A Car Repair Video: Finding a Good Deal on a Used Pickup Truck

Finding a good deal on a used pickup truck can be challenging, but it's worth the effort. A recent experience with a 100,000-mile Ford F-150 highlights the importance of patience and persistence in finding a reliable vehicle at an affordable price.

One such experience was shared by Elmer, who spent hours searching for the perfect pickup truck on Tobacco Road. Despite his efforts, he came across several clunkers that were high on mileage but low on reliability. However, it wasn't until he stumbled upon a listing on Cararo that he found a truck that fit his criteria. The seller mentioned that the truck had almost 100,000 miles on it, and Elmer was skeptical at first. But after inquiring further, he discovered that the truck still ran like a brand new one.

One of the key features of this pickup truck was its transmission, which shifted smoothly without any hesitation or clunking sounds. This was a major plus for Elmer, who had heard stories about worn-out bearings and rough shifting in older trucks. He was also pleased to find that the engine still retained all its power, despite the high mileage.

Another feature of this truck was its after-market windshield, which was made by a Chinese company. However, it didn't fit perfectly, and Elmer suspected that it might have been glued on incorrectly. This minor issue didn't deter him from purchasing the truck, as he knew that replacing a windshield could be expensive. He also noticed that the truck had an after-mark or scratch on its dashboard.

The final test for this pickup truck was to drive it for 25 miles without any issues. Elmer mentioned that the whistle was still present in the truck's interior, but it didn't seem to affect the vehicle's performance. In fact, the truck handled like a dream, and Elmer felt confident about his purchase decision.

Throughout the experience, Elmer emphasized the importance of doing one's research before buying a used pickup truck. He advised potential buyers to look for vehicles that have been well-maintained by their previous owners and to test drive them thoroughly. He also recommended checking the warranty information and ensuring that the vehicle is free from any major issues.

In conclusion, finding a good deal on a used pickup truck requires patience, persistence, and research. By doing one's homework and inspecting the vehicle carefully, potential buyers can find reliable vehicles at affordable prices. Elmer's experience serves as a testament to this approach, and his story may inspire others to look beyond their expectations when searching for the perfect pickup truck.

One thing that stood out to me during the video was the significance of preparing the windshield correctly before installation. The mechanic warned about using services that claim to do it "at home" because they might not use proper techniques or equipment, which could lead to issues with the vehicle's performance. He recommended taking the windshield to a reputable shop where technicians can properly clean and prepare the surface for a smooth fit.

The video also highlighted the importance of choosing the right windshield replacement service. The mechanic emphasized that using a shop with experience in installing windshields on F-150s is crucial, as they will have access to the necessary tools and expertise to ensure a proper fit. He also warned about the risks associated with Chinese-made windshields, which may not be designed or manufactured for North American vehicles.

The final verdict was that this pickup truck was in great shape, considering its high mileage. The only minor issue was the windshield, but it didn't seem to affect the vehicle's performance. Elmer was thrilled to have found a reliable and affordable pickup truck that met his needs, and he attributed his success to doing his research and being patient during the search process.

The experience also underscored the importance of regular maintenance for vehicles with high mileage. The mechanic pointed out that 100,000 miles is not unusual for many pickup trucks, but it's essential to keep up with routine servicing to prevent further wear and tear on the engine and other components.

In a broader sense, this story highlights the value of buying used vehicles from reputable dealerships or private sellers who have taken good care of their vehicles. By doing so, potential buyers can find reliable vehicles at lower prices, which can be just as cost-effective as new cars.

One thing that struck me about Elmer's experience was the significance of traction control in modern pickup trucks. He mentioned that he personally prefers trucks without traction control because it tends to make them handle clunkier and less responsive. The F-150's rear-wheel drive setup is another aspect that Elmer enjoyed, as it provides better handling and a more immersive driving experience.

