Used truck advice

[jackelope]

The Fords are amazing, I bought a 2016 a few weeks ago and have been incredibly happy with it.  I only looked at Fords, so I have no info on the Rams.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to not buy a Canadian truck.  Every one I looked at had significant rust problems, even in 3 year old trucks from Vancouver BC and the ones from further north or east were practically destroyed.  The Alberta trucks were the worst, many are oil field trucks that are beat.

You can find the origin by the CarFax which most dealers and some people provide.  If it's a Ford dealer, they often have a link to the original sticker which will show if it's Canadian or not.

When I was looking, probably 80% of the trucks for sale were Canadian.  They sell for more down here so a ton of Canadian trades end up in auction and the US dealers scoop them up for inventory.

Know what you want, what it will cost and what you are willing to live without and act fast as they don't last very long.

Ignore any claims by the dealer or their joke inspections, don't buy a Canadian truck.

Great advice. I had no idea! 

With a VIN #, I can tell whether it's Canadian. I bet 75%of the used F150's around are from Canada right now. I can also see all the warranty work that's been done on a Ford vehicle. In some cases I can see maintenance too if the vehicle had Ford maintenance plan. I can't see any work that was done that Ford did not pay for.

[jackelope]

I believe the 3.5 liter is rated for 13,500.  I would not want to pull that much with it, but the 7500/8000 that my trailer weighs with a load in it is not an issue pulling with this truck.

The right truck with the right wheel base and the correct gear ratios can be rated to tow 13,200 pounds, but not all of the 3.5 ecoboosts are rated to tow that much. You need the 3.5 with the 6.5' bed and the max tow package to get there.

[KFhunter]

I'm going to have to buy these things by the case, about to install my 3rd as I have a CEL on again 

2016 Colorado


whatever you buy, get a code reader tool, save a bunch of $

[jackelope]

I'm going to have to buy these things by the case, about to install my 3rd as I have a CEL on again 

2016 Colorado


whatever you buy, get a code reader tool, save a bunch of $

There are lots of reasons you'd get an evap leak code. Are you sure that's what's wrong with it?
What fault code are you getting?

[linxx77]

The Fords are amazing, I bought a 2016 a few weeks ago and have been incredibly happy with it.  I only looked at Fords, so I have no info on the Rams.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to not buy a Canadian truck.  Every one I looked at had significant rust problems, even in 3 year old trucks from Vancouver BC and the ones from further north or east were practically destroyed.  The Alberta trucks were the worst, many are oil field trucks that are beat.

You can find the origin by the CarFax which most dealers and some people provide.  If it's a Ford dealer, they often have a link to the original sticker which will show if it's Canadian or not.

When I was looking, probably 80% of the trucks for sale were Canadian.  They sell for more down here so a ton of Canadian trades end up in auction and the US dealers scoop them up for inventory.

Know what you want, what it will cost and what you are willing to live without and act fast as they don't last very long.

Ignore any claims by the dealer or their joke inspections, don't buy a Canadian truck.

So true. I bought a Canadian truck. Rookie mistake. It’s still working but I’m noticing the rust more and more. Lesson we learned


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hitsman3]

For what it's worth, i bought a 2016 F150 5.0 Lariat w/ the 36 gallon tank, 9,000 tow capacity and 1640#'s of payload about a year and a half ago and love it.  My father in law has a 2011 Eco-boost Lariat with the 23 gallon tank, 13,000 tow capacity but it only has 1160#'s of payload.  In most cases you will reach your payload limit before you ever reach your max tow limit.  The eco-boost engine is a beast  but it seems from what i've seen the payload on the trucks that have them isn't as much as what the 5.0's are unless you can find one with the HDPP package.

[Pnwrider]

I’ve got a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 eco with almost every box checked (max tow is about all I can think of that it’s missing). I came from a ram 2500 cummins. There are times I miss the power, but I only tow a 7500 lb boat a few times a year with one longer trip. I was looking for a more comfortable daily driver. I’m not sure what your budget is or what options you would like feedback on, so I’ll give general feedback below. Pick and choose accordingly. You can save quite a bit by going with a well optioned lariat vs a platinum. Only thing you can’t get on the lariat is massaging seats. Otherwise, rebates are better on the lariat and used pricing reflects that as well.

