Mark should be out of the shop today, which means that you’re only stuck with me for one more day. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m just using the wisdom of crowds to help me out if I magically get all the things I need in order to acquire another car. Those are, in no particular order: Another parking spot, a Summer Camp’s worth of disposable income, and another five hours a week of personal time.
This is mostly fantasy, of course, but allow me to have my Wisconsin Extra Mild Pace Picante fantasies. Who are they hurting? Maybe my tame dream scenario is a convertible Swedish car or, as you saw yesterday, a Honda Fit or a cheap Jeep. What’s annoying is that the Honda Fit is not far from me and seems, I suppose, a great deal.
Many of you noted that if you lived closer, you’d have already purchased the Honda Fit. This isn’t helping!
Also, please observe that I managed to hit an almost perfect 50.1%/49.9% SBSD on Monday, even if yesterday’s comparo did not quite come down so close. Here’s how Fit v. Patriot went down:
Yikes, the last time a Patriot lost this badly was, well, on Monday against TCU. Today, I’m aiming for the thrill of 51/49. Of being close. Of that last pitch that Jazz Chisolm should have definitely swung at last night. It’s two different F-150s that seem similar on the surface, at least.
2013 Ford F-150 XLT – $6,500
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter V8 with six-speed automatic, 4×4
Location:Â Brooklyn, NY
Odometer reading: 169,000
Operational status:Â Runs and drives well
My desires run a little more complex than just a third car. What I truly yearn for is an older pickup truck that I can use to haul a small camper with a pair of kayaks on the roof. You can take the suburban dad out of the Subaru, but not the Subaru out of the suburban dad, I suppose.
You know what sucks about my Honda CR-V? Not fuel. It sips fuel. But it only seats five! It would be convenient if I could just snuggle my kiddo between the front seats and toss three people in the rear. It’s not that hard! This crew cab F-150 does it.
This particular model is about the spec that I’d want. An XLT with the 5.0-liter V8, which is good for 360 HP and 380-lbt of torque. It seems like the sweetspot between the Duratec V6 and the EcoBoost V6. No thank you! The 6.2-liter V8 is obviously more powerful, but I think the Coyote is the right one. Don’t tell me if I’m wrong, because the further a car buyer drifts from reality the more he or she hates the commenter pointing it out.
The seller reports no warning lights and “ice cold” a/c with everything working “as it should.” Who car argue with that? After about 12 years of winters here, trucks generally need new rockers and rust has taken over. Is this the case here? There are no underbody shots, but there is this:
Hmm… is that surface rust? If there’s rust on the bumper, there’s probably rust other places. At a “firm” $6,500 that’s an interesting proposition.
2012 Ford F-150 SuperCrew – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter V8 with six-speed automatic, 4×4
Location:Â Windsor, CT
Odometer reading: 217,000
Operational status: Runs and drives “Great”
The rust on the 2013 model is a bit of an open question. Is there some on the emissions equipment or not? I guess this makes it a… Schrödinger’s Cat. There are a less questions on this 2012 model, which has a few more miles on the odo, but apparently is driving great.
No bucket seat, but for $2,000 less I think I can live without the extra seat.
It’s got the same 5.0-liter V8 and is otherwise quite similar. I can’t quite read the badges, but is this maybe a Limited trim? Someone who knows these trucks better can please let me know in the comments. There’s no obvious rust on the bumper and there’s already a hitch installed, which is great.
What’s that on the corner of the cab?
There we go! Now we know it’s a real New England truck. Cab corners and rockers. Always. That’s the way a truck should look up here, unless it’s garaged for the winter, but what’s the point of that? I appreciate the forthrightness. I’m a little more confused by the gauage cluster photo.
It shows a low-pressure tire warning which, um, seems like a fixable problem before you take photos. Additionally, it says “odomoter rolled over” but it shows 217k on the clock. Does the seller mean this thing did 1.2 million miles?
