not eally new to the diesel world but new to purchasing one. i am looking at a 2001 xlt ext cab f350 w/7.3 w/ 131000 miles its red and in pretty good shape with a 8'' lift and worn down 37x13.50x20 rims are in good hape but tires are ugly need new ones but ovrall its got a straight pipe 6 gun tuner and overall pretty decent. they are asking 17800 for the truck but they say they will fix the electrical issues on it. which arent many and is that a good price with crappy tires and what should i ask. kbb and nada say around 15 but i think they are just trying to get there money out of it. i am gonna say throw on new tires and then they might have a deal i need some insight though.

 

Almost $18k for a 10yr old modified truck with 131k miles and bald tires? Its worth 15k on a really good day if the tires got replaced before its sold. If its on bald tires then you're down in the 12K territory.

Even if they put new tires on it I'd be hard pressed to offer even $15k for it. 37s are not going to be kind to unit bearings ($300ea), ball joints, tie rod ends, or the transmission ($4k if its an auto, $1800 for a clutch). Good chance you're going to be replacing some or all of the above in the next few years.

As a comparison, when I traded my 99 F250 (same body config as this truck) with 135k on it, I got $10k in trade, so I doubt they gave much more for this one. Heck I had a chip, intake, 5" exhaust, and a fully built 600hp transmission in mine too. FYI, aftermarket mods (chips, lift, tires, etc) don't add any value to the truck when you sell it. They're so far overpriced on that truck its funny.

 

I agree. No more than 15 with new tires. It ain't even a crew cab. Stick or auto?

Adrianspeeder

 

hey its a auto and i was talking with them today but since i am trading in my truck and they are only asking me for 300 on top of that they say they wont put tireson it but i told them that i am not mking any deal unless it has new tires. i just dont see paying that much for somthing were i am gonna hve to put band new tires on it right afterwards. thanks i think i am gonna hold of on getting one for a little while until i find maybe a newe one in a little better shape.

 

The care and feeding is more on a diesel. Why are wanting to change up?

Adrianspeeder

 

just bc i guess no real specific reason but to have one i guess. i have always loved them and i think its an issue of not wanting to really sell my self low on my truck just to get one i thik will wat it out to see if i can sell mine for what i want or close to it.

 

You need to get a better reason and THEN start looking at a diesel. Like Adrian said, a diesel is a whole other animal to care for than a gas truck. If you get a 7.3L is cheaper, but not that cheap. Oil changes are $50-75 depending on the oil you use and if you do it yourself. Fuel filters are $35 and need to be changed every 10k. The coolant needs to have an addative put in it and kept at a certain level to keep the engine from eating itself. You also have to get test strips to test the coolant every few months. Fuel here is $3.55/gal and if you have a long box it'll take near $140 to fill it up. Also don't expect 20mpg out of it. If you're lucky you'll get 18-19mpg on the highway babying the truck. Average will be much less. Plus out here very few stations carry diesel, so alot of times I have to hunt to find the stuff. The best part is that repair costs on a diesel are double or triple that of a gas engine. The 07 F550 (6.0L) service truck I had this fall has had $8-9k put into the engine this year alone. If I wasn't pulling a trailer I'd sell mine and get a new F150 with Ecoboost in a heartbeat.

 

If all you want a diesel for is the "cool" factor, you will pay dearly for it. Leave the diesels to the guys that really need them to do hard work with and are prepared to pay the higher operating expenses.

 

I don't have any regrets of switching from my F-150 to my F-250. I love everything about the truck so for. I don't have the need for it now and the 150 would have served my needs, but I have intentions on buying a toy hauler so figured it would justify the purchase. Oil changes and maintenance is higher, but I have a company truck so I don't put but maybe 500-700 miles on it a month. Only thing I don't understand is why are you wanting to buy a truck that's 10 years old and get rid of one that is only 5 years old?

 

Or you can replace it with a true ELC coolant and no need to check SCA's for a while....

 

If your commute is longer than 20mins, and you want to spend more money on maintenance, by all means welcome to the brotherhood of oil burners.

If not, you'll hurt the engine by never warming it up fully with at least a hard WOT run every day.

Adrianspeeder