Hi guys. Looking for a 94-96 F150 or 94-97 F250 with preferably the 8' bed (6'+ one is fine, the shortbed flaresides are an absolute no). Has to be auto but not terribly picky about engines. Understand the 6 is very reliable but the V8s seem pretty good too as long as they’re maintained. Problem is I live on Long Island and most of the ones I find locally are either way more than I want to spend or are a bucket of rust. I’ve found a couple in the past month or so I liked but either the seller hasn’t responded or the truck ends up having holes in the undercarriage. I want to spend up to $3,000 MAX.
Since it’s more of a 2nd car I don’t want to spend much on it... around $2-3K tops. But finding ones here in Long Island, NY are a crapshoot. Have been looking in DC, Virginia, NJ and Pennsylvania as well.
I also want to use this as a way to learn how to work on cars and trucks... I know how to do some basic stuff like oil changes and whatnot but would be fun to delve more into it.
I daily a 2018 F150 XLT crew cab 2.7L and it’s a nice truck but I hate the short bed. It’s also a lease and I’m not planning on keeping it afterwards. So this old truck is gonna be more for things like hauling and towing an ATV around. Not quite daily driving duties but would drive it a couple times a week for sure. As for the F150 replacement that is still over a year away so that can wait.
As for maintenance and things to look for - obviously the basics like driving it, seeing if it drives straight, etc. See if the dual gas tanks work, any issues with the brakes, no leaks. I’ll probably have to redo the brakelines on whatever I find anyways but I’m looking for something that’s not completely beatup and rusted.
Any help is appreciated, thanks!