Is It Time to Upgrade Your Beloved Truck?

[Drakkith]

It's been a good run with Old Blue, my 2003 Ford Ranger that I bought brand new 16 years ago. But it's time to let New Blue take the torch. Here's to another 16 years in my new 2019 Ranger!

I'm so happy with it I just can't help but show it off!

 

[OmCheeto]

Yay! I thought I'd never have a chance to buy another one. I bought mine new in May of 2009. They ceased production in December 2011. I see they restarted production in October 2018. I hadn't heard that until now.

ps. Nice vehicles. So far, my only unscheduled maintenance/repair items were:
1 fuse
1 tail light
"Fix Or Repair Daily"... Ha!

 

[Klystron]

Nice rig. Cool blue, too. A "crew cab" truly expands pick-up truck versatility.

@OmCheeto : Best to followup that blown fuse and tail-light with Maintenance to preclude electrical problems.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
@OmCheeto : Best to followup that blown fuse and tail-light with Maintenance to preclude electrical problems.

For some reason, I find your comment, slightly hilarious.

Mythical Maintenance Manual:

Every six months, or 6,000 miles, check all of your friend's portable electrical charging devices for electrical faults.
[The fuse blew when my friend plugged her phone charger into my auxiliary not-really-a-cigarette-lighter outlet. ≈2011]

Once a year, or every 12,000 miles, remove all light bulbs, take them to an approved electron microscopy facility to ensure none of the filaments are nearing failure.
[Never mind the bazillion dollar cost, as it will be worth it, to not have people yell at you, for apparently not using your blinker.]​

 

[Klystron]

Nope. Not what I intended. I originally wrote: follow up the blown fuse and possible wiring problem with Ford maintenance -- meaning parts & maintenance department at the truck dealer. Sometimes adding options such as bed liners induce electrical problems. Then realized the original picture and post had nothing to do with your problems.

But your (?) old SUV made the news last year:
https://stmedia.stimg.co/ows_152621125260131.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&dpr=1&w=525

 

[OmCheeto]

Nope. Not what I intended. I originally wrote: follow up the blown fuse and possible wiring problem with Ford maintenance -- meaning parts & maintenance department at the truck dealer. Sometimes adding options such as bed liners induce electrical problems. Then realized the original picture and post had nothing to do with your problems.

But your (?) old SUV made the news last year:

My not-an-SUV is sitting in the driveway, un-charred.

ps. "Susla was driving a Nissan Xterra." [ref for anyone wondering about your image]
pps. I don't own a cell phone. Though, I should get one. [Long, off-topic story]

 

[Klystron]

I felt guilty filching the Star Tribune pic for a bit of humor. Thanks for including the complete link.

 

[jim hardy]

It's been a good run with Old Blue, my 2003 Ford Ranger that I bought brand new 16 years ago.

Wow ! Do you know what a treasure that would be around here ? A one-owner pickup truck ?
Do you have a kid to give it to ?

Anyhow , i like those old Ford Rangers.
I have a 1983, 2.2L Diesel version,
and an '03 that i too bought new but don't drive much. It has accrued ~5500 miles since new .
I tell my friends when they tease me: "You guys pay 3,000 a year for that 'New Car Smell". At that rate preserving my Ranger has saved me almost $40,000 ."

Congratulations on New Blue !

 

[Drakkith]

Wow ! Do you know what a treasure that would be around here ? A one-owner pickup truck ?
Do you have a kid to give it to ?

Nope. Traded it into the dealership. They really wanted it too. I told them I wasn't going to trade it in, but they came back twice and kept offering me more money for the trade in. Probably could have gotten more if I'd have sold it myself, but I didn't really want the hassle and I was just too dang excited about my new truck.

Only had 144,00 miles on it. No major parts were ever replaced. The most expensive repair I think was replacing one of the clutch cylinders and the clutch. Never had any trouble out of her at all.

I tell my friends when they tease me: "You guys pay 3,000 a year for that 'New Car Smell". At that rate preserving my Ranger has saved me almost $40,000 ."

In my case I went from power-nothing to power-everything. Manual transmission and windows to fully computer controlled lane-keeping and cruise control. Quite an upgrade!

 

[davenn]

It's been a good run with Old Blue, my 2003 Ford Ranger that I bought brand new 16 years ago. But it's time to let New Blue take the torch. Here's to another 16 years in my new 2019 Ranger!

I'm so happy with it I just can't help but show it off!View attachment 238840View attachment 238841

Woohoo way to go. enjoy your new ride :)

way out of my price range here in Australia ... AU$50k give or take 5k ... AU$50k = ~ US$36k

 

[Mark44]

Four years ago I traded in my '07 Ford Focus that I had bought new for a '15 Focus. The only repair I made for the '07 was an alternator that gave up the ghost. The main reason I wanted to get rid of the '07 model was that it didn't have cruise control, which I really like to use on long trips.

When I finally made the decision to trade up, the dealer showed me a '15 model (with cruise control and a tach, icing on the cake). I also wanted a manual transmission, which is apparently a feature on the endangered species list. The car I bought had a 3-cylinder (!) engine, with a turbo, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The 1000 cc motor (61 cu. in.) in the new-ish Focus is smaller than the engines on three of my motorcycles. To be honest, it has a little less power than the 1.4 L motor in the '07 I traded in, but the new one gets amazingly good mileage. On a recent trip down to the Sierras in CA, I averaged 46 mpg for the trip!