In conclusion, this article highlights the importance of patience, research, and preparation when buying a used pickup truck. By doing one's homework and inspecting the vehicle carefully, potential buyers can find reliable vehicles at affordable prices. The story also underscores the value of regular maintenance and choosing reputable services for windshield replacements.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: engraev up your engines here's a reason why you might want to buy a used F-150 instead of a new $81,000 one there's many reasons including simpler more reliable engine no GDI no turbos simpler more reliable transmission not that insane tens speed that's had all the problems and it's two- wheel drive most people are fine with the V8 pickup that's rear wheeel drive we don't go off-roading hardly anybody does these days they go on regular roads so did he get a good deal he bought this a month ago well it sure looks like a good deal as far as I can tell so far if we look under the hood the main reason people want these are the V8 engines right this is a big V8 engine it has normal fuel injections it's not a gasoline direct injection automatic transmission that's very dependable and even though as you can see up here it's a 5.4 L yeah sometimes spark plugs are kind of weak so you put in the new spark plugs instead of the old designed ones right now he just bought this thing for 124 a month ago you can see it's an excellent shape bodywise considering a new loaded one is $81,000 you're saving a lot of money I mean look of course it is in Tennessee too okay if this thing came from Buffalo New York where the owner came from there probably wouldn't be much left but rough rust and speaking rust if you're looking at a used one that's the first thing you look at in one of these if it's rust then don't buy it the later model ones have a lot more aluminum this one doesn't have all the aluminum cuz it's an older one if the frame is Rusted you don't buy one of these things unless it's dirt cheap and you use it for a hunting truck or something but this one doesn't have any rust on it so you don't have to worry about it like modern engines everything is open to work on it's very easy to work on these things yeah sure the seats a little wrinkly a few tears on the left hey I mean you can get seat covers if you want cavernous back seat they're huge inside so let's get out my computer and see what shape the rest of it's in we're going to do a diagnosis 7 Up 150 54 L 3v gasoline automatic system scan through a whole bunch of systems okay those all look good okay it's got six codes a lot of them probably won't mean much but the first one is the instrument cluster ignition key in circuit air okay he's only got one key that works and he did buy the shoes so at some point in time somebody put the wrong key in and it remembers that so we're going to erase that and we also have passenger airbag disable warning light circuit fall we really don't care about that either does have a code for system to lean on bank one which may or may not be affecting how it runs and one for the passenger airbag warning light wow so what we're going to do is we're going to erase them all and then we're going to look at live data up and we'll go to live D stream and we'll select all see it gives you the standard range where it's running at we'll see if anything looks odd there's an awful lot of data on one of these machines and we're only in the A's the airflow trim it's only subtracting .15 of 1% and that's the max that it's done so it's not off hardly at all and here we have the airflow trim it's only subtracting 002 which is hardly anything so I'm assuming that's an old code before he bought the car because if it was running lean that thing would be adding all kinds of fuel instead of subtracting like two 100s of a percent so there's nothing wrong and it's a perfect example of why cods often are meaningless piles of garbage especially when you buy a used vehicle because when you buy a used vehicle you don't know what the history is and many times guys work on them they don't reset codes they just leave it going on when you get into the actual solid data you can see what shape the vehicle's in we'll continue we're in the bees now all transmission data that's all normal now this is a modern Ford so it shows you we're just idling it's only using 177% of the fuel pump we rev it up a little see how it starts to go up generator's going 33% we're just idling after all voltage 14.29 that's fine now this is a flex fuel vehicle the owner doesn't use the ethanol the E85 and believe me you don't want to why would you want to put in a fuel that has 20 to 25% less energy you're going to get 20 to 25% worse gas mileage and just do the math numeral Uno it's not 25% cheaper I looked the other day there was like a 25 cent difference one was 3 something and the other was $2.99 it wasn't all that different so on top of that it's comp Le Lex how much alcohol is in the fuel and it's got to set that it is a giant mess when they age so my advice don't use ethanol in these things if you value your money and the long life