Good Deal?

I saw this truck for sale on Craig's List and want some opinions on it, please.
Thanks.

7.3 Diesel, FORD F-250, full crew cab. Show room new condition, Approx. 165K miles. Barely broken in. Made for Fifth-wheel and camper towing. 10,000 lb. tow hitch, 16,000 lb. fifth-wheel hitch with fifth wheel tail gate and standard tail gate. Includes braking system for towing. Stainless steel tool box with 53 gal. auxillary fuel tank. Total fuel on board 76 gallons (avoids having to pull into gas stations while towing). Gets 18.1 mph hwy., 11 plus when towing. Upgrades: 4" intake, full 4" exhaust, chipped; adds 100 plus HP. New fuel filters. Michelin tires w/60% tread. Interior is spotless, no tears, non-smoking. Blue Tooth sound system. All this on a 1999 Ford F-250. Must see to appreciate.

Asking price: $12,900

SWAMPFOX said:

I saw this truck for sale on Craig's List and want some opinions on it, please.
Thanks.

7.3 Diesel, FORD F-250, full crew cab. Show room new condition, Approx. 165K miles. Barely broken in. Made for Fifth-wheel and camper towing. 10,000 lb. tow hitch, 16,000 lb. fifth-wheel hitch with fifth wheel tail gate and standard tail gate. Includes braking system for towing. Stainless steel tool box with 53 gal. auxillary fuel tank. Total fuel on board 76 gallons (avoids having to pull into gas stations while towing). Gets 18.1 mph hwy., 11 plus when towing. Upgrades: 4" intake, full 4" exhaust, chipped; adds 100 plus HP. New fuel filters. Michelin tires w/60% tread. Interior is spotless, no tears, non-smoking. Blue Tooth sound system. All this on a 1999 Ford F-250. Must see to appreciate.

Asking price: $12,900

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OK.....I can enlighten you on this. I have a 1999 F350 7.3 diesel. 4 door crew cab long bed. Lariat, leather, 4x4. This was the top of the line model when new. Today it would run $70,000.

With all these "upgrades" like chipped 100hp etc, can "can can can" put a heck of a strain on the EGT (exhaust gas temp) and potentially melt pistons. Also, the factory auto trans is WEAK with the diesel so adding more POWER can weaken it MORE.

My questions to you: are you using for towing or daily driving? Do you need 4x4? If this is 2wd, and you venture down mud, you WILL get stuck. This is a 7500 lb +++ truck.

Miles are LOW for a 1999. That isn't always the best. When you don't drive a vehicle regularly, stuff happens. Leaks, component failure, etc.

There are several things to check for on these F series and with the 7.3 engine.

The price......well. A super clean 7.3 diesel goes for a PREMIUM now. I have a standing offer of 9250 for mine. I don't thing I'm ready to part with it just yet because I will never replace it for that offer.

Feel free to PM me if you have more Questions.........
I'm not an expert, but do have some exp.

let me add more:

*** if a kid owns it, walk away. Not "all" kids abuse them, but the major DO.

If the auto trans has never been rebuilt (figure it will need to be shortly, so add $2500-4500) .

That a good price if the truck is in good shape
If there is hidden issue, well it's a used truck....


My problem with the 7.3 is, motor is great, trucks getting old. Plain and simple a 13 or 15 year old truck is exactly that. The motor might last for ever, buy everything else won't

T-N-T said:

That a good price if the truck is in good shape
If there is hidden issue, well it's a used truck....


My problem with the 7.3 is, motor is great, trucks getting old. Plain and simple a 13 or 15 year old truck is exactly that. The motor might last for ever, buy everything else won't

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18 year old truck..........
and I do agree.
Pick your poison. Newer emission diesel issues....or little things here and there.

SWAMPFOX said:

I saw this truck for sale on Craig's List and want some opinions on it, please.
Thanks.

