Help w pick up truck purchase

ohskigod

Found a 2009 f150 I really like at a dealership I've done alot of business with. It's a 2 wd relatively base truck with the 4.6 3 valve v8 with 6 speed auto tranny and tow package.

Negotiated a price of 18200. A little higher than blue book but the truck has 14000 miles on it and looks real clean and well taken care of.

I noticed today though there is some rust under the truck on frame drive shaft and differential. N it's all surface rust and I've seen them on trucks before. I ran a carfax and it comes back clean. One owner and mileage is legit

Truck is from Maine. So I assume the surface rust is from a salty snowy environment. Should I be concerns saving it? I can be a little neurotic about truck purchases.

Also. I noticed a radiator hose with some discoloration. (some areas where the hose is a lighter color (almost yellowish?)

Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks gang

VR3

Is this the new body style of the older 04-05 etc body style?

If it is the older body style the 3rd brake light leaks like a flood gate and the window regulators are s@#t.

Other than that my truck has been spotless...

164,000 - going strong with a destroyed interior from water damage and 500 invested in window repair!

Polkersince85

One that new should be under warranty. The dealer should be able to pull up any service records for it. The discolored hose could indicate a coolant leak at one time. Investigate a stuck thermostat in the past. Hopefully not a overheated engine.

The rust is a crap shoot on the heavy steel. I'd be more concerned about the thinner sheet metal and metal brake parts

I like Fords.

shawn474

Does 4wd matter? 18,200 for a 2wd, basic pick up truck seems a little steep. If 2wd doesn't make a difference to you (which I am assuming ot doesn't since you're thinking about buying it), the F150's are really nice trucks.

ohskigod

Don't care about 2wd. I prefer it actually

No rust whatsoever on brake lines and parts. And the body is pristine. Price is on the upper end of book but except for the rust I noticed on the bottoms the rest of yeh truck looks babied which is what drew me to it. I'm not a fan of paying 40 grand for a pick up

dorokusai

I wouldn't buy it.

brgman

I'm a big Ford truck fan.Have owned several and they have never let me down but the rust thing worries me.
You may want to make sure this didn't come from a flood over the last few years.They move these vehicles around pretty quick.
i haven't seen a rusty Ford post 1980 that i can remember.Just my .02

Fireman32

Are you getting rid of the cube?

ohskigod

Trading the cube was the plan

gdb

Make em a lowball offer, chances are...... they'll take it. The worst they can do is say no. IIRC, the only vehicles selling "over book" was/are the Prius etc.
PS: my driveshafts and differentials/axles have been rust covered for 17+ years with no ill effects to speak of !

ohskigod

I thought about the flood thing. Which is why I ran the carfax. It had one owner in Maine. Curious how it wound up down here though.

gdb

Auction vehicles can turn up almost anywhere. Many dealers ship to and buy from the Manheim PA. auction facility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manheim_Auctions

4406bbl

Sounds a little high to me, try Woodhouse Ford #1 F series dealer in the US 800-889-1893 or woodhouse.com, I have never had a problem with them, and they deliver nationwide. They have a base 2011 f-150 for 18865, brand new.

Jstas

Lowball offer?

People, the used car market is BOOMING right now. If you can get within $2K of the high side of blue book value it's a deal right now.

Lou,

4x4? Extra weight for worse gas mileage and the handling dynamics of an oil tanker. For where you live, it's a waste of time. Since you don't really go off-roading, you're biggest need would be for foul/winter weather and the roads in you area never stay bad for long. Unless you're like me and one of those people who gets call in to work for problems before the roads are clear.

As far as the rust, yes, likely from road salt. My Lightning has similar rusting on the steel and iron parts underneath and it's 10+ years old. Hasn't caused a problem for me. My dad's '07 has similar rust going on and he doesn't have a problem with his either.

It likely wound up here because it was traded in up there where a 4x4 is fairly necessary. If they couldn't sell it there, it went to an auction where a buyer bought it and it was transferred to a local dealer in a network where the owners thought they could sell it faster. Either that or the guy/girl moved from Maine, isn't used to the tighter quarters in your area and bought something smaller.

As for the coloring on the hose, if it's near the ends, it could mean the engine overheated at one point and the coolant came out of the hose ends. It's hard to tell without looking at it. If you're worried about it though, get an extended warranty on it. If the engine is hurt and it ends up blowing up, the warranty will more than pay for itself.

billbillw

Not sure if I agree with John on pricing. I've bought 3 cars on the used market in the last 2 years and have been looking hard at what's out there right now.

