I found a 1996 F350 on Craigslist this morning. It is the 7.3L diesel, crew cab, power everything, 160,000 miles and it also includes a BriMar dump bed that can dump 3 tons. The price that is posted for this truck is $1996. The seller is in a city that is in the heaviest part of the snow belt in my county but the truck appears to be clean. What should I look or listen for if I go to look at the truck? I will call the owner this morning to go look at it and see if there any issues with the truck because the price seems really low to me. I looked at KBB and it said suggested retail value is $7450. Would this even be a good buy since it has 160,000 on the clock? I've heard that if maintained, these trucks will run for a couple hundred thousand miles but I'm not sure. Also, you have to plug in diesels in the winter to keep the engine block warm, correct? I'm looking for another vehicle and this seems like a great buy but I don't know a whole lot about diesels other than you can free up a lot of horsepower. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Here are the pics that were posted of it.

 

160,000 on that gen 7.3 is low miles. They will easily run 300k if you maintain it. Price is super low, so make sure its not anything funky.

 

you don't have to plug a diesel in, it just starts easier in the winter and the heater comes on quicker. Look in the valley and the back of the block for oil and fuel leaks, with that old of a truck o-rings start rotting but not a big deal. See if the glow plugs and glow plug harnesses have been changed if not it needs it. If i was to buy that truck i would change out the glow plugs, glow plug harnesses, glow plug relay, valve cover gaskets, starter and two new batteries. You can get all that for under $600 and you won't have to worry about your truck not starting in the winter. If you need links for the parts let me know

 

look for rust on the underside

 

look for rust on the wheel wells and rust on the lower rear of the cab

 

The fender flares might be hiding rust. My buddy put them on his b/c he got tired of looking at the rust, not because he was trying to hide it to potential buyers when he sold it.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. Now get this, I called about the truck and left a message. The guy called me back and works for a landscaping company and has only had the truck for 14,000 miles. He goes on and on about all the options the truck has and everything and that it was in great shape. He also tells me it has new tires, brakes, brake lines, etc. He said, you have to see it for yourself, it's a great truck that came from down south. I then ask him about the price just to confirm, you know. He says $10,000. I'm like, "What?" I told him the price on Craigslist said just under $2000. He said one of his workers posted that listing but he put up others on Autotrader and other places himself. No wonder his phone has been ringing off the hook. I thought it sounded too good to be true but was worth checking out. Someday I'll get one, today just happened to not be that day.