Which Truck to buy
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
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Which Truck to buy
I'm sorry I've not done any deep searches yet but I sort of have to decide which F-150 I going to buy today.
The two trucks, both are 2000 4WD Lariat trim. Truck number one has the 5.7 liter engine, 52,000 miles with the switch on the dashboard 4WD system. Extended cab and a lot of toys including an electric brake thing for a trailer. Price is 15,000 which includes a comprehensive 2 year warranty.
Truck two has the 5.4 Liter engine with a gear lever to go into and out of 4WD. 96,000 miles plus an additional 700 for a comprehensive 1 yr warranty. Price for this is 12,600 with the warranty.
Truck one on the surface seems to be the much better deal. My main question has to do with the different 4WD systems. Does the electrical system leave a lot of rotating parts moving when disengaged as compared to the more mechanical lever arrangement? Is the electrical system prone to excessive failures?
Any major issues vis-a-vis the 5.4 vs the 5.7 L engines? In either case, the truck will be used sparingly, probably nore more than 7500 miles a year. No heavy towing planned but I do want to put a small snowplow on for my own driveway use.
Thanks for and and all advice.
The two trucks, both are 2000 4WD Lariat trim. Truck number one has the 5.7 liter engine, 52,000 miles with the switch on the dashboard 4WD system. Extended cab and a lot of toys including an electric brake thing for a trailer. Price is 15,000 which includes a comprehensive 2 year warranty.
Truck two has the 5.4 Liter engine with a gear lever to go into and out of 4WD. 96,000 miles plus an additional 700 for a comprehensive 1 yr warranty. Price for this is 12,600 with the warranty.
Truck one on the surface seems to be the much better deal. My main question has to do with the different 4WD systems. Does the electrical system leave a lot of rotating parts moving when disengaged as compared to the more mechanical lever arrangement? Is the electrical system prone to excessive failures?
Any major issues vis-a-vis the 5.4 vs the 5.7 L engines? In either case, the truck will be used sparingly, probably nore more than 7500 miles a year. No heavy towing planned but I do want to put a small snowplow on for my own driveway use.
Thanks for and and all advice.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,823
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From: Houston, TX
Engine issues aside, I'd try to get a handle on how the trucks were actually used.
On the surface, the initial reaction is to go with the truck that has only 52,000 miles, but if that truck spent its time doing a lot of plowing, or doing a lot of towing, or doing a lot of 4-wheeling, it might well have more "wear" on it than a 100,000 mile truck that was used primarily for long highway trips!
Of course, obtaining this information on a used vehicle can be very difficult -- that's why purchasing a used vehicle is always a crapshoot! I prefer to buy new and run them into the ground -- that way I know how a vehicle has been maintained, how it has been used, and whether or not it is worth investing in certain repairs as it nears the end of its service life!
For the dollars you are mentioning, unless your REALLY need a 4wd truck, I might be inclined to look at buying a new, somewhat "less fancy", 2wd truck, versus the 4wd Lariats you are currently looking at. Cost-wise they'll be close, but you won't have nearly as much of the worry that goes along with a major purchase like this!
Either way, good luck with your decision!
On the surface, the initial reaction is to go with the truck that has only 52,000 miles, but if that truck spent its time doing a lot of plowing, or doing a lot of towing, or doing a lot of 4-wheeling, it might well have more "wear" on it than a 100,000 mile truck that was used primarily for long highway trips!
Of course, obtaining this information on a used vehicle can be very difficult -- that's why purchasing a used vehicle is always a crapshoot! I prefer to buy new and run them into the ground -- that way I know how a vehicle has been maintained, how it has been used, and whether or not it is worth investing in certain repairs as it nears the end of its service life!
For the dollars you are mentioning, unless your REALLY need a 4wd truck, I might be inclined to look at buying a new, somewhat "less fancy", 2wd truck, versus the 4wd Lariats you are currently looking at. Cost-wise they'll be close, but you won't have nearly as much of the worry that goes along with a major purchase like this!
Either way, good luck with your decision!
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Aggieland, TX
As said, there is no 5.7L engine that Ford makes, so thats probably supposed to be the 5.4
For the 4WD, both systems use vaccuum to engage the front differential, its just a matter of what kind of switch you are using. I have not heard of any problems with the electrical switch itself, but every now and again you can run into problems with the vaccuum lines, but as I said, both systems have that. I would not make this a deciding factor.
You might want to see if you can find one of the 7700# package F150s, that would better suit you for the snow plow, although it doesnt sound like you will be plowing a whole lot anyway.
Figure out which truck is in better overall condition, the fact that the first truck has about half as many miles as the other makes me think that would be a better choice, but as someone else said, that can also depend on how the previous owner drove it...since it has an EBC it probably did alot of (heavy) towing, so thats something to consider. Try to get a mechanic to look over the trucks and get an opinion there.
For the 4WD, both systems use vaccuum to engage the front differential, its just a matter of what kind of switch you are using. I have not heard of any problems with the electrical switch itself, but every now and again you can run into problems with the vaccuum lines, but as I said, both systems have that. I would not make this a deciding factor.
You might want to see if you can find one of the 7700# package F150s, that would better suit you for the snow plow, although it doesnt sound like you will be plowing a whole lot anyway.
Figure out which truck is in better overall condition, the fact that the first truck has about half as many miles as the other makes me think that would be a better choice, but as someone else said, that can also depend on how the previous owner drove it...since it has an EBC it probably did alot of (heavy) towing, so thats something to consider. Try to get a mechanic to look over the trucks and get an opinion there.
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
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I stand corrected regarding the engine. Poor eye-sight, they are both 5.4's. I didn't think about the towing aspects. They both have the heavy duty towing package. I'm going with the lower mileage one. It doesn't seem to have led a hard life so far. It's not going to get beat up by me. I will be hauling gardening supplies and wood mostly. Wish I could buy new or 2WD but I need 4WD for occasional long commute in the winter. Having had a truck for the past 20 years, not having one has proven to be a bigger loss than I expected. Being a maintenance freak, I'm sure the truck will last as long as I'll ever need it to. Thanks all for the advice. BTW, the truck KBB'd over 16 so it's not even too bad a price.