i going to look at a 2004 ranger Fx4 2morrow so i was wounderuing what are some things i shoud check for befor bying???its has a florida rebuild title cause the truck was side swiped and they needed a fendor for the front right and the door on the right.....so sheck all the ball joins 4 sure....any other help???

 

if its been in a wreck check all the seams and make sure they line up correctly.
Take for a test drive and make sure everything drives strait.
Look and smell the tranny oil. If its dark colored the tranny is fried. It will also have a burnt smell.
Check the oil
I always check for rubber/mud underneath the truck. If there is a ton of rubber on it then they have prally beat the hell out of it. If there is mud packed into small openings then it might have been offroaded hard.

 

While your at it I cant belive no one saide this , make sure the 4WD is in good working order put it in 4HI and drive lil fowards and back take out into 2WD drive some more then drop all the way to 4low go fowards and back , then back to 4HI and drive fowards and back make turns . then back to 2WD and dog the Heck out of it when it shifts back 2WD . If it makes any noises back out , Then while youve gone this and your under the truck checking pull the plugs on both Diff and see what the fluid looks like when its warm if its reall milky looking its seen alot of water , Not bad could have been used to tow a boat or something but if it is milky have a maechanic check it out .

 

Crawl underneath it and get a good look around. I cant believe an 04 was given a rebuild title because of a door and fender. I would insist on talking to the previous owner, or if its a private seller seeing the body shop or insurance details. A rebuild title to me means it was considered totaled.

I think my wifes car was wrecked previously. I looked for even seams when we bought it, but things seem to be changing lately. Of course Im not telling her that.

A friend of mine had a wreck. Got everything fixed and 2 years later was rotating tires when he found a piece of tape on the front strut saying "return to body shop" He bailed out of that car quick after the dealer said that was "left there on accident"