Thinking of getting a Ford Ranger. Advice, Experiences, and Opinions welcome.

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

In the market for a mid-size truck.

Heres what I'm looking for:

* Year 1998+

*under 75k miles

*Extended cab

*4x4

*5 Spd

*$10k max price

I'd really like to find a Toyota Tacoma, but the closest I've found at a dealership was a 98' with 120k miles for $10,900.

A freind of mine has a nice 2000 Ford Ranger I was was considering as an alternative.

*67k miles

*Ext Cab

*5 Spd

*4X4

*3.0 liter engine

*Added a 5.0 rear, which gives the truck rear posi.

*dark emerald green color, great shape inside and out, new stubby tires.

*Wants $8,000 for it.

Just wondering from people who may have owned these trucks if I'm looking at a decent deal here. Anyone had any issues with these trucks? Realiabilty, etc?

I'll post some pics tonight....Thanks for the input!

Click to read more...

 

[TWF 10+ year member]

I have an 03 ranger edge ext. cab 4.0L, auto. and i love it the truck is really reliable. The sub wires and any other wires are easy to run in mine because i have a rubber mat all across the floor instead of carpet. The only bad thing i would say about mine is that the left rear speaker rattles like crap and drives me crazy. But the are great trucks and that sounds like a good price, maybe try talking him down a few hundred or so

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

I love my mazda B3000 (basically a ford ranger 3.0l)

-'00

-Ext Cab 4 door

-2wd with 4.10 rear end and locking differential (4wd isnt needed in most cases that people use it anyway...it is just nice to get yourself unstuck or to crawl up things)

-3.0l v6

-5spd

-Gibson Exaust

-Custom cold air intake with spash guard

Comming Eventually:

-Cat Delete

-Chip

-Throttle body spacer

It has good pep already for a truck and gets decent mileage. It sounds good with that gibson exaust but it isnt very loud at all. You hear the intake more than the exaust...well neither much with 60sqft of second skin. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

It's Mazda's Troy Lee Edition so it has a higher ride height, 16" Aluminum rims, and bigger tires (and I put even bigger tires on it).

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

Price paid over a year ago: $7000 with 42,000 miles.

 

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

Price paid over a year ago: $7000 with 42,000 miles.

So what do you think about my buddies asking price? He says he still owes $7,200 on it, and would like to get a little out of it, for a total of $8,000. He lost his License (DUI) for a while. Only quip I have with it is that it pretty much tops out at around 80mph, and unless you got speed built up, smashing on it in 3rd gear gets you nowhere fast. Of course the big stubby tires are more than likely the main issue. Off road the thing kills though. We took it flying up on the mountain the other day in 2wd going about 40mph, and it handeled very impressive. He says if it does'nt sell it in the next couple months, he's going to put space the wheels, give it a body lift, and bigger tires. Basically turn it into an offroad machine.

 

[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

tacomas have GREAT resale so dont expect very much on one of them. also, rangers CAN get loud.

 

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

tacomas have GREAT resale so dont expect very much on one of them. also, rangers CAN get loud.

Thats the prob. Can't find a tacoma at a decent price. I'm just not going to pay 11K for a truck with 120k on it, Toyota or not. I still have a couple months to look though. Had another freind that was able to find a 00' Tacoma, 60k, 4cly with all options for $9,900.

Re the stereo, I'd like to sell my 2 SVC PG Titanium 15's, and build a box for the ext cab for 1 beastley 12 or 15 I can wire to 1ohm. Gona try to get 2000w from my Concept 2410 into 1 sub.

 

[JohnnyChuttz 10+ year member]

I have a 99 Reg cab Sport , 3.0, 5 speed. I love it! But if you are looking at going over 80 mph I would look into a car.

 

[mattmcss 10+ year member]

guy I used to work with had a 99 ranger 4wd with a 4.0L and he bought it with like 15k miles, and it gave him nothing but problems

I know a guy who has like a mid 90's ext cab 4wd that beats the shit out of his, and it runs great. his is a 4.0L as well.

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

He can only not do 80 because oh that rear end. I run mine up to 85-90 regurally on i-75. It also handles high speed well for 30" A/T tires.

As far as that truck, the 5.0 rear end is not daily driving friendly. If you got that I would put at 4.10 in it and still have limited slip. I would also get it regoverned to get up going faster. The price is right though for 4wd. Is it shift on the fly auto locking or vacume locking hubs?

As far as peppyness. There isnt much for these trucks performance wise. Gibson makes exause for it (and that is about it). K&N makes a $240 intake for it that gains like 5hp. There is a chip for it but it has to be soldered into the ECU (which is why I am hesitant to do it) and only gives you 30hp but sapposeable offers better fule controll so you get better mileage unless you keep it to the floor during acceleration. Then there are a few Throttle Body spaces. Past that there is nothing for the 3.0l that isnt going to cost a shit ton and be completely custom.

There isnt much suspnesion wise either. Because it is torsion front end (on the 2wd anyway) lifting it isnt the easiest thing to do (correctly).

 

[JohnnyChuttz 10+ year member]

My 2wd has coils. I recently chaged the shocks.

 

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

He can only not do 80 because oh that rear end. I run mine up to 85-90 regurally on i-75. It also handles high speed well for 30" A/T tires.
As far as that truck, the 5.0 rear end is not daily driving friendly. If you got that I would put at 4.10 in it and still have limited slip. I would also get it regoverned to get up going faster. The price is right though for 4wd. Is it shift on the fly auto locking or vacume locking hubs?

As far as peppyness. There isnt much for these trucks performance wise. Gibson makes exause for it (and that is about it). K&N makes a $240 intake for it that gains like 5hp. There is a chip for it but it has to be soldered into the ECU (which is why I am hesitant to do it) and only gives you 30hp but sapposeable offers better fule controll so you get better mileage unless you keep it to the floor during acceleration. Then there are a few Throttle Body spaces. Past that there is nothing for the 3.0l that isnt going to cost a shit ton and be completely custom.

There isnt much suspnesion wise either. Because it is torsion front end (on the 2wd anyway) lifting it isnt the easiest thing to do (correctly).

Spoke to my buddy who said the gear ratio is the same as stock, only thing gained was posi. It's shift on fly. What do you mean by re-governed? I think it's got 27's on it now. Meaty and stubby as hell. New Jasper ****** in it BTW with 5k or so on it. Was running from his GF one night and pulled from his yard to the pavement while spinning. As soon as the tires hit the blacktop lip, he tore that sucker out. Back tires seized up. ****** was installed by Ford, so it was profesionally done, and was covered under warranty.

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

tacomas have GREAT resale so dont expect very much on one of them. also, rangers CAN get loud.

lol what makes you think that?

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

I have an 01 Ranger and I have not had any problems with it. It gets decent milageand runs great. Also it is LOUD. lol

 

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

I have an 01 Ranger and I have not had any problems with it. It gets decent milageand runs great. Also it is LOUD. lol

So you think I could get 2k watts out of that concept 2410 with 1 sub in this thing?