fixed my Escort

[5.0Flareside]

Is Orkin using shortbed Rangers now?

What about NAPA? The ones in the valley have longbed Rangers.

older rangers probably not 09's. or even 08's.

 

[polarbear]

Is Orkin using shortbed Rangers now?

What about NAPA? The ones in the valley have longbed Rangers.

1600 of 'em a year, like clockwork. Know the guy that has that account.


oh, and

CONGRATS IAN!!!

I'm proud of you too!

 

[john112deere]

2010 order guide says regular cab longbed is a "fleet-only option".

By the way I read it, that's a change from '09, which suggests to me that you could get a longbed Ranger in '09. Don't have the order guide, though, so I'm not sure on that.

 

[polarbear]

They do mostly short bed 2WD. A few Colorado's thrown in for good measure, but less than 100/yr. No Mopars- won't touch 'em.

 

[FordF-SuperDuty]

Sounds like a good deal man.I got my limits set on 98-03's,that way I know I can get something that has all the options I want.

Does anybody know when Ford officially dropped the Longbed?I only noticed it a few months back when I tried to build a Ranger online and saw that it wasn't an option....

2009, when I was looking at getting a Ranger.

 

[Hanau]

1600 of 'em a year, like clockwork. Know the guy that has that account.

Orkin or NAPA? Or both?

That must be a nice account to have, what kind of comission could a salesman make selling 1600 trucks a year?

 

[Fordzilla80]

2010 order guide says regular cab longbed is a "fleet-only option".

By the way I read it, that's a change from '09, which suggests to me that you could get a longbed Ranger in '09. Don't have the order guide, though, so I'm not sure on that.

That's stupid.But,I don't think it was a highly sought after option anyway.Most Rangers I see are either Supercabs or Single Cab Short beds,and the Majority of Longbeds were work trucks.I've only seen a few Longbed Rangers that weren't work trucks,one being my old Sport Ranger and a few other XLT 4x4's i've come across on google searches.

 

[FordF-SuperDuty]

They do mostly short bed 2WD. A few Colorado's thrown in for good measure, but less than 100/yr. No Mopars- won't touch 'em.

The Colorados sure do have the Rangers beat on 4x4 price. When I was looking for a new car a stripped Colorado LT 4x4 Reg cab short bed automatic I4 with the G80 option in red looked really appealing. That truck would no doubt have to be ordered though.

 

[john112deere]

The Colorados sure do have the Rangers beat on 4x4 price.

Yeah, but you're not getting any better value with the Chevy...

I looked at 'em. A 4-cylinder, not quite as well equipped as my Ranger (but with the 4-door cab, which is standard) stickered about $1200 less than my truck. It's an apples to oranges comparison, in some ways, but I test-drove a GMC that was equipped in a way I would have bought (sticker $23,340) and actually did buy a Ranger (sticker $24,500). The Ranger's got a few hundred bucks in options I didn't want, though, so call the difference $1000. Before rebates.

Ranger had $500 more in rebates, though. (Though, in fairness, that was '10 to '10 rebate comparisons, I dunno what Chevy was doing on the '09s.)

They're junkier trucks, too- I'm really impressed with the newer full-size stuff the General has been putting out, but the Colorado/Canyon twins are throwbacks to the '90s when nobody told their stylists that all the plastic in the interior ought to be the same color.

EDIT: Wouldn't guarantee the truck you describe would be a special order, either. I think I saw it's twin, in blue, on a Chevy lot in Bangor, ME, last summer. I know I sat in a WT trim, 4-cyl, extended cab Colorado (4x4 5-speed, of course) here in Montpelier, and test-drove an identical GMC, also in Montpelier.

 

[Fordzilla80]

According to Ford's Fleet website,there is definitely a 7' box offered.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/2010fleetshowroom/2010-Ranger-specs.asp?EV=0

2009 has the same info...

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/2009fleetshowroom/2009-Ranger-specs.asp?EV=0


When I hop over to the Consumer website,it doesn't even offer the option to look at 2009 specs.

When I built my Ranger,I couldn't get it under 17,000.It was a base XL.lol.It was ridiculous.I could easily get a loaded 2003 XLT for way less than that and be able to take the rest of the money and buy upgrades.

 

[john112deere]

I could easily get a loaded 2003 XLT for way less than that and be able to take the rest of the money and buy upgrades.

At risk of stating the obvious, a 2003 Ranger is at least six years old now.

Six years means you're getting into a lot of "routine maintenance" stuff that adds up. If I had a place to work on one, I'd have given a lot more thought to an older Ranger...but stuff like tires, shocks, brakes, and all the other stupid little stuff adds up fast.

 

[polarbear]

The Colorados sure do have the Rangers beat on 4x4 price. When I was looking for a new car a stripped Colorado LT 4x4 Reg cab short bed automatic I4 with the G80 option in red looked really appealing. That truck would no doubt have to be ordered though.

Colorado's and Trailblazers logged more warranty claims than all other Chevy models combined at our dealership, even though they represented barely 10% of our new car/truck business. Wouldn't touch either one- period.

*Edit- and they ain't cheap. A typical Colorado (Z71 4WD, 5-banger, Auto, Power everything) stickers around $27-28,000.

 

[polarbear]

At risk of stating the obvious, a 2003 Ranger is at least six years old now.

Six years means you're getting into a lot of "routine maintenance" stuff that adds up. If I had a place to work on one, I'd have given a lot more thought to an older Ranger...but stuff like tires, shocks, brakes, and all the other stupid little stuff adds up fast.

If you're gonna have to make a car payment anyways, take maintenance and repairs out of the equation. that's the only way you can justify it.

 

[Fordzilla80]

At risk of stating the obvious, a 2003 Ranger is at least six years old now.

