04 Ranger, any input before i buy it??

I had a 2005 2x4 Ranger that I loved. I put 40k miles on it a year, it was a v6. It was dented and dinged up so I was pretty rough on it. I only sold it because the clutch went out and I didn't have the ability at the time to replace it. The engine was still good. Awful gas mileage though and little power in the 05 V6. It's probably still on the road. I sold it with almost 200k miles.

I paid $4200 for it in like 2014 with like 110k miles.

 

Rangers are always in the shop

 

I think part of the reason the (older) Ranger remains so popular is that it was so good at being what it was -- a tough, basic small truck.

Don't laugh too hard.
My daily is an old Dodge Grand Caravan, I bought it because it was cheap. There are only 2 front seats so 4 x 8 sheets of drywall or plywood slide in flat and the tailgate closes. Ten foot lumber or pipe will go between the front seats and again the tailgate closes.

It will easily do more than 3/4 of what a pickup truck will do.
I have had kitchen cabinets, appliances, furniture, ladders, demolition materials and even a snowblower in the back of the thing.

It is reasonable on fuel, cheap to fix and insure, so ubiquitous that it attracts no attention and the wife will drive it if needed too.
It is the most useful and practical vehicle I have ever owned.

 

Ever consider an E-bike?

 

TOTAL "fan boy" response!

Hahahhha. Kidding. I just dont understand anyone having a reasonable expectation buying such old cars with high miles.

Look at it, have your mechanic look at it. Done. Who gives a flying fuck what guys on a tacoma site think about the antique ford ranger?

 

I'm not laughing!

The real truth is that many minivans, other than not having an open bed, are better work vehicles than trucks are.

If OP isn't using his truck as a truck and is looking for another truck to use for work but also wants a car.... A minivan fits the bill.

 

Agree.
I bought the van just because it was in reasonable shape and cheap, I was stunned how useful it was.
Something I especially like is when you have a load of tools and need to go in a store, the van has dark windows and everything locks, so convenient & dry too.

 

aaaaaah, i see what you mean.

let me elaborate. I have 1/4 acre. 3 boats, 4 vehicles (3 kids) 4 motorcycles, a bunch of equipment, etc. my junkyard is out back and out of sight from the main road, my house just looks like a normal cookie cutter vynl sided house. i have a hugh garden, a duck farm, chicken, quail , etc.

I've been doing all kinds of work and hobbies, especially in the last few years. I've built cabinsi n the woods, welded repair in remote places, moved equipment for people, hauled all kinds of things, vehicle main/repairs, home repairs, property development, built tree houses for customers to use for harvesting game, the list goes on and on.

like i said before, my taco is going to get a lot of modifications, but i need a tiny truck before i do anything to the tacoma. also, my ol' lady is probably going to steal the tiny truck because her camry doesn't like going through the deep puddles that are on her way to work (it's always flooded in that area). south Louisiana roads are terrible on suspension.

I'm really looking for a single cab 4cyl manual.

my kids are going to get the hand-me-downs, so the comments about owning an extra vehicle are not an issue, as i gotta get the kids something anyways.

my comments about the fan boys are serious.
i bought my 05 taco in 09 i think and i can sell it today for More than i paid for it back then.
this is how trends work. especially with the supply/demand issues in the last two years.

thanks for the input everyone!!!!

 

you have a valid point, but no. I've had minivans and vans, they are a pain in the ass to work on and you can't really get one in a manual. also, using a minivan is great for light weight Tools and such as it's very secure, but material and anything over 30lbs is a huge pain to load in a van. i used to have a ford Econoline as my race vehicle, it was a pain to get the motorcycles in and out, but they were secure in there and after unloading, we could sleep in the van instead of a tent and such.

had a Honda Odyssey, fully loaded, it was great for it's first two years, but all the gadgetry shit out right after the warranty was up. great gas mileage when i used to go from San Antonio to Gulfport all the time. even at 90mph ot was still getting 22mpg!! i could sleep in it, but a van is not comparable to a truck.

thanks for the input

 

everyone who gave me input about their ranger ownership, THANK YOU

Seems like i should avoid the v6??

 

i had a zero for a while.
it was pretty cool, but when the batteries went, i gave up on that thing. for the price of the batteries, i bought a used ktm and two years worth of fuel basically.

e bikes are great as the maintenance is almost nothing, but they are worthless to take remote places for more than 1/4 of a day and hauling around the ability to recharge is completely ridiculous.

for a single person in the city with a power grid, e bikes are just amazing. but it takes two days of full sun and 4) 100w solar panels to charge one back up. or you have to haul it somewhere and charge it. bringing a few gas cans is much more feasible.

and of course, I'm looking for a small truck and you suggested a motorcycle. LMFAO

 

I am the mechanic, i don't think you and i view the dynamics of buying an old vehicle in the same manner. my labor only costs time... (which i can make)

I'm in the middle of rebuilding the old Corolla engine in the driveway. it's about $300 in parts, but big shop rebuild price would make the car not worth fixing. it definitely wouldn't be worth $2000+ to pay someone to fix a beat up 20year old ugly car.

 

Stop with your logic…..

OP shouldn’t have to post his question on a FORD site. Now I will go post my question about thermodynamics on a cookie baking website and expect to get nothing but expertise responses.

 

oh, excuse me, did i post in the wrong thread section?

maybe i should have asked this in the thrid gen section??? oops

 

You should have posted in on a FORD website if you expected nothing but FORD expertise, not biting people’s heads off that don’t give you what you want.

 

if you don't have experience with what I'm asking

THEN WHY THE FK ARE YOU TALKING TO ME???

NOBODY FORCED YOU TO OPEN MY THREAD AND REPLY

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR ENTITLED ATTITUDE. NOT ME

 

mods, can you stop further postings on this thread please?

there is a ton of valuable information that i asked for on here, but i think enough is enough with the rambling from people that have nothing significant to add to the information that i requested.

thanks again to all those that gave great insight from real experience.

 

From what I've learned about fords is they love to leak water. Engines are pretty good though! I have learned this from buying a new 2020 ford ranger.... with many issues. ALWAYS buy a used ford. They are much cheaper and easier to fix. Reason I went with the new toyota is because they spend more focus on making what they have better, whereas ford always tries to come up with new things with issues.

 

Ford.....Fix Or Repair Daily

 

I had a 4.0 ohv v6 in my truck. The only 4.0 specific issue i had was the timing cover leaking between it and a water pump which was apparently a thing. But that was at 193k at 22 years old. I just did a massive pile on maintenance knowing it was poorly taken car of prior to me. After I did all the work in my first 6 months, I had no issues aside from 4 year old battery dying. I wouldnt discourage you from the 4.0 oh

Also I have foggy memory of my dads 3 rangers with the 2.3 4 cylinder. I never remember them having any issues. He was a contractor for ADT and put in alot a miles. So there's that.