1st of all, you should never be paying more than Bluebook for a vehicle, unless its some rare collectors vehicle that you MUST have. IMO, you really should be using Edmunds TMV to gauge a fair price from a dealer. If the dealer won't give you at or below Edmunds TMV for retail price (with correct options, condition, mileage, etc., entered), then walk away from the deal. There are other dealers who will get you down to that price. Its a Ford truck, there are 1000s out there for sale. There have to be other choices out there.

I also wouldn't worry about getting one that is super low mileage. You'd be just as well off with one that has 30k miles as long as it wasn't severely neglected. In fact, often times, the super low mileage cars have more problems due to frequent short trips and/or non-use.

Joe08867

If they won't go blue book or under walk away,

If you have questions of how well it was maintained? Walk Away

If it is 2 years old and already showing signs of rust, Walk Away,

My advice to you would be Buy it and have fun. NOT.. WALK AWAY

Jstas

billbillw wrote: »

Not sure if I agree with John on pricing. I've bought 3 cars on the used market in the last 2 years and have been looking hard at what's out there right now.

1st of all, you should never be paying more than Bluebook for a vehicle, unless its some rare collectors vehicle that you MUST have. IMO, you really should be using Edmunds TMV to gauge a fair price from a dealer. If the dealer won't give you at or below Edmunds TMV for retail price (with correct options, condition, mileage, etc., entered), then walk away from the deal. There are other dealers who will get you down to that price. Its a Ford truck, there are 1000s out there for sale. There have to be other choices out there.

I also wouldn't worry about getting one that is super low mileage. You'd be just as well off with one that has 30k miles as long as it wasn't severely neglected. In fact, often times, the super low mileage cars have more problems due to frequent short trips and/or non-use.

Fine, don't believe me.

Here are several news articles that say I'm right.

http://www.wsbtv.com/gas-prices/28239805/detail.html
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43298325/ns/business-autos/
http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2011/06/01/4de644ab70010

If you can get a price any where near blue book, good for you. Between gas prices and the credit market conditions, all anyone can get is used cars. Why do you think dealers are shouting commercials at you and telling you they will give you double your trade in value for any vehicle you bring in? Because they are going to get at least 2-3K over blue book prices for your used hunk of crap, that's why.

If you refuse to pay that, that's fine. 'eff you, there's a guy willing to pay it next in line. Have a good day.

For houses, it's a buyer's market.

For cars, it's a seller's market. Bad time to be buying a car.

Jstas

Joe08867 wrote: »

If they won't go blue book or under walk away,

Ain't gonna happen in this market. Better be prepared to wait a loooong time for your pricing.

Joe08867 wrote: »

If you have questions of how well it was maintained? Walk Away

You should ALWAYS question how well it was maintained. A skeptical eye catchs more possible issues than an eye behind rose colored glasses.

Joe08867 wrote: »

If it is 2 years old and already showing signs of rust, Walk Away,

It could be 2 months old and showing signs of rust from just sitting on the lot unsold.

Joe08867 wrote: »

My advice to you would be Buy it and have fun. NOT.. WALK AWAY

Good. 'Cause all the typical advice that everyone gives...like you listed above, is BS. It gets you no where except walking alot so you'd better have some comfortable shoes on.

bobman1235

Maybe true for a car, but a fuel-hog pickup truck? I feel like even with a good used market you should be able to get something like that for a little less just because gas is 4 dollars a gallon.

shawn474

billbillw wrote: »

Not sure if I agree with John on pricing. I've bought 3 cars on the used market in the last 2 years and have been looking hard at what's out there right now.

1st of all, you should never be paying more than Bluebook for a vehicle, unless its some rare collectors vehicle that you MUST have. IMO, you really should be using Edmunds TMV to gauge a fair price from a dealer. If the dealer won't give you at or below Edmunds TMV for retail price (with correct options, condition, mileage, etc., entered), then walk away from the deal. There are other dealers who will get you down to that price. Its a Ford truck, there are 1000s out there for sale. There have to be other choices out there.

I also wouldn't worry about getting one that is super low mileage. You'd be just as well off with one that has 30k miles as long as it wasn't severely neglected. In fact, often times, the super low mileage cars have more problems due to frequent short trips and/or non-use.