So what do you prefer? The unknown of a a could-be rusty truck, or the questionable tire/odo situation of the $2,000 cheaper 2012 model with more miles?
Photo: Craigslist Sellers
Count me in the “They both suck” contingent. Even if they were showroom fresh, I can’t picture myself enjoying either.
I’m west coast, so literally 80% of the trucks here are better deals. So neither, even if the 5.0 is indeed the best motor.
That’s not rust! My (then) 12-year old Ford pickup had no tailgate, the bed was tied together at the back with a cable.I drove it from Wisconsin to Arizona and sold it t o some mountain man to use as a wood hauler. Those Ford 300 straight 6’s never die!
Matt sorry to tell you but you are wrong. The medium Pace Picante is the best choice. The extra mild must come New York City. Neither of these trucks are in my flavor I want it a lot older and a lot cooler
Thank you for “Schrödinger’s Cat”.
Nope
Nope.
I’ll sit this one out.
This is only rust worth owning:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSzQ5tXtxOEYqkSwew-J2hbwIwuhh1dY9
Damn, 2 Fix Or Repair Daily’s…well, Found On Road Dead’s trucks aren’t too bad (I mainly like their classic trucks) but still much prefer Dodge (RAM), Chevy, and Toyota better. These are basically the same and was gonna go cheaper, but will go 2013 due to less miles and especially since the 2012 has obvious rocker rust. At least it’s a truck, so very useful. Also, just FYI usually the 1st vehicle is listed 1st on the voting (I still caught it and voted 2013)
It’s really hard to say from the pictures and the ads. It’s very possible the 2012 has more hours and city miles on it vs the 2013 with more highway miles. Maybe spend the $3 on the Ukrainian carfax for both to see their history. They both look to have the typical east coast surface rust. I have an 04 expedition that lived most of its life in the DC area it wouldn’t pass inspection there so I got it for basically nothing. Rockers are pretty much gone. Sprayed out the frame , rockers and under with a pressure washer then compressed air and got what I could out loose bits of. Soaked the under side and everywhere I could get with evoprust then sprayed a tractor paint with rust inhibitor. I’ve had it for 5 years and has been fine with no further rusting but it’s in now in the south. I would look at state or municipal auctions often a great place to get a good deal on a fleet maintained truck. Most of the time they will tell you enough to make a informed decision and you can normally go on the viewing day to check them out before bidding.
Yeah if you just want a basic use truck and don’t care about it being fancy gov’t fleet auctions are a great way to go. Both of my current pickups and my van are former gov’t fleet vehicles though I only bought the pickups directly after their retirement. I did bid on the other at the county auction but stopped bidding at $5k with a hammer price of $7×00. Then several month later I pulled up craigslist and found what turned out to be the same van listed for sale by the person who bought it from the dealer who had the winning bid 6 months before. For my state they actually provide the full maintenance records for most of the vehicles so a quick check will tell you how long ago it had an oil change, brake lining thickness, tread depth at that time and a little more digging will also show things like the last time the battery was replaced. They also indicate the agency that “owned” it so you can determine if it was subject to pool use or it was assigned to a specific person or task.
Yeah I have one I got a decent deal on from a small municipality. Just base work truck in white no options. I’ve seen that too many times people bidding just to bid especially dealers and running to up too high only to sell it for less then they paid a few weeks or months later. I’ve been trying to get an old forestry service truck because they are ordered a little more rugged and have 4×4 plus I like the color. Sometimes I find some dealer got them did terrible things to them and paint them some stupid silver or something and they sit because they are such weird spec and they want to much for them. You can normally talk your way into a gsa depot and make offers on things. Sometimes you have to give a name but can sometimes call in and talk to someone so can give their name at the gate if you don’t have a contact. They don’t always have the best selection but sometimes find some really weird things.