7.3 Diesel, FORD F-250, full crew cab. Show room new condition, Approx. 165K miles. Barely broken in. Made for Fifth-wheel and camper towing. 10,000 lb. tow hitch, 16,000 lb. fifth-wheel hitch with fifth wheel tail gate and standard tail gate. Includes braking system for towing. Stainless steel tool box with 53 gal. auxillary fuel tank. Total fuel on board 76 gallons (avoids having to pull into gas stations while towing). Gets 18.1 mph hwy., 11 plus when towing. Upgrades: 4" intake, full 4" exhaust, chipped; adds 100 plus HP. New fuel filters. Michelin tires w/60% tread. Interior is spotless, no tears, non-smoking. Blue Tooth sound system. All this on a 1999 Ford F-250. Must see to appreciate.

Asking price: $12,900

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The price is great, but a few things to keep in mind, if they chipped it and it is currently programmed to add 100+ hp , then that is at the high end of most programs, which means they should have installed an EGT gauge to keep track of exhaust temps, throwing that much fuel in the system will raise exhaust temps high enough to do damage to the turbo , have someone familiar with the 7.3 look it over to see what all has been done to it, I personally would de-tune that one back to a towing tune at the most, which usually only adds 40 or 50hp , but you don't have to worry about EGT's being too high with a towing tune normally.

Also those trucks normally have a factory fuel tank that holds 37-38 gallons, not 23.

if the transmission has not been built before, and it was used to tow that kind of weight, figure on having to have it built in the next 50 to 75k miles, also you might want to find out if its an early 99 or actually a 99.5, it makes some difference in some of the parts, if glow plugs have not been replaced it will need those in the near future, hopefully the oil have been changed regularly ? it makes a difference in the life of the injectors,
I owned one 7.3 for over ten years, put about 300k on it and sold it because the body was falling apart, just recently bought virtually the same truck you're looking at, an early 99 F350 crew cab, Lariat, 4wd SRW 7.3 with 208k miles on it , interior in very good condition, I gave $11,500 for it and drove almost 4 hours to buy it,

What you're looking at sounds like a good deal, there is plenty of info out there on those trucks and the 7.3, as long as you don't see anything that throws up a red flag, I'd say go for it !

I just sold my 1999 F250 4x4 Lariat crew cab with the 7.3. 181k miles, rebuilt transmission at 165k. Replaced alternator, tires, brakes, couple sensors and I sold it for 10k. Inside was clean, had a dent on the passenger side door. If it was show room condition I probably could have got 11-12k. Just make sure that the transmission has been rebuilt with upgraded components because if its the original, it is on borrowed time. A well built transmission with a warranty will cost close to 4k.

Offer him $11k and then get the transmission rebuilt, if they tell you it's been rebuilt but they can't produce a receipt, get it rebuilt anyway. The 7.3 is the best diesel Ford ever made, but that transmission behind it in stock form is pretty much nothing but a boat anchor. Once rebuilt with quality aftermarket parts, it will last 300k+ with heavy duty towing. I am a GM master Technician but I build a lot of transmissions on the side, so you can trust my advice.

Ajohnson0587 said:

Offer him $11k and then get the transmission rebuilt, if they tell you it's been rebuilt but they can't produce a receipt, get it rebuilt anyway. The 7.3 is the best diesel International ever made, but that transmission behind it in stock form is pretty much nothing but a boat anchor. Once rebuilt with quality aftermarket parts, it will last 300k+ with heavy duty towing. I am a GM master Technician but I build a lot of transmissions on the side, so you can trust my advice.

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fify

Ajohnson0587 said:

Offer him $11k and then get the transmission rebuilt, if they tell you it's been rebuilt but they can't produce a receipt, get it rebuilt anyway. The 7.3 is the best diesel Ford ever made, but that transmission behind it in stock form is pretty much nothing but a boat anchor. Once rebuilt with quality aftermarket parts, it will last 300k+ with heavy duty towing. I am a GM master Technician but I build a lot of transmissions on the side, so you can trust my advice.

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Actually the trans itself isn't that bad, the weak link on the 4R100's is the torque converter, it usually fails first and causes you to have to go into the trans, but if the unit has an aluminum forward and overdrive planet its worth it to upgrade them to steel, I would upgrade to a billet cover torque converter, single disc is fine unless the programmer is turned up and you're hauling a lot of weight regularly, then spring for the triple disc billet cover converter, transgo also has a tugger kit which will help it last in towing conditions.