Greetings from Ohio. I am making my first post after purchasing my first Ranger. I've always liked how the 01-11 looked and liked their smaller size. My friend had a 90s Ranger in college [don't remember the year] and my dad's friend has an 04 FX4 with 182k on it. After driving his FX4, I knew I had to find a Ranger. It drove nice, even with the high miles. I could reach everything with ease. It just felt right, you know?

I'm not a car forum newb as I've been reading numerous car forums since 2000. I've always been in to cars and enjoy reading about them. From different mods people do to how to fix things. So of course one of the main things I did was search out Ranger forums and start reading. I have several plans already for the truck.

To my surprise, but probably not to you, I was amazed how expensive 01+ Rangers are in my area. I've seen numerous examples with over 100k miles asking over $10k, sometimes closer to $15k for 06+ with well over 100k. I've searched Autotrader, eBay and Craigslist and only found either high mileage trucks asking way too much money or too new of a truck with a high price. Or I would find a decent one and have it turn out to be a RWD model.

About three weeks ago I got burned by a used car dealer [which will go unnamed]. I saw an Autotrader listing for a 2005 Ranger Tremor. Auto with 4WD, an extended cab and 89k miles. The dealer was asking $5999 for it. I set an appointment to see it later that day. I drove an hour to the dealership, saw it in the lot, walked in and asked for the lady I spoke with earlier. They took my info and the guy saw which vehicle I was looking at. He said that some other guy just drove it and is currently trying to buy it. The sales person I was assigned to came up to the counter guy and said he just sold it......You can imagine how I felt. Set an appointment, drive an hour away and walk in the door just to have it sold before I even got to look at it. Talk about having a sour taste in my mouth. The counter guy said I was welcome to stop by anytime to look at other vehicles. Like that will ever happen.

Then last week I happened to drive past a house with a black Ranger sitting outside for sale. I went back Monday to take a quick look and it and the options I saw were automatic, extended cab and 4wd. Then I noticed a particular decal on the bed: FX4 Level II. Deer in headlights moment.

I took a better look and noticed the black grill, silver front tow hooks, 15" Alcoa wheels, sport buckets with red inserts and the center console with the typical broken arm rest. And it only had 97,000 miles. Could this be Eleanor? I left and called the owner later and set a meeting time to see and drive it.

After looking it over and a test drive, I was able to negotiate a price. The truck does have some flaws but nothing major. The paint has 97k worth of wear. There is a small rust area on the bottom rear quarter panel by the bumper. The frame has typical northeast surface rust but looks to be solid. The rear bumper and spare tire are still attached. The owner had the rear shackles and hangers, front hub, brakes, muffler and other small things repaired with in the last two years.

Now, you're probably asking "what the fudge did this guy pay for it?" I think I got a pretty good deal on it, considering it's age, mileage and condition. $5,500.

I've attached a just got home pre-wash picture. The license plate is from the previous owner, so I saw no need to hide it. What do you guys think?

 

Congrats on the Ranger and it looks good. I too was surprised at the prices for Rangers when I started looking for mine. Being a fellow Ohioan and buying my first Ranger last year, an 03 FX4 Level II, I can say it sounds like you got a great deal.