The good: They got the new 10 speed trans in 2017. I would look for a 17+ for that reason. IMO, the halogen headlights really suck. I’ve got the Leds on mine and they’re awesome! Auto high beam is a feature I liked more than expected. Unfortunately they are only available with certain higher trim levels. The 360 degree cameras is another option I ended up liking more than expected (especially when needing to turn around on a Forrest service road). Fuel economy can be decent if you keep your foot out of it. I averaged 23 mpg from Seattle to twisp due to slower traffic. I haven’t tried the trailer cameras or back up assist yet, so can’t comment there. Adaptive cruise control is great. Pano roof seems to be a real love/hate option. My kids love it, not a box I would check though (if I had a choice). Seems like an expensive future fix. I’m an iPhone user and like having apple car play.

The bad: the recirculating air on the hvac will only stay on for 5 minutes before it reverts back to fresh air. Really sucks when driving through cow country or stop and go rush hour and you have to keep hitting the switch. The rain sensing wipers are ok, but no way to disable that I know of. In mist I have to manually turn on and off or listen to them drag across the dry windshield. In 2018 they put an ambient air temp sensor in the mirror so you cannot upgrade to the tow mirrors. Other years may be affected by this as well. I was a little disappointed as I figured I could upgrade to the bigger tow mirrors after the fact. However, the trailer blind spot monitor is really accurate once setup and the stock mirrors aren’t that bad. Lane departure is not as good as other manufacturers. The ford sync app is handy, but i have had times where it wouldn’t start, lock or unlock the truck.

Stein mentioned Canadian trucks. When I was looking, I kept seeing advantage auto direct in Kent pop up with what seems like great deals on car gurus. I went to their lot to look at a few and found out they import all their trucks from Canada. Hard pass!

[jackelope]

Disable your rain sensing wipers in the settings. Left side steering wheel control.
settings — vehicle — driver assist (I think)
If you didn’t know that, there are probably lots of other things you’ll learn in there too.

[Carl]

It sounds like there are a lot of red flags concerning Canadian trucks!  But since the majority of the F150s around the area are from Canada, it presents a challenge.

[Bango skank]

Disable your rain sensing wipers in the settings. Left side steering wheel control.
settings — vehicle — driver assist (I think)
If you didn’t know that, there are probably lots of other things you’ll learn in there too.

Rain sensing wipers?  Really?  Christ, no wonder vehicles are so expensive.  As if all the safety and emmissions regulations havent jacked up the cost of vehicles enough, every year there are more and more unnecessary little things like rain sensing wipers getting tacked on to every damn vehicle.  How did we all possibly manage to get through life without rain sensing windshield wipers? 

[blackpowderhunter]

Disable your rain sensing wipers in the settings. Left side steering wheel control.
settings — vehicle — driver assist (I think)
If you didn’t know that, there are probably lots of other things you’ll learn in there too.

Rain sensing wipers?  Really?  Christ, no wonder vehicles are so expensive.  As if all the safety and emmissions regulations havent jacked up the cost of vehicles enough, every year there are more and more unnecessary little things like rain sensing wipers getting tacked on to every damn vehicle.  How did we all possibly manage to get through life without rain sensing windshield wipers?

had you really never heard of those?  they've been on cars for a LONG time now..they're borderline standard at this point.  rain sensing wipers is probably the last thing causing cars to become expensive..but i won't go there 

[KFhunter]

I'm going to have to buy these things by the case, about to install my 3rd as I have a CEL on again 

2016 Colorado


whatever you buy, get a code reader tool, save a bunch of $

There are lots of reasons you'd get an evap leak code. Are you sure that's what's wrong with it?
What fault code are you getting?

The same one for gas cap not being tight, or this canister, or a micro fuel leak.
It's for like 3-4 things,  but I wipe the code, check my gas cap and assume a fuel line isn't leaking.   
Last two times have given me about 20K miles after this purge valve change. 

