Best place to find used pickup

Anonymous-0 · Jan 31, 2014

I am in need of a f250 crew cab truck. What area Should I look? Are used truck prices better in TX vs ND for example? I dont want one from a salt state. Are city trucks easier to find than farm trucks, or in better condition from lack of hard work? Is a fixer upper a better deal than making payments on one ready to drive? In my area they are either rusted out, or to expensive for my pocket.

Bob Huntress · Jan 31, 2014

One thing about a 3/4 ton pick up is in my opinion they are always worth fixing. You take a chance in either Texas or North Dakota. A lot of trucks in Texas are still being sold that were flooded during the hurricanes, while I would think North Dakota would need to salt the roads in winter. If you don't pay to much for the truck and are able to do the work yourself, a fixer upper isn't a bad plan. When you think about it, any time you buy a truck that is more than a couple years old, you need to consider it in need of repairs to a varying degree. May I ask if it needs to be a Ford 3/4 ton?

VicS · Jan 31, 2014

A friend of mine has a F250 crew cab 4X4 for sale. It might be to new for you I think it is a 12. But is a 6.2 gas and is just a XLT. It is located in southern Il. He is down sizing.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 31, 2014

I need a f250 or 350 to pull a stock trailer or gooseneck. My family always owned Ford trucks, guess that is just what I feel comfortable with. I know there must be trucks in someones back yard or fence line they have put to pasture. I just dont have a clue how to look , or where they are.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 31, 2014

I would like to find one that has the 7.3 if I could. Hear good things about this engine.

Bob · Jan 31, 2014

Good luck if you can find a decent used truck up here in ND and outbid the oilfield ----- (SWELL guys)!

VicS · Jan 31, 2014

Not a bad way to go. I would stay away from 6.0's. My son has a Old Cab style F350 7.3 crew cab 4X4. It is nice as a new one. He is saving it. Uses a Dodge 5.9 to work with.

DeltaRed · Jan 31, 2014

Buy a 'truck' in the southwest.We dont have salt.Pickups are the norm-bigger selection.But they are a little pricer here.

Steve@Advance · Jan 31, 2014

I think Texas would be a good place to look, especially north TX, that's where I live by the way.

It's away from the coast and we don't salt the roads. There are thousands of 3/4 and 1 ton duellys running up and down the freeway that have never hauled anything heaver than a grocery sack!

Status symbols of the wanna'be cowboys!

The price? Probably high, but buying a worn out diesel isn't practical. Repair prices are prohibitive, late model Fords are hard to repair, like remove the cab to get the engine out... YUCK!

I think if I were set on a diesel, I'd take a leap of faith and get a good one. You can always sell it if times got hard.

Buy a bad one and spend a ton on it, still stuck with a patched up time bomb... MHO

Steve@Advance · Jan 31, 2014

I know there must be trucks in someones back yard or fence line they have put to pasture. I just dont have a clue how to look , or where they are.

Well... If it's been put out to pasture, there's got to be a reason it's put out to pasture...

If you're willing to go cross country for one, you'll have to do nation wide research. Places like Truck Trader, Ebay Motors, etc.,

Just be aware, someone's definition of "NICE!" or "CLEAN!" may be your definition of "I came all this way for that piece of xxxx!" It happens, been there!

ShadetreeRet · Jan 31, 2014

So, if you are looking for a 7.3 engine, you will need to go back to 2003 or older. And you heard correctly, the 7.3 was one of the best engines ever offered by Ford.

charles craig · Feb 1, 2014

you can find well equipped trucks at CarMax.com

Allan in NE · Feb 1, 2014

Nadine,

The 7.3 doesn't hold a candle to the 6.7 and the '12 is absolutely 'light years' ahead of that old body style in terms of creature comforts and ride.

Just my 2¢,

Allan

MarkB_MI · Feb 1, 2014

Used pickup trucks in decent condition are scarcer than hen's teeth. If you want one that's usable, it will be quite expensive or it will be an oddball. Your best bet is to focus on trucks no more than five years old and prepare to dig deep into your pocketbook. You should be able to find a former lease vehicle with reasonably low mileage.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 1, 2014

I bought a 2000 F250 Lariat 7.3 from an 81 yr old friend in Oct. 2012 with only 23000 miles on it. He is a homebody who seldom went anywhere...kinda lost the skill of driving. You may find a similar situation somewhere. It still does not have 25k on it as I continue to drive "old Blue" my 91 F250.

Ultradog MN · Feb 1, 2014

One thing you can try is searchtempest.com.
Set your parameters such as keyword or words, high and low price and distance you are willing to travel. Then start clicking.
Search tempest searches all of the craigslists in a given area. I use it often to search for tractor stuff.

