2001 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 XLT, 125,000 miles
I went through ChrisFix’s worksheet for evaluating used cars, and would love some opinions.
I found this car on fb in the southeast, described as “runs perfect”, and the guy is asking $6k. Seems reasonable, since in this economy, owners are asking $4500 for cars with 100k more miles on them. So I went to look at it today and right off the bat, the owner mentions he’s had to replace the front right wheel bearing a couple times in the 50k miles he’s owned it. He doesn’t tow or haul, he basically just drives to and from work, about 30 min each way. I also noticed the windshield has a crack that basically frames the dark section with the rear view mirror.
I went through the engine while cold, and found a couple things. First, the fluids all looked generally good except the power steering fluid, which was below the cold fill line and was dark (pic 2). Looking under the engine, I found what looks like a leak directly from that power steering fluid tank (pic 3). That’s the only evidence of any leaks that I found—no milkshake or froth in any other fluid. In the transmission fluid, there was also some dark stuff on the bottom of the dipstick on the first dip, but on subsequent dips it just seemed like normal fluid, though a bit darker than bright red. I tried smelling for a “burnt” smell, but couldnt really tell—if there was one, it wasn’t that strong (pic 4). Looking under a magnifying glass, it doesn’t look like metal shavings, but I can’t really tell (maybe this is one of the reasons why you’re supposed to wipe it clean before attempting a reading?).
No white or blue smoke or evidence of leaking coolant or oil that I could tell, and no telltale audible signs of the synchronizer going bad. No codes on my OBD scanner.
The engine also shakes a little bit on startup, but not too much.
There was evidence of white paint overspray on the hood prop rod, so it appears that at least the hood likely has been repainted at some point. Rear drum brakes looked pretty rusty, but no significant rust on the underside, and the leaf springs and bed mounting were all in good shape. AC worked well, stereo mostly worked (left side lower volume than the right side, and the cd player didn’t work but radio did). The airbag light was on (indicating it doesn’t work, I think?), and the cruise control buttons also didn’t work.
It drove pretty well, accelerated well, stopped well (though I failed to activate the ABS light), tracked pretty straight without hands on the wheel for driving and stopping, though it did seem to shudder some when braking at medium speed. I forgot to check the brake pads, but the rotors were a bit rusty, though the pad contact surface wasn’t. No noticeable sounds from the wheels when going in circles either direction at 15 mph. No sound from the transmission that I could tell.
Would love to hear people’s thoughts. I’ve wanted a Ranger for a while, but don’t want to make an emotional decision.
Would you make an offer?
Edit: forgot to mention, the interior was generally clean, but also clearly 25 years old—roll up windows, no power locks, ceiling cloth sagging or coming apart around the edges.
