I've already kinda agreed to buy a new truck this week pending a postive outcome of a PDI inspection,,, maybe its because its the biggest purchase I've ever made,, my first personal lone,, or whatever but I've all worked up over it... also kinda I've yet to have one single person show any interest in paying more then 3 dollors for the bronco :banghead

Details,
2001 Ford F-150 supercrew (4 doors)
5.4 engine,, 62k miles,, idk what which tranny is has.
Its a "off road" eddion...all loaded up w/sunroof,, factory CD,, ect.. I bleave it has everything a lariet has without the plastic running boards and leather.

There was some overspray inside the gas door,, seems to have had some paint work done,, but the car fax is clean so I'll never know I guess.

Anyone have one of these with a 5.4? Anything spechel I should look for before handing over the money?

Price is 10grand... plus what it cost for them to fix and exaust leak, which I bleave is the manifold.

Someone convince me I'm doing the right thing....:wacko

You're having to pay to fix existing problems on the truck?!?!

Fuk that, you don't pay for problems you find on a vehicle before buying it.

That whole thing sounds a little fishy to me...

Yeah, don't pay them to fix the problem. They can fix it as a term of your closing the deal. Have you signed papers on it? If you haven't signed for the loan, then the title has not changed hands and it is not yours.

Blah blah.

I work for a Honda dealership, truck was traded in at another one of out dealerships,,, I had asked the general maniger to keep an eye out for a nice trade-in for me and this is what he came up with, had it brought down for me on friday. He's into the truck for 10k,, thats what they paid for it. He's not making any money off me, that why the price is going up for the repair.

I'm taking a personal loan out for the truck, for only two grand,, and havent signed anything yet.

We use the same truck at work, not sure of the year but it has the 5.4 and over 130,000 on it. Still runs like it was new, and it pulls trailers around all day every day.

My dad had a '01 F150 supercrew.....that thing was badass. I wish we still had that truck instead of my mom's '05 F150 /w 5.4 (let me tell you that I was much MUCH more impressed with the '01's engine than the new truck's engine)

I loved that truck, very smooth riding, good handling, and toasted the tires whenever. (Shhh.... :toothless)

You're having to pay to fix existing problems on the truck?!?!

Fuk that, you don't pay for problems you find on a vehicle before buying it.

That whole thing sounds a little fishy to me...

yup...they reeled you in dude.

The used car manager didn't want to do the laundry list of repairs when the truck first came in, because that would put the price of the truck too high to sell fast. Either that, or they already have a lot of money tied up in the truck ( like from a trade-in for a new vehicle with the previous owner), and the truck had problems, so they washed it up and made it pretty, and now that they have a buyer, they can add those problems that have to be fixed on to your price.

You can still back out, and you should do it ASAP. Tell them you want YOUR mechanic (find one fast if you don't have one, and make it someone you trust) to look at the truck BEFORE they do anything else. Tell them straight up front that you don't trust them. If they don't let you do that, you are well within your rights to back out of the deal. If your mechanic does find something shady, make a big fuss out of it. IF you're trying to trade something in and they won't give you your keeys back when you want out, call the police. Dealers come up with paperwork to intimidate buyers from backing out. Truth is, it doesn't hold up in court. I learned that the hard way.

EDIT: Since you work there, you should just back out if they're going to jack the price.

You only have to take out a loan for 2k for it? Hell...can't be too bad, then.

The 5.4's have been known to piston slap. Otherwise, very solid. Can take boost fairly well, unless extreme so the bottom end is solid. If it has that many miles and no knock/slap - it should be good. Really, just need to make sure the tranny is healthy.

The 5.4's have been known to piston slap. Otherwise, very solid. Can take boost fairly well, unless extreme so the bottom end is solid. If it has that many miles and no knock/slap - it should be good. Really, just need to make sure the tranny is healthy.

Whats the cure for this "piston slap"? I did notice a slight ticking/knocking when i heard it running, but it was heard to tell because it has an exaust leak right up front. Odv it the engine is knocking I'll pass on it.

Originally Posted by Hopper
You're having to pay to fix existing problems on the truck?!?!

Fuk that, you don't pay for problems you find on a vehicle before buying it.

That whole thing sounds a little fishy to me...
yup...they reeled you in dude.

The used car manager didn't want to do the laundry list of repairs when the truck first came in, because that would put the price of the truck too high to sell fast. Either that, or they already have a lot of money tied up in the truck ( like from a trade-in for a new vehicle with the previous owner), and the truck had problems, so they washed it up and made it pretty, and now that they have a buyer, they can add those problems that have to be fixed on to your price.

You can still back out, and you should do it ASAP. Tell them you want YOUR mechanic (find one fast if you don't have one, and make it someone you trust) to look at the truck BEFORE they do anything else. Tell them straight up front that you don't trust them. If they don't let you do that, you are well within your rights to back out of the deal. If your mechanic does find something shady, make a big fuss out of it. IF you're trying to trade something in and they won't give you your keeys back when you want out, call the police. Dealers come up with paperwork to intimidate buyers from backing out. Truth is, it doesn't hold up in court. I learned that the hard way.

EDIT: Since you work there, you should just back out if they're going to jack the price.


Its nothing like that, he's doing me a huge favor by offering the truck to me for cost.... I work in the service department I'll know what it the repairs cost, and the tech who does the repairs,,, right now the only thing it needs that im awair of is an exaust leak up front somewhere.

Whats the cure for this "piston slap"? I did notice a slight ticking/knocking when i heard it running, but it was heard to tell because it has an exaust leak right up front. Odv it the engine is knocking I'll pass on it.

The fix for piston slap is a new engine.

Yep, new engine if its slapping. If its at this point in its life without developing the problem, it should be alright. And as said, the bottom end is pretty stout.

He's not doing you a favor he's making a buck. My brother worked for a dealership before and they tried the same crap with him(well, similar). Had him convinced they got him the best deal possible. He comes over to my house with the car and I look the paperwork over(after I told him not to sign anything without me). They charged about $2,000 more than they told him and 25% interest. He never even asked any of the specifics of the loan. When I showed him and wold hm to take it back he agreed. I had to go off on the used car Mgr for a while before convincing him to void the deal. After a lot of bitching and my brother agreeing that he didn't want the car under those terms he finally cancelled the deal.

Just because he says he's into the truck for $10K doesn't mean he is. They might have given the old owner $10K for the trade in but rolled $2K -$3K into the price of the new vehicle(happens all the time). If that's the case then they're really only into it for $7k - $8K. Just throwing out other possibilities for you to keep in mind.

They finally got around to safey checking the truck today, the mechanic is a co-worker/friend of mine.

Truck needs a TON of work,, I've never seen exaust manifolds rusted so bad,,, need them on both sides,, front and rear brakes, shocks, something was wrong with the dashlights,,, tailgate wouldnt close.

They are going to end up sending it to auction. . and my broncos on ebay so the search continuous

Do you have a Carmax (carmax.com) near you?
That place is awesome

Just FYI an '01 5.4L has a 99% chance of being a 4R70w. I've seen a few random '99-'00 for no particular reason plain 5.4L F-150s with the 4R100, but thats rare except with exception to the Lightning, Harley, and F-150 7700.

Adrianspeeder

The 4R100 is probably part of a package. Like when the vehicle is ordered with a certian configuration, engine, gear ratio and tow rating...