Dick2 · Feb 1, 2014

I knew a used car dealer in MN that comes to AZ in the winter and buys used pickups & cars with no rust and has car haulers take them back to MN to resell. He bought my 12-year-old Toyota pickup because it was is great condition.

It had never been driven in snow. When he got back to MN, he decided that he would only drive it in the summer for his business - the pickup is now 23 years old and has never been driven in snow!

You might want to check for pickups in AZ, but look for city vehicles and avoid ranch trucks as they are usually pretty beat up. Sorry, my 11-year-old Toyota Tundra is not for sale. (The MN dealer is 1st on the list if I do want to sell it).

Goose · Feb 1, 2014

I second staying away from ranch pickups.

I once bought four year old Chevy pickup that came from a ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. I bought it as a rebuilder for body damage, so I had no illusions about it.

Turned out the engine was shot, too, but rebuilding a 350 Chevy engine was not that big of a deal. Only when I pulled the engine, I found one of the motor mount brackets was bent. How the heck do you bend a motor mount bracket unless you play "Dukes of Hazard"?

I rebuilt both the body and the engine, sold it, and still made good money on it, but you gotta keep your eyes wide open about pickups that come out of ranch country.

I'd go with a city pickup. Yuppies and others buy them for status symbols instead of to put to work and a lot of them have never been off of pavement. You can tell a lot by looking inside the box. You'll see a lot of five year old pickups that don't have a scratch in the paint inside the box.

My 2 cents.

GordoSD · Feb 1, 2014

What is your price range?

Anonymous-0 · Feb 1, 2014

Just be careful that you don't get one from a dealer that deals in flooded vehicles. You'll get a lifetime problem vehicle. Especially the newer ones.

pete black · Feb 1, 2014

nw alabama seems to have an abundance for sell on lots and by individuals. they appear to have been used for commute purposes, kids/grocery haulers and status. not sure of prices though fords generally sale for less than chevrolets.

LAA · Feb 1, 2014

Craigslist, florida, arizona, alabama, lots of retired people who have sold there travel trailers and many have 5-10 year old low milage, well maintained trucks for sale. Some of the same places where there are plenty of retired geezers are also where there is little demand for heavy duty pick ups.

Geo-TH,In · Feb 1, 2014

I will only buy new vehicles after the next year's models are out. Dealer wants to get rid of them. My last truck was a 2007 GMC work truck, $13,400 out the door tax included, cash, no trade in. I went to a dealer who got on his computer and dealer traded for the truck I wanted. I got everything on it that I wanted, a plan Jane work truck.

If I want to haul people, I have a car that gets better mileage.

If I were to buy a used vehicles, I would go to a dealer. Why a dealer? Because there are people who trade in vehicles every 2 or 3 years. Dealers only keep the good trade ins and the rest go to the auto auctions, where used car sales buy theirs.

If the dealer think your trade is worthless, that vehicles may show up on craigslist. You may get lucky and find something nice on craigslist, but you are going to spent a lot of time and travel to find them. Good luck.

I helped a friend buy a used car. We went to all the used car places first. Then found a nice 2 year old car with 10,000 miles, still under waranty at the dealer.

Just my $.02.

Pops1532 · Feb 1, 2014

The problem with buying a used F250 is there are usually two choices.....relatively new with high miles (usually racked up those miles pulling a trailer) and a big price tag, or older and plain old used up.
People buy F250 and F350 to work them so finding a good used one at a good price can be difficult. Sometimes buying new makes more sense than borrowing money to buy a used truck. As was mentioned, buying a left over model can be a good strategy.

NEVER buy a truck that's been used to plow snow.

Unless you're proficient at repairing vehicles don't buy a project truck.

My advice is buy the truck that's in the best condition with the lowest miles that your budget will allow.
Have cash in hand or at least your financing arranged prior to shopping for a truck.
Know when to pull the trigger and know when to walk away.

Dick2 · Feb 1, 2014

The first time the company sent me to Montana I heard what the standard was for ranch pickups.

"Will it jump a 4 foot wash?"

I decided then not to ever buy a used ranch pickup, as I expect that standard applies to most ranches.

T in NE · Feb 2, 2014

They don't like to buy "southern trucks" (from South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado) up north. Too much salt. Too cold up there. At least that's what I was told when I was there.

T in NE · Feb 2, 2014

Comfort-wise, maybe. But that 7.3 will still be on the road long after the cost of maintaining all that emissions BS takes your 6.7 off the road.

ss55 · Feb 2, 2014

As LAA said, look for one that has pulled a travel trailer. Generally they are abused less than trucks used for business.

Best place to find used pickup

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