of the vehicle no and I lived in Houston that wasn't a problem cuz hardly anybody sold it it was an oil state right well I'm in Tennessee I notice more especially as I get into Indiana Illinois they got ethanol stations all over the place cuz the farmers love it they're selling a lot of corn to turn into alcohol but if you don't have to use it don't use it your vehicle will be happy you'll get better gas mileage and there's less complexity Those sensors eventually will break down when they do then it'll start running like crap and your repair bills will go Skyhigh because hardly anybody knows how to fix them fuel injectors you can see all eight of them no errors and here's the funny thing check it out the longterm fuel trim on both Banks it's subtracting a little bit of fuel right and that's normal for something that's got almost 100,000 miles on it you can see it can be - 35 to 35 it's -5 and Min -4 right well if it's subtracting a small amount of fuel that means it's running slightly rich but it said it was running lean so that code we can forget that code somebody forgot to erase it you get all kinds of information from this short-term fuel trim a little bit off 100,000 Mi that's normal so it's in pretty good shape now before we Che it for a raw test I'll give you one warning okay this has an aftermark get Chinese made windshield and it looks perfectly fine but it whistles a little at them okay this is why the Chinese stuff you never know may or may not fix right but realize one thing these things are glued in you can see here's the check mark when they replace the windshield right they're glued in if you ever have a windshield replaced make sure you have it done by a pro now I know there's services that say well come to your home and office and change your windshield my advice don't use them have a guy with a real shop where he can clean it all off do it correctly make it all dry with a UV light when he's done don't just have somebody come to your house oh it's so convenient well then your car might be Whistling Dixie for the rest of his life as the wind blows through it take your time picking a place to put a windshield on you're better off with a regular business that does it all the time that has it all set up because replacing the windshield the main thing is actually actually the preparation it's actually very easy to put a windshield on a brand new vehicle cuz it's all virgin metal they put the glue in but when they take the other one out they got to cut it out and they got to cut it out just right cuz if they have little bumps and stuff guess what the little bumps create noise when the wind blows through them so replace the windshield do a little research before you do it use some Pro that has an actual shop where they do it all the time and have all the correct equipment not a guy who pulls up in a man that well maybe he didn't have the right equipment for that or maybe it was too cold that day but he did it anyway so keep that in mind and probably don't buy a Chinese made one either now he does have a new sound system but has a funny story the backup camera didn't work with the original one so he replaced this but then the backup camera didn't work either so I took it the mechanic and the water was loose so although he might not have needed a new system it's more modern he said the sounds better so you can always upgrade these things there's millions of things that fit F-150s so here we go we look at that you can't even feel the transmission shifting and personally I like the rear wheel drive pickups better for one main reason with four-wheel drive they tend to handle a lot clunkier and especially the Fords I don't hear any worn bearings so here we got on Tobacco Road and eler told me he found so many Clunkers with high mileage he was about ready to give up but then he found this thing on cararo and ended up fing we're out in the country where this truck belongs although there's no corn yet they haven't planted it all right we look in the back no one's going to rear end us because there's no one there so here we go yes I like trucks like this the heck with traction control free the wheels I hear the whistle I realize you're only gone 25 mph they did not put that windshield in right so there we have it this truck runs like a brand new truck other than it's whistling Dixie to the windshield cuz somebody didn't put it in right or put the Chinese one and it doesn't fit right but it's a minor aggravation it shifts like a dream the engine still got all its power he saved himself a ton of money buying this for 125 and as he said to me he's almost as old as me if you would have told somebody back in the day I bought this 100,000 Mi pickup truck for 125 they think you were insane but today if you were looking for a pickup truck like this and you found it hey You' pretty much insane not to buy it if you wanted a big V8 looks like it came off the showroom floor really it's been taken care of by the original owner so you're sick of those expensive truck prices there's plenty of used ones if you look around so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell n\n"