[Big Dog123]

Hello all!
A friend of a friend is selling his 2002 f350 4d 8ft bed 4wd dually 7.3l with 250k miles on it. He has offered it to me before posting it for sale. He is asking $24k but I think I could get him down to at least $22k. Anyways, if the market was normal right now, like most people I wouldn’t even think about paying this for this truck. However in this day and age I almost feel like it is worth it. The truck is 2 owners and babied it’s whole life. It is in great condition. What would you guy’s pay for this truck and what should I check if I go to look at it? Thanks!

 

[panhead george]

I don't know where you live. I would look underneath for rust at the rocker panels, door bottoms, fender bottoms. Look at the top and under of the motor and trans for leaks.

 

[Big Horn]

That truck does have nice curb appeal. I will second getting underneath and looking at/for rust (including bed support channels) and oil leaks.
Request service records / who did the work?
Did / Does the truck have 5th wheel rails?
Is the truck chipped / and any mods?
Does the truck have gages, pyro, boost, trans temp
If the owner will let you raise each front wheel and check the bearings for play.
Has the truck had suspension / steering components replaced? Front end alignment?
Will you be doing maintenance / repairs yourself or taking it to a shop?
What are your plans for the truck? DD (probably not with the price of diesel🙄), occasional towing, heavy towing?
Realize that at 250K on the clock, babied or not, it will most likely need a lot of items replaced in the near future. Figure all that on top of the price, and if you’re OK with it that’s what matters👍

 

[Greg687]

That truck does have nice curb appeal. I will second getting underneath and looking at/for rust (including bed support channels) and oil leaks.
Request service records / who did the work?
Did / Does the truck have 5th wheel rails?
Is the truck chipped / and any mods?
Does the truck have gages, pyro, boost, trans temp
If the owner will let you raise each front wheel and check the bearings for play.
Has the truck had suspension / steering components replaced? Front end alignment?
Will you be doing maintenance / repairs yourself or taking it to a shop?
What are your plans for the truck? DD (probably not with the price of diesel🙄), occasional towing, heavy towing?
Realize that at 250K on the clock, babied or not, it will most likely need a lot of items replaced in the near future. Figure all that on top of the price, and if you’re OK with it that’s what matters👍

There's at least one gauge visible in the photos.

 

[TooCoolTwo]

Consider taking it to a really good experienced Ford diesel mechanic and have it thoroughly checked out.

 

[tomlin]

One often overlooked issue is insurance, full coverage to replace your loss. At 22k, will your insurance company insure it at that cost? Most of the big guys wont want to do it. I currently am using State Farm. They at least took the time to collect pictures of my 2000 F350 dually when I insured it with them. It is in good shape and would likely bring 20k if I were to sell it today. That said, if something ever happens to it, I fully expect a battle to ensue over the value. Unfortunately book value is not replacement value. When buying nice, older (not antique) vehicles, this needs to be considered.

 

[DENNY]

I agree with Big Horn. With that many miles you are looking at a lot of stuff that can go bad due to age and millage. I picked up a 99 F350 DRW CC 5 years ago with 56,000 mi on it AND PAID 24,000 I put another 3 grand in parts getting it up to long haul standard. 14-16 grand is what I would offer with that millage. DENNY

 

[herkybc130]

Where has the truck spent it's life? If in TX, this price might be spot on. If north where road salt reigns supreme, look hard underneath for rust. At the very least, have a compression check run to see where the #'s are.

 

[mikemck54]

Well a vehicle is worth what somebody is willing to pay. But since you asked the question. Nada High retail price using an Arizona zip code puts the HIGH retail value of the truck at $19,800.00. Average retail is $12,300.00. It is crazy what vehicles are selling for these days so you have to ask yourself what is it worth to you? What will it be worth in a year if Diesel prices continue to rise and the economy goes into a recession.

 

[Airstreamingypsy]

My advice, ask a Ford service department guy to pull up the Oasis report on the truck.

 

[Northstr99]

Another thing to consider heavily is the health of the transmission. Has it been rebuilt? And if so was it bulletproofed? The AT's in this vintage of the SD's are notorious for going south around the 100k mark. If the trans hasn't been rebuilt it's probably going to need to be in the near future, especially if you're going to do any real hauling. So add another $3000-5000 for this work if it's needed.

 

[Airstreamingypsy]

Another thing to consider heavily is the health of the transmission. Has it been rebuilt? And if so was it bulletproofed? The AT's in this vintage of the SD's are notorious for going south around the 100k mark. If the trans hasn't been rebuilt it's probably going to need to be in the near future, especially if you're going to do any real hauling. So add another $3000-5000 for this work if it's needed.

Good point, I ended up having the transmission in my same vintage truck twice.

 

[Northstr99]

Another thing to look at is the turbo - I bought a 2001 F350 7.3 with 210k on it a little over a year ago for $13,500, to haul a truck camper with, and on the first outing the stock turbo seals went south and I wound up dropping $4k into it to replace the turbo. Fortunately it HAD had the trans BP'd before so I knew that was healthy. Granted, it's not easy to know when those seals will fail as they don't give warning signs, but make sure you do your homework on any and all major repairs that have been done. Also be aware that the glowplugs will likely need done soon too, if still stock. Easy enough to do yourself for about $300 in parts, or about $1500 at the shop.

 

[eZAK]

Do your home work! I wouldn't pay over $15K for that one. Quick search, CarMax has one with 135Kmi (VIN: 1FTWW33F72EA22383, Stock #: 229010) in Louisville, Ky.