 

[OmCheeto]

Nope. Traded it into the dealership. They really wanted it too. I told them I wasn't going to trade it in, but they came back twice and kept offering me more money for the trade in.

Really? hmmm... (google google google)

wow...

[https://www.edmunds.com/ford/ranger/2009/]

That's $5000 more than I paid for it!

What's this rumour about new vehicles losing half their value, the moment you drive them off the lot?

Probably could have gotten more if I'd have sold it myself, but I didn't really want the hassle and I was just too dang excited about my new truck.

I can relate. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten 10x what the dealership gave me for my trade-in.
I offered to pay the dealership to take my trade-in. They gave me $50. Needless to say, it was not a Ranger. (It was a Chrysler Ebola: Leaked fluids from every orifice. Hell, it leaked even where it didn't have orifices...)

 

[Drakkith]

The 1000 cc motor (61 cu. in.) in the new-ish Focus is smaller than the engines on three of my motorcycles.

Same. I used to have a Harley Davidson Night Rod Special with a 1250 cc engine.

I also wanted a manual transmission, which is apparently a feature on the endangered species list.

It's extinct on the new Rangers. The only drivetrain option is a 2.7 liter 4 cylinder with a supercharger mated to a 10 speed automatic transmission.

 

[Drakkith]

If anyone is interested, here's the ad for my old Ranger: https://www.rountreeford.net/used-Shreveport-2003-Ford-Ranger-XLT-1FTYR10UX3PB00913
Note that, despite what the ad says, it is not an automatic. Not unless they made some drastic changes to it in the past 2 days.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner%20=%20FRD_2&vin=1FTYR10UX3PB00913 report too. Although they have some issues with the 2 accidents listed. The first was on the left side, after a lady backed into my truck. Fully repaired. The 2nd accident a drunk guy sideswiped my driver's side at about 10 mph and took off the mirror. The truck was definitely not towed and the mirror's been replaced.

 

[BillTre]

It was a Chrysler Ebola: Leaked fluids from every orifice. Hell, it leaked even where it didn't have orifices...

Sounds appropriately named.
Leaking from many orifices is a symptom of an Ebola infection!

 

[OmCheeto]

Sounds appropriately named.
Leaking from many orifices is a symptom of an Ebola infection!

From my recollection, it is the only vehicle I've owned, that I named after a disease. It was that bad. And I've owned A LOT of really crappy vehicles.
I've actually only named one other vehicle: "The Stealth Bomb".
It was a wreck, that I rejuvenated in my youth. I rattle-canned it flat black one weekend, after I'd replaced the door and fender, and decided I didn't like a clownish looking car.

didn't have cruise control

IMHO, it should be required on all vehicles, rather than an $1100 option.
Yes, I'm currently browsing the shop.ford.com website.
Mainly because I'd now like an automatic transmission.
I discovered last year, when pulling my friend's boat out of the water, that my neck doesn't work like it used to. *
Backing a vehicle up using two feet, vs one, requires a youthful flexibility, which I no longer have.-----
*
Friend; "Why are you so quite lately?"
Om; "My right arm is paralyzed."
Friend; "Oh my god! What happened?"
Om; "I looked behind me."

Sucks to be old...

 

[jim hardy]

Manual transmission and windows

Some lucky buyer wi!l get a good solid truck in that one.

Mainly because I'd now like an automatic transmission.

I used to shun them but am convinced now used cars with automatics are okay if you change the fluid every 50 or 60 kmiles.
Otherwise they'll quit shifting and leave you stranded somewhere around 125-150 kmiles.
My old '02 Escort is still shifting just great at 225 kmiles,
and in January it even pulled a thousand pounds of electric motor and trailer up that nine miles of 7% grade on I70 just west of Denver.
Poor little thing - 4000 RPM in second gear all the way up.

old jim

 

[OmCheeto]

automatics are okay if you change the fluid every 50 or 60 kmiles

My Ebola changed its own transmission fluid once a week...
Didn't help.

 

[Drakkith]

My Ebola changed its own transmission fluid once a week...
Didn't help.

Hey it still shifted, right?

 

[jim hardy]

My Ebola changed its own transmission fluid once a week...
Didn't help.

was that when they were partnered up with FIAT (Fix It Again, Tony) ?

 

[OmCheeto]

Hey it still shifted, right?

Yes, except for the time I put generic fluid in one day, and it wouldn't shift out of 1st gear, nor make the car go faster than 10 mph, on my 13 mile trip home from work one evening. Made quite a loud "whirring" sound, as if it were possessed by demons. Which is kind of weird, as the person who sold it to me said it belonged to their dead girlfriend.

A full oil change the next day fixed it.
The shifting, that is. It was possessed until the day I got rid of it.

was that when they were partnered up with FIAT (Fix It Again, Tony) ?

It was a 1995 model, with a Mitsubishi engine, so I'm guessing no.

 

[DennisN]

It was a Chrysler Ebola: Leaked fluids from every orifice.