Agreed. I have NEVER (purchased 8 used cars in the last 10 years for my wife and I) paid over blue book value on a car or truck. It just doesn't make sense that you are paying more than the actual value of the car. If the dealer doesn't want to sell to you, fine. Find another truck or another dealer. Eventually, that truck will sit on the lot and they will call you back to accept your offer or they will sell it to some other sucker who's got extra money burning a hole in his pocket.

I have purchased 4 cars at carmax, which was a painless experience and something that I felt was worth it considering I wasn't spending hours upon hours in a dealership or haggling with a salesman. I have purchased 1 private party which was just as painless and I got a great deal. The other 3 were purchased from dealers and it was brutal. But I got a better deal; it's all about what your time and aggravation is worth in my opinion. If you wait long enough and stick to your guns, you might not get the price that you originally wanted, but you will get a much better deal than you have now.

Jstas

bobman1235 wrote: »

Maybe true for a car, but a fuel-hog pickup truck? I feel like even with a good used market you should be able to get something like that for a little less just because gas is 4 dollars a gallon.

It's not just gas prices. The credit market is hurting car sales as well. People aren't getting approved for higher risk new car loans. So if they need an expensive new pickup truck to carry their working equipment around in and used is the only way they are going to get a truck then that market gets an artificial jump as well.

Since about February of this year the used car market has been steadily climbing. The 2nd week of June here, it's peaked at the highest point ever in the history of car sales. It's remained fairly steady since and market analysts are saying that you won't see a price drop until after September. Mainly because the used market gets a boost every summer by college kids looking for a used ride to take to school with them.

exalted512

When we bought our Acadia last July-ish, the used ones were only about $3000 less than what we paid for our 2011. And the 2011 model came with more standard features for the same trim level...so really, buying new was damn near the same price as buying used.
-Cody

gdb

A certain pontificating, gas-bag here has their head up their tailpipe! How does 2010 w/9,736 miles for $15,990 tickle your tuna? Go to auto trader and also....see my sig.




http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?lastBeginningStartYear=1981&num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=used&distance=200&address=21701&marketZipError=false&body_style=TRUCKS&make=FORD&model=F150PICKUP&make2=&start_year=2009&end_year=2010&min_price=&max_price=&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=&color=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywords_display=&sort_type=priceASC&body_code=32&certified=&advanced=y&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceASC&systime=&sownerid=77684&dma=WASHINGTON_DC_NO&rdm=1309186805274

shawn474

BTW, one thing you could do to justify paying more is for the dealer to include some sort of extended warranty (I think someone mentioned that earlier). That may give you peace of mind and the dealership still turns their profit.

All in all, a big misconception is that the dealerships make a ton of money on the sale of a car. They make a couple hundred dollars on average on the sale of a car. The only way they make money is by dealing in volume. And they make most of their money on unneccessary options, dealer financing, extended warranties, etc. This isn't new to anyone.

They have to insure each car on their lot and they lose money the longer it stays there. At some point, they will accept lower offers if it has been sitting for a period of time. The things you have to ask yourself is how long are you willing to wait and how far above your original offer are you willing to go?

Jstas

exalted512 wrote: »

When we bought our Acadia last July-ish, the used ones were only about $3000 less than what we paid for our 2011. And the 2011 model came with more standard features for the same trim level...so really, buying new was damn near the same price as buying used.
-Cody

Gas prices were insane then too. The credit market was non-existent as well.

That and GM was way behind on production so supply was way down.

devani

how much is new 2011 F150 with similar options? you might be actually surprised Lou...

gdb

devani wrote: »

how much is new 2011 F150 with similar options? you might be actually surprised Lou...

Interest rates are usually better too.

dorokusai

exalted512 wrote: »

When we bought our Acadia last July-ish, the used ones were only about $3000 less than what we paid for our 2011. And the 2011 model came with more standard features for the same trim level...so really, buying new was damn near the same price as buying used.
-Cody

That's a sharp looking vehicle Cody.

billbillw

Jstas wrote: »

Fine, don't believe me.

Here are several news articles that say I'm right.

http://www.wsbtv.com/gas-prices/28239805/detail.html
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43298325/ns/business-autos/
http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2011/06/01/4de644ab70010

If you can get a price any where near blue book, good for you. Between gas prices and the credit market conditions, all anyone can get is used cars. Why do you think dealers are shouting commercials at you and telling you they will give you double your trade in value for any vehicle you bring in? Because they are going to get at least 2-3K over blue book prices for your used hunk of crap, that's why.

