Hey guys, I was wondering if I should sell my 2017 Honda Accord that is paid off and has 35,000 miles and buy a friend’s 2003 Ford ranger that has 50,000 miles.I could use the utility of a pick up truck for the work that I am now doing but the new Rangers are pricey and I wouldn’t be able to buy one outright for the trade-in value of my Accord. Thank you for any advice.

 

Buying a vehicle from a friend is dangerous to the friendship, so heads up on that, similar to loaning a friend a substantial amount of money
How long has the friend had this Ranger?

A 19 year old vehicle will have higher maintenance costs that a 5 year old vehicle, that's 100% for sure, so know that going in
While miles matter TIME is the bigger deal here, age

The engine and transmission matter
In 2003 Ranger:
4.0l SOHC could have timing chain issues, engine needs to be pulled out to repair that, no warning for that, if engine starts to have a rattle noise damage is done
3.0l Vulcan V6 was OK, although getting close to the 2004-2006 years with valve issues
2.3l Duratec 4cyl was OK but can have issues with IMRC, this was removed in 2004 and up 2.3ls

Manual transmission was an M5OD-R1(M5R1) bullet-proof, works great
Automatic was a 5R44E or 5R55E and like any automatic needs regular servicing or there will be problems, smell the fluid, burnt smell = problems

2003 was a good year for Rangers, no real changes so no "new stuff" that can cause issues because engineers didn't think it thru, lol

 

Thanks for such a thorough response, Ron! Very much appreciated.

The “friend” is actually my father in law, I just said friend to keep it more concise lol.
I believe he bought the truck new, so only one owner. I’ve driven the truck a few times and it drives great. He just for some reason never really drove it, he drove this old beat up Chrysler minivan until it finally crapped out on him.
It just pretty much sits in his driveway until someone needs a pickup truck for some task.
My brother in law, who is a car guy and has a 2019 Ranger, says all the basic maintenance is always done to it on time and he says the car is in really good shape.

I love my Accord and it is a great car in great shape, the only reason I’m even considering a trade for a truck is because I’m a baseball/sports coach and I have my Accord stuffed with a bunch of equipment that would be better suited for a pickup truck.

I could probably get over 20k for the Accord and use that to purchase and fix up the Ranger, but as you said I’m worried about buying a 19 year old truck and using it as a daily driver.

 

As long as you KNOW you are buying a used car "AS IS" then it should be OK
Once its yours "his truck" didn't break, "YOUR TRUCK" broke

Its good that the seller has a history for the vehicle, that's a thumbs up for sure

Rangers were good daily drivers they can take the miles