So ya it's an educated shot in the dark that this same purge valve has went bad again, but I can test it with a vacuum pump. 

[kselkhunter]

Disable your rain sensing wipers in the settings. Left side steering wheel control.
settings — vehicle — driver assist (I think)
If you didn’t know that, there are probably lots of other things you’ll learn in there too.

Rain sensing wipers?  Really?  Christ, no wonder vehicles are so expensive.  As if all the safety and emmissions regulations havent jacked up the cost of vehicles enough, every year there are more and more unnecessary little things like rain sensing wipers getting tacked on to every damn vehicle.  How did we all possibly manage to get through life without rain sensing windshield wipers?

If rain sensing wipers get you going, whatever you do don't sit in one of the higher end trim models.   :-)


My 2106 Ford has massaging front seats.  Not kidding.   I drive a lot up and down the west coast between the bay area, Portland, Seattle, and western Canada....yes those massaging seats come in handy on the long drives.  :-)   Never thought I'd use that feature....


I do enjoy all the new features in the Fords.  Their voice activated system is better than the competition....so much easier changing Navigation verbally while driving.   I like all the sensors and cameras for parking, as well as while driving.  Adaptive cruise is nice to have.   I haven't had the courage to push the "park assist" button for parallel and back in parking....I'm waiting to have a few dents first before I push that thing.   Air conditioned seats are handy in the summertime, more than I expected.   Heated steering wheel is really nice in the cold, and my "remote start" button is programmed to turn on the heated steering wheel and heated seats so after starting the Ford while eating breakfast by the time I get in the vehicle it's all toasty.   Yeah...the perks on the top trim model Fords are really nice.   Granted as long as my wife's 96 year old grandma stays alive I can still buy Fords on the original employee "Z" plan from decades ago so of course I max out the features on any Ford I buy as I'm paying far less than most. 


Wait til you start seeing the Waymo and other self drive cars on the road next to you.    Rain sensing wipers will be the least of the features to complain about after you look over and don't see a driver in the car next to you....their test vehicles are already on the road in the bay area and it's a creepy sight.


To the Op:  The Ford's with the EcoBoost engines are good vehicles.  No complaints at all for my 2016 Ford that I've owned 4 years as of this month.   Been very reliable, good gas mileage, and I'd buy it over again.

[nutntoit]

I am going to play the devils advocate here and ask why not stick with a Toyota? I have a 2017 Tundra and it has been a great truck, tows awesome, has a ton of power and a LOT more room than a Tacoma inside. I get 15-16 mpg in town and 17-18 on the highway. 10-12 when towing, but I have only ever towed trailers over 5K pounds. MPG would probably be better with a 3500 lb trailer. My dad has a 2007 Tacoma and gets 16-17 mpg driving city/highway and about 7 mpg when towing his 5000 lb camper. So what I'm saying is MPG are basically the same. Without going on and bashing on he big 3 I will just say don't rule out Toyota. MPG is everything when you consider, initial investment, reliability and resale value. I have two family members with Tundras one of which has 250K miles and the other has 120K miles. Both have never had a single mechanical or electrical issue. Just normal maintenance. My FIL has a new Ram and it's been back at the dealer multiple times already for various issues. It's already had to be towed twice...

[luvmystang67]

OR....

buy your truck IN canada and save a ton of money.

Bringing them across the border isn't that bad, be a little selective, sure there could be a little rust here and there, if you take your time who cares.  You could EASILY save 25% by buying in Canada and bringing it across the border yourself.

I mean to each their own, but is a truck not an airplane.  A little frame surface rust... how long are you going to own it.  If you're planning for a 10 year deal... how important is it?  My brother has a Tacoma from Chicago down in Texas... it is a RUST BUCKET on the underside.  It sucks for making modifications to and I think changing the brakes was a pain, but for the amount he saved its been worth it and its been a great and reliable truck for going on 4 years now.  I don't think he plans on keeping it until death anyway.

Just some things to think about.  Obviously cost is a concern because if it wasn't you'd just buy new.  If you're buying used, are you willing to put up a with a little bit of surface rust to save a ton?  Trade offs and to each their own.