If you refuse to pay that, that's fine. 'eff you, there's a guy willing to pay it next in line. Have a good day.

For houses, it's a buyer's market.

For cars, it's a seller's market. Bad time to be buying a car.

Sorry, but my 1st hand experience trumps what those articles say. I've been trying to sell my 2007 Mercedes C350 Sport for about a month now. The car is in excellent condition by any standard, it has a clean CarFax, and a solid maintenance history. Not to mention, its rare (less than 5 like it for sale in the whole country). I've had it on Craigslist, Ebay, Cars.com, and the various Mercedes forums. I've priced it at $1500 under Edmunds for Private sale and nobody is willing to buy it at that price. I took it to CarMax and they were only willing to offer me a price that was about $2000 below Kelly trade-in value. In their words, the market is soft on cars that require premium gas and they can get these cars at auction for well under Kelly prices.

During this time, I've been looking at dozens of other cars (private sellers and dealers) and virtually none of them are selling until they price is dropped to well below Kelly/Edmunds pricing.

exalted512

dorokusai wrote: »

That's a sharp looking vehicle Cody.

We love ours. I'm sure I'm biased in some way towards GM, but there's not a better looking mid-size SUV (with 3-rows) than the Acadia. The Highlanders come close though, but you'll pay more.

We have the step up from the base model (and there's 3 more trim levels above what we got) and it comes standard with bluetooth phone-radio connection, power lift gate (opens and closes the back hatch with a button) and remote start. The only 'extras' we got was the paint (pearl tri-coat) and the towing package. We love the color but it wasn't what we were looking for initially. But it was the only one on the lot that had everything we wanted on the trim level we wanted. We liked the color, but didn't want to pay the extra money for it.

They tried to low-ball us big time on our trade in so we walked away. I gave him my card and told him to call me when he wanted to make a sale under my terms. He called back about 30 minutes later and said he'd do it. I told him I'd think about it over the weekend. Came back on Monday and asked if he'd throw in the cargo net (only like $45 retail) and that was when I worked for State Farm where we could get supplier pricing, so we got that too. I felt we made out pretty good.

I just hate dealing with dealerships. We told him what we wanted and what our monthly payment would be with what we wanted to pay overall and what we wanted for trade in. They came back with 'great news! we got you UNDER what you wanted to pay per month!'

Because they added an extra year to the term. That pissed me off and is when I pulled my card out, wrote my cell on it and told him to call me. And that's also why I didn't accept when he called back agreeing to my offer.

The only thing I wish this one had is the painted mirrors with blinkers and the garage door buttons...both of which come standard on the next trim level...but it had leather and we didn't want leather.

I keep on the lookout for both on ebay when I think about it, but haven't had any luck so far. I've seen one go on ebay, but it had the sunroof controls too which we dont have.
-Cody

cnh

ohskigod wrote: »

Found a 2009 f150 I really like at a dealership I've done alot of business with. It's a 2 wd relatively base truck with the 4.6 3 valve v8 with 6 speed auto tranny and tow package.

Negotiated a price of 18200. A little higher than blue book but the truck has 14000 miles on it and looks real clean and well taken care of.

I noticed today though there is some rust under the truck on frame drive shaft and differential. N it's all surface rust and I've seen them on trucks before. I ran a carfax and it comes back clean. One owner and mileage is legit

Truck is from Maine. So I assume the surface rust is from a salty snowy environment. Should I be concerns saving it? I can be a little neurotic about truck purchases.

Also. I noticed a radiator hose with some discoloration. (some areas where the hose is a lighter color (almost yellowish?)

Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks gang

Can't say anything about the truck...but I can say something about vehicles and Maine winters after two decades up here!

I've owned 4 cars since I moved up here. One rusted out in 11 years, one in 14-15 years (Toyota), and my Chevy is 10-11 and will probably be retired due to rust in another year or two...fingers crossed. The fourth car is only 4 years old so not much to speak about there.

Road salt is Extremely Heavy here. But as you can see, even with tons of it collecting underneath you still get more than a decade of use and wear.

So, assuming the low mileage on your truck is indicative of a short spell in Maine, I'd agree with Jstas's assessment about the rust. Just give it a good cleaning under there and you're fine for years to come.

cnh