Currenty I own a 2000 2wd Ranger stepside with a 3.0 (78,000 miles) and am very happy with it. Through the years, I have roughed the winter months by throwing about 100 lbs of scrap Chevrolet parts in the bed. I began looking for a 4x4 earlier this year but didn't find one that I felt was reasonable in price and condition. Yesterday I had a dealer friend call me and tell me about a 2003 4x4 extended cab with a 4.0/ 5spd. and 103,000 miles that came in. He informed me that they were looking to price it around $8500- $9000. I never pay full price for anything.

My question to the vast members of this forum is do you think that 103,000 miles on a 4.0 is alot? Let's pretend this truck has had a decent prior life and was maintained above average of most vehicles, how many miles can we expect to potentially get out of the life of this truck?

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any input regarding this year Ranger or the 4.0!

 

According to kbb.com and with the minimal information you have in your post, if that truck is in "excellent condition", it's retail value is $9,925.


Personally, I wouldn't be thinking about the "best-case senariou". I'd be thinking about the worst senario EXCEPT: Did the P.O. trash the vehicle. If you look at it in a conservative manner like you are now, you'll probably be let down in the future when something happens.

 

As I have said before you will have a better chance of picking the winning lotto numbers than guessing how long a vehicle will last. The 03 engines suffer from a timing chain tensioner issue. You will hear a rattling sound at about 2800 RPM. My truck does this but who knows when it started. I will say that the engine has never let me down and it still runs pretty good even with 140K miles. Manuals can puke the slave cylinder often so if a manual be prepared.

 

I bought mine with 116k on it and it was beat hard by the PO and it still runs like a top. My last Ranger was a '97 that I bought with 123k on it and when I sold it it had 265k on it and was still running strong.

 

I bought my 03 for $9800 with 50K miles on it but it is barebones (no CC, PL/PW, etc). It does have a CD player though..

I really don't know the history but I've came to the conclusion that previous owner pretty much wanted a truck and nothing else. I'm leaning on an old guy since it was in miraclous condition.

Buddy of mine has an 02 4.0 with 154K on it.

 

I saw an '06 or '07 Ranger with 3000 miles a few months back that was completely UNDRIVEABLE!!!!!!!!




























(of course, it's because it was totalled and I saw it at the junk yard. lol)

 

Get the VIN of the truck. then look on the web for a vin decoder. if the truck was built in Edison NJ and it looks to be in good shape paying in the 8k for it wouldn't be unreasonable. The Edison plant had the highest initial build uality ratings of any ford plant. until ford closed it in 2003. My '03 Fx4 L2 was there and I never had any issues with it.

 

The timing chain issue is there, but generally just an annoyance. The engine will last a long time if taken care of. The slave cylinder sometimes has problems, but most people seem to only have difficulty with them after a clutch job. It should be replaced with the clutch.
Overall, it's a good truck. Check the ball joints and tie-rod ends for plays, check and make sure the 4x4 works. If it has the electric transfer case, sometimes the motor is stubborn especially if it wasn't used much. Normally it is easily fixed by removing and cleaning the motor. Retail is high but all used prices have gone up. When I bought my 98 ranger (similar equipped) it was newer than the 03 you are looking at now, with 50k miles and I paid $10,500 for it. Retail was $15k or $18 though.

Keep in mind if you are looking to finance it, many (most) banks won't buy something with 100k miles on it unless you put a huge amount down.