In the market
 

When in doubt, ask the experts.
I've had a 2000 Jeep XJ as my secondary/weekend vehicle for a few years. She finally died just before the winter. I'm looking for another weekender vehicle and I've always really liked the Ranger (I owned a 1997 Tacoma, brand new for 4 years, loved it).

I have an opportunity to purchase a 2006 Ranger FX4 Level II. She's extremely clean, no Carfax issues. Private, original owner. No modifications. 135,000 miles, asking $5700 OBO.

Since I've not been hunting for this vehicle I thought I'd save a little time and get some feedback from a forum. Pros/Cons. Any known issues with this year's vehicle ... engine, electrical, transmission, etc?

I have an opportunity to get a 2000 XJ for about the same money but with a few more miles. I know what I'm getting with that vehicle and the possible issues. If I get no real negative feedback I'll jump at the Ranger. She's so sexy.

Thanks for the honest feedback, and please, no answers like you get what you pay for or it depends on the driver. Of course this is true, but thank you.

Obviously on a ranger forum your gonna get alot of pro ranger answers lol. But trying to be objective there really aren't alot of negatives with that year ranger, they were well built and held up. The fx4 level 2's have tons of cool add-ons as well. The only thing I've noticed is the automatic transmissions don't quite have enough cooling so fluid can get burnt up with alot of offloading or towing. Easy fix to add a extra cooler though but definetly check the fluid before you buy.

They are much better rust proofed than dodge, GM, toyota, nissan and for sure jeep. If it checks out the usual run down on any used car or truck id say go for it.

Usual run down is check all fluids for colors and proper smells especially coolant - should be bright green and smell only like coolant, if it smells like oil or exhaust got a blown headgasket.
Crawl around underneath with a bright flashlight checking inside of framerails, brake and fuel lines, if the fuel filter is rusty on the outside probably never been changed. Also for any dingle berry leaks. Dont be suprised at minor leaks given its age but be very leery of evidence of someone wiping up a leak (suspiciously shiny and clean oil pan or trans pan for instance - should be dry but minor leaks should have all sorts of dust and road stuff stuck to it)

Pop the hood and inspect everywhere - if you see wire splices see how well they were done - should be soldered and heatshrunk - none of those blue butt splices or those god awful scotch lock things. and as ive sadly seen on a few vehicles - wire nuts...Also be leery of mysteriously clean engine bay - easy tactic to hide leaks.

Tires should all match and ideally be a middle of the road to good brand. If its some store brand that doesnt exist anymore the truck was run on a budget so any replacement parts (ie ball joints, wheel bearings etc) are going to be bottom of the barrel in quality.

Pay attention to the paint and radiator core support - just because the carfax came back clean doesnt mean its ever been wrecked. Same goes for the ass end. Core supports are generally just straightened so theres evidence of hammers , prying, etc and or if the fender color and texture isnt quite the same as the door or hood you know its been replaced. Looks like ford stamped thier logo on the sheetmetal so start noticing that as well. If they say fresh paint job run away as they are probably hiding 40 lbs of bondo that will fall out in 2 years. I was looking at a TJ jeep at a dealer once. Looked pretty clean - standard pewter/champaigne color not perfect but pretty good. Popped the hood and noticed a baseball sized dent on the underside of the hood but not the top - hmm. Then noticed the hood and left fender still had thier "certi-fit parts" stickers on them. Pretty sure Chrysler doesn't use certifit parts...Meanwhile the salesmans going off about how great it is and carfax came back clean...I pointed it out to him and hes like well we only go by what carfax says...yea not buying a car from there.

Have whoever is selling it start the engine cold while you stand by the tailpipe and watch for any colors coming out upon startup. Then have him snap the throttle and see what comes out. should be nothing maybe just a poof of black/whiteish of unburnt fuel. Pop the hood and listen - most timing chain issues or lifter issues are present when cold but go away once warm. Be a bit leery if they said they just started it before you got there - warm engines hide issues. If they drive it daily, ask to put a deposit down to hold it but you want to hear it when its cold. If the sellers got nothing to hide he should be OK with this. Dealers love to bring the car up front to you - refuse and say you want to go out and listen to it start.

Thats all crap I check before even driving it...

Turn the key on but not start - check and see if all the usual christmas lights come on and go off. Common to pull the ABS/brake/check engine/check gauges lights if theres a problem.

Driving, from a stop gun it should zip right up in speed and shift firmly yet smoothly thru the gears - no misfires or bucking or hesitation or hard shifts. Level off at 55 or so and drive. Also find a bumpy road - shouldn't have squeaks rattles or feel like your driving on a water bed or dart off in random directions. Then find a smooth flat road and carefully let go of the wheel - should track straight/ever so slightly go towards the ditch not immediately. Check and see how much "no mans land" there is - aka nice straight road and let it naturally want to drift towards the ditch and see how much turning left of the wheel it takes before the truck actually starts to turn. Also shimmy the wheel back n forth about 2-3 inches. should cause the truck to dart around not lethargically loaf. now make sure your clear from all directions, lightly let go of the wheel (be ready to grab it but dont be touching it) and slam on the brakes hard. Should not pull ABS should activate and you should feel confident in the system not wishing there was more brake to go.

After that slowly accelerate as if your in a neighborhood - brakes should have released- should shift thru the gears nice and easy - shouldn't hang in any one gear. If its got 4x4 try it out - should go right in and no weird vibrations or massive clunks or pops and should actually be in 4x4. You will know the minute you go to accelerate hard in 4 high - should feel like its got more oomph upon take off. Bcak in 2wd and going 55 or so again, punch it as if you were passing a car on a 2 lane - should drop down a gear or two nearly instantly and accelerate, once you pass and let off it should go back to the torque converter locking up and steady pace again.

Should roll smooth no vibrations at any speed - if there are is it in the wheel or your seat? Can be u joints, out of balance wheel, bad tire, bad wheel bearings, bad ball joints/tie rods.

Upon returning to sellers house see if you can coast as much as you can to let the brakes cool down and coast to thier driveway/street using the brakes as little as possible. Leave it running put it in park or set parking brake, hop out and feel all the lug nuts/hub - should be ambient maybe slightly warmer but should NOT burn your hand nor should you smell hot brake pad.Then lay NEXT to the vehicle - do not get under it with it running but shine with your flashlight checking for any new dingle berries or leaks like fuel dripping, oil dripping, coolant, etc. Listen for any rattles or any abnormal engine or trans noises. Pop hood and do the same. Let it idle for a good 5 minutes after your run so it should be up to its max temp and should be regulating itself (aka not overheating).

Check the electrical functions like turn signals work, hazards work, headlights, parking lights, horn, all power windows, locks, radio, cd player, AC should work ($$$ if it doesnt), blower should have all 4 speeds, air should come out of where it says its supposed to, etc.

It might seem like alot to check but hey its your money and if you buy it its instantly your problem. I dont mind buying a car with issues as long as I know about them and know what its approx cost is to repair it/if i can do the repair myself. The price should reflect the issues as well. Take whatever the seller says with a grain of salt unless hes got workorders and receipts to backup what he claims. I find dealers are the worst offenders when it comes to used cars. I mean I'm guilty of it too as in unloading a car with issues on a dealer (granted they give me $500 so they should expect issues) then they cherry pick what they want replaced and it shows really bad. To unsuspecting people they think its a great car but to me who pays attention to all these things their a nightmare.

if it checks out youll love it!