Originally Posted by
EsCoRtLvR
BTW, I have someone coming in tomorrow to buy her it looks like. This little truck took some more time than I'd like, to move!
On the comments in the previous post:
If it were a useless truck there would be no demand for it by consumers. No demand would mean it would not be made. Since it exists in the market, there is obviously a demand for it by enough people for Ford to bother making it
If practicality was the key to every vehicle, then there would not be fast cars, since you get half the mileage if your lucky and can only go as fast as the 4-banger next to you legally
Why is 100,000 miles this "golden barrier" ? Most vehicles built from 1995-up will run 200,000 + before having major issues (if they've been maintained). So what the first 10 years of it's life is gone, there's still AT LEAST another 10 years left. And with the average consumer owning a car for a little over 4 years I don't see a 100,000 mile car runing out of life before you get rid of it
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The Rangers in my step-dad's fleet he maintains run to about 280,000 before they start having transmission issues. All 4cyl 5 speeds that carry vending machine parts and a/c compressors all over the state. When I say maintain, they do oil changes, tires, and brakes, anything more and they get rid of the vehicle
I saw a Ranger towing an F150 today. My 95 escort hatchback has towed a Buick Le Sabre before, 138 miles. Weight is superficial, just depends on how much fun you want to have towing!
Ford made the pinto for a few years...It sold a few units...Does that mean it wasn't "useless"? How about the Festiva? Or any other number of by-gone cars designed and produced by Ford or any other vehicle maker?
On 100K miles: Well, you have to remember that MOST people with cash on hand to be buying cars, still remember when vehicles only got 100K on them before needing a new engine or something else. i.e. over 35 or 40 years old. Most other people, ?U?N?DER that age, are looking for something they can not afford.
Prackticality is nada. The vehicle will sell to whoever has the money and the desire for such a vehicle. But if people want a vehicle that gets good mileage, they buy a 4 cyl CAR which gets 28 MPG and up. Not a truck which gets 18-23.
On your dad's fleet, good! Almost ANY vehicle, made after 1994 or so, that is properly maintained, will get in excess of 200K. (there are SOME obvious exceptions to the rule)
A ranger towing an F-150? Good! Thats cool! I can only imagine the condition it wad in....both BEFORE, and AFTER it was done.
Look around at Dodge Caravans. They were the most popular mini-van during the late 80's and early 90's. (And beyond IIRC) People bought them, and used them to tow small boats and other smaller loads. The problem was that they treated these MINI-vans, like their older larger cousins......full sized vans. Which were built with V-8 engines and larger transmissions designed to handle the loads.
I'm not saying that your truck WON'T fetch the price you're asking. I'm saying that I wouldn't pay that much for a 1/2 a truck. If I'm going to buy a truck...I want one that will HANDLE a decent load, like a vehicle, and not have any issues with it when I get to a hill, or worse, a mountain pass. BVefore you say "a mountian pass...yeah, we have a TON of those around here". I've moved to and FROM Seattle, more times that I care to admit. And every time, I've towed a vehicle through the Rocky Mountains.