So I was delivering some equipment to a local dealer today (Chevy) and there sat an 01 Ranger, V6, extended cab, flareside, 4X4, same color as my 150, a virtual mini-me for my truck except for no lid, but it does have the Ford liner. Started yappin with a salesman, crunched the numbers for the hell of it and came up with a $9400 asking and a $4500 trade on my truck (I have the sum total of $3500 into my truck including purchase price.

Downside, no real towing capacity, but we have a new 250 turbo diesel at work so I don't have to use mine anymore and I can borrow it to haul equipment for my home projects. And payload, but I have the short box flareside (I think) so it's just a little narrower and a bit shorter, no more laying plywood down flat.

Upside, gas mileage, 10K less miles and a pristine body.

Thoughts, comments etc?

 

HANG ON THEIR BUDDY!!!

Don't be fooled into thinking that you are going very far up the gas mileage scale, because a Ranger just BARELY gets better mileage. Go waste some money on gas for that Ranger, fill it up, take it on a 100 mile test drive, and then fill the tank again to see how your mileage actually turns out. Make sure you drive it the same way and same places you drive your other pig now.

I would bet that the difference will NOT pay for itself within any short to medium time frame.

I was looking at 06s over the weekend, and the window sticker mileage on the ranger supercab is only 1 mpg better than the SUPERCREW F150. I've had friends tell me that their Ranger sucks the gas too. I'd hate to see you give up a good truck for a pipe dream.

 

Good point.

I had not played with the numbers until now. Actually never considered a Ranger. But using 15000 miles per year, at the 22 mpg estimated for the ranger and 19 mpg shown for the F150, it's only about $300.00 per year difference if fuel stays at $3.00 per gallon.

That's not worth it for me. Considering I get about 13.5-14.5 around town in my Supercrew. Highway only 17.5- 18.0. Some are getting even better.

But if someone just wants a smaller vehicle, the Ranger is pretty nice. And alot cheaper than a full size.

 

I HATE Rangers. Don't do it, you'll regret it. They have NO payload capacity whatsoever, and no power. And are too small, aren't comfortable, etc, etc.

 

I am assuming your truck is paid for . . . yes?

If so, you're going five thousand dollars in debt to buy a smaller truck . . . that doesn't get much better mileage . . .

take the difference in mpg, figure out how much money you save per tank full, divide 5000 dollars per tank full (fill up) saved, and that's how many fill ups it will take before you "break even" . . . and that doesn't take into consideration whether or not the truck you would buy has problems (it's an unknown quantity vs your truck which is a known quantity) and also not to mention the value you place on having a bigger truck (personally I'd put a lot of value on that).

It would probably take a long time to spend the difference between what you pay to run your current truck with the smaller one . . .

so it's probably not worth it.

Actually, if your only concern is gas mileage, then it's almost certainly not worth it.

 

Your 95 is built ten times better than a ranger.

Adrianspeeder

 

Keep the 95. They look better and are just plain awesome. Do you have the I6 engine? Even better.

 

That 300 straight six is one of the best engines ever produced in my opinion. I had one in my 85 Bronco, and even though it wasn't fuel injected, you could not beat it for hill climbing. I also had the fuel injected version in my 91 F150, and it was awesome as well. Good power, great mileage, and easy to maintain.

 

I wouldn't buy the Ranger myself because it doesn't make much sense financially but I disagree with Zaairman.

The Ranger is a great little truck. True it can haul or tow as much but for its size it is a great truck. My brother-in law has one and it tows great, has hauled more weight than I thought it could handle and is great fun off-roading.

I love my F-150 but the Ranger is a great truck

 

I really like the Ranger. I had a 94 I drove and really, if I'm honest, abused for about ten years.

I towed a 15 foot bass boat from Georgia to WV, to Canada and back again and it never missed a beat. Had also hauled all kinds of crap in it and pushed the limit on what it could haul numerous times.

Mine had the 4.0 in it with a five speed and really it was great and did have good power for a small truck. But they are right, my 4.6 isn't as good on gas, but it is only maybe 3-4 mile per gallon difference.

All of that being said, I made the jump in January to an 04 F150 Supercab and don't think I could ever go back. Im a big guy and like the feeling of driving my living room.

The price seems good on that truck though, if you drive it and like it, go for it. You won't be disappointed with a Ranger, unless you are constantly comparing it to your F150...

 

I'm still doing the math, but it really looks like the Ranger would be the way to go with gas mileage and the book values, especially since they're giving me about a grand more than I have into it and the the Ranger is priced below book. The Ranger would have a 6/60 warranty on it as well that covers pretty much anything I wouldn't want to take care of myself. It's 4.0 BTW.

Damn this is tough, I love the truck I have now, but gas around here is making it hard to enjoy without giving up other things that are more of a priority than pleasure cruises. then again, four more miles a gallon isn't going to change that all that much.

 

How do you know for certain the gas mileage will be what you expect. If a deal sounds too good to be true; chances are it is.

 

5.8, we had an I6 in our 250 at my last job, good truck but the 5.8 definitely out pulls it. The I6 pulled our dump trailer empty like my 5.8 pulls it full.

 

Im not for or against because I love both vehicles, but the other advantage is that you will have a vehicle that is six years newer as well.

IF it is at a GM dealer, you may get a better deal too because they only want crap on their lot and nothing good... so they don't want the Fords, makes their Chevys look a lot worse.