Well in the case of my van the dealer definitely made some money as he lady I bought it from told me she paid $9500 plus tax license ect. The dealer did put a new battery, though the smallest cheapest one he could find and of course didn’t even bother to change the oil or remove the county oil change reminder from the windshield, which were both clues that it was the same van that I had bid on. I’ve never done a GSA auction though there was a location in my neck of the woods for many years. I used to favor the county auction which was held just a couple of miles away from my old house. The problem was that they only did two auctions per year. My state then started doing it online first through publicsurplus and now through govdeals and started shopping there too. Then the auctioneer that had the county contract finally passed away, releasing them from the contract and they now use the state’s property services. And now I’ve got to go check those sites since I have been thinking about a newer truck. I’m thinking one of the Fish and Wildlife trucks as they get the 5.0 4×4 and many in the past have had the locking rear diff too.
Law enforcement trucks can interesting specs. I see some of the f150 police packages come up every once in a while. Allegedly the border patrol has some super charged regular cab f150s that are 4×4 but setup to fly though the dessert. Their stuff doesn’t come up too much. The FBI and other alphabet suburbans with the extra alternators and seats removed and sometimes a rack seem to always be available fairly regularly though.
They are both rusty, one ad was just more clever/deceptive in the way they photographed the truck. When I was shopping for Suburbans I got really good at spotting rocker rust from thumbnail photos, it is amazing how many people will claim little or no rust but they only mean as long as the door is closed. Save $2k, but really its a neither day for me, as a few other commenters pointed out the best pickup truck for a family is actually a Suburban/Yukon/Expedition, 5-8 seats when you need them, 8ft bed with a topper when you don’t. **See also the minivan argument
Yeah a SUV doesn’t cut it for the things I use a pickup for, hauling gravel, garbage, large appliances, lumber, scrap metal ect.
Which one has more recalls?
Trick question! They’re both about to burst into flames! Run for your life!
I live in MN & so the rust is ubiquitous as well. I’ve always been curious when the F150 went to aluminum in 2015 & none of the other companies followed, if we would start to see a value spread once they entered the rust years. Now that its been 10 years, I’m curious if theres any data on this?
Aluminum Oxidizes, which is really just rusting. the first year F150’s had a bit of trouble from the factory with paint flaking off, specifically the white ones, so yeah, it would be interesting to see how the aluminum held up with regard to through panel oxidation. Also, the frames and lots of other stuff was still steal or iron, they still rust badly, but if any of that touched aluminum the result was often even more problematic from Galvanic corrosion.
Why would someone need a big ass truck in Brooklyn? Maybe a contractor?
For your specific set of needs I’d suggest you skip the pickup and get a truck based SUV like a Yukon. It fits 7 a lot more comfortably, tows well up to 7K Lb, is more maneuverable in tight places, and actually fits in a standard sized garage or the one free parallel parking spot 4 blocks away from you. Take the rear seats out and you have a huge flat floor for quick 1-night camping trips that get rained out, and is better than nearly every pickup out there in the criteria people seem to most judge pickups by: it can easily swallow a 4×8 sheet of plywood in the back.
I voted for the 2013 one mainly due to the lower mileage.
I voted for the 2012. Between the miles and the rust it seems unlikely to last long, so I’ll pay less for the truck and treat it like a disposable vehicle. $4500 is pretty close to its scrap value, to be honest.
Sir, that game was on Monday night, not Saturday.
Oops. Still tired from the Yankees game last night.
Neither.
And shop different brands. The GM pickups are very good. Obviously the Tundra but those seem to suffer from the Toyota Tax.
I’d probably go with a Ram if I were looking for a “cheap” pickup from this era. I think the GM pickups of this era (GMT900) were probably the worst they’ve ever produced.
As a kid I rode in the front middle seat of a Taurus wagon and a Crown Vic. Just a couple times when all the other seats were taken. You had to sit super still and keep your feet away from the pedals. It wasn’t the most fun, but it was unique!