for a Dealer. Thats a lot of work and they gotta mark stuff up a bit.

 

So I just picked the truck back up and I'm now $1622.64 lighter. I don't think I'll be able to sit for a week and I have an imprinted recollection of a 600 lb man named Tiny calling me Sally.

I had a decent amount done, but I'm debating how fairly I was priced. These are a few of the line items I take issue with, and I would like some opinions on them:

(1) Labor on Spark Plugs: $275.90
(2) O2 Sensors Parts : $109.73 / each (219.46 total)
(3) O2 Sensors Labor : $133.50 (how hard are these things to get too?!)
(4) Fuel Filter Parts : $17.89
(5) Fuel Filter Labor : $37.50 (?!?!?!)
(6) Air Filter Parts : $40.00 (K&N is < $50....)
(7) Air Filter Labor : $115.72 (just kidding... only $4.95)

For reference, Oil Change labor was $11.45.

And finally, I received this pearl as a note (copied verbatim):

REPLACED BOTH UPSTREAM O2 SENSORS FOR MAINTENENCE
NOTICED HAS LOW IDLE AN INFUTURE WILL NEED TIMING
CHAINS AN TENSIONERS MAKING NOISE

I haven't heard anything, but this is my first engine with a timing chain, so I'm not sure what to listen for. The truck has a very consistent idle, but I had just reprogrammed the PCM back to stock (it was on Evo stage 2) approximately 15 miles prior to handing it over to the dealership. The truck has 112,000 miles on it.

What should I be looking at? Is it really possible the timing chain needs to be replaced already? I was under the impression these chains lasted anywhere from 150k on up.

 

The fact that they charged you labor at all to do the air filter shows that they are a dealership full of crooks.