Six years means you're getting into a lot of "routine maintenance" stuff that adds up. If I had a place to work on one, I'd have given a lot more thought to an older Ranger...but stuff like tires, shocks, brakes, and all the other stupid little stuff adds up fast.

True,however in my research,most of the Rangers around here seem to be owned by older folk and have less than 70,000 miles on them.They also tend to be very keen on getting the maintenance done.It's the same with the Crown Vics.You can actually get a pretty good deal on older low mileage vehicles in great condition if you drive around the retirement neighborhoods.

Ernie,not necessarily.If you can find a vehicle with all the maintenance caught up,more power to ya.I bought my old 00 Ranger for 800 bucks,and it had nothing wrong with it,and was up to date on all the basic maintenance.The previous owners needed the money,and the truck was an asset they couldn't afford to keep,so they offloaded it for a small price.

 

[john112deere]

True,however in my research,most of the Rangers around here seem to be owned by older folk and have less than 70,000 miles on them.They also tend to be very keen on getting the maintenance done.It's the same with the Crown Vics.You can actually get a pretty good deal on older low mileage vehicles in great condition if you drive around the retirement neighborhoods.

But they hold their value like Crown Vics don't.

I live where rust is a big issue. For practical purposes, you can assume a vehicle is ready for the scrap heap after 10-12 years of daily driving.

An '03 with 70k is nearly half the price of a brand new Ranger (I know, 'cause I looked for one) and half it's solid years are already behind it. You better believe their the better half of it's years too.

A year ago, I thought I wanted an '03 Ranger. Thought I'd be driving one now, in fact. But I couldn't make it make sense to go that route, where I can't be fixing all my own stuff all the time. (It's too cold, and dark too early, and I need to get to work every day. In a few years when I have a garage, that'll change again, but for right now fixing my own rigs all the time is not an option, and paying someone to do it adds up awful fast.)

 

[polarbear]

True,however in my research,most of the Rangers around here seem to be owned by older folk and have less than 70,000 miles on them.They also tend to be very keen on getting the maintenance done.It's the same with the Crown Vics.You can actually get a pretty good deal on older low mileage vehicles in great condition if you drive around the retirement neighborhoods.

Ernie,not necessarily.If you can find a vehicle with all the maintenance caught up,more power to ya.I bought my old 00 Ranger for 800 bucks,and it had nothing wrong with it,and was up to date on all the basic maintenance.The previous owners needed the money,and the truck was an asset they couldn't afford to keep,so they offloaded it for a small price.

I ran a check (autotrader.com) locally for used '03-'05 Ranger S/C 4X4's. Average asking price was $15970- most of these trucks were running 40-60,000 miles on them. That isn't a good value in my book.

I'd agree that you can shop carefully- but right now, used is hottern' all get out. Very, very difficult to find a good used car buy for under $10,000. We've been trying to find Jenny a decent DD for under $2000- you can't believe the junk we've looked at.

 

[Fordzilla80]

But they hold their value like Crown Vics don't.

I live where rust is a big issue. For practical purposes, you can assume a vehicle is ready for the scrap heap after 10-12 years of daily driving.

An '03 with 70k is nearly half the price of a brand new Ranger (I know, 'cause I looked for one) and half it's solid years are already behind it. You better believe their the better half of it's years too.

A year ago, I thought I wanted an '03 Ranger. Thought I'd be driving one now, in fact. But I couldn't make it make sense to go that route, where I can't be fixing all my own stuff all the time. (It's too cold, and dark too early, and I need to get to work every day. In a few years when I have a garage, that'll change again, but for right now fixing my own rigs all the time is not an option, and paying someone to do it adds up awful fast.)

It definitely doesn't make sense to buy a vehicle that needs work when you don't have the time to work on it.I hear ya on that.One of my buddies was gonna buy a 97 F250HD the other day,but as soon as I crawled under it,it was full of rust,and when I heard it run,there was a pretty loud knock to it.I told him to walk away cause no doubt it's gonna need some work.He's not the least bit knowledgeable on cars,and I told him that for the 6,000 bucks they wanted for the F250,he could find something better that wouldn't need major work.Since I got the ol Ranger for 800,my mom was convinced that you can get a good vehicle for a cheap price.But it took showing her numerous Craigslist ads to explain that you're gonna have as much money fixing a cheap vehicle as it would take to buy something decent running.I only got lucky on the Ranger since the P.O. fell on hard times and needed the money more than the truck.

 

[countryboytn]

We've been trying to find Jenny a decent DD for under $2000- you can't believe the junk we've looked at.

I'm in the same boat... so I realize exactly what ya'll are going through.


And thats a NICE looking ranger! Congrats!

 

[Fordzilla80]

I ran a check (autotrader.com) locally for used '03-'05 Ranger S/C 4X4's. Average asking price was $15970- most of these trucks were running 40-60,000 miles on them. That isn't a good value in my book.

I'd agree that you can shop carefully- but right now, used is hottern' all get out. Very, very difficult to find a good used car buy for under $10,000. We've been trying to find Jenny a decent DD for under $2000- you can't believe the junk we've looked at.

I won't touch a dealer truck.I'm the same age as Jenny,and i'm stuck buying my own vehicles.I could never afford the payments for a new truck.Finding a decent used car is impossible for $2000.I see a sum of at least $4,000 before I can find something decent around here.Best of luck on the vehicle search for Jenny.

 

[polarbear]

I won't touch a dealer truck.I'm the same age as Jenny,and i'm stuck buying my own vehicles.I could never afford the payments for a new truck.Finding a decent used car is impossible for $2000.I see a sum of at least $4,000 before I can find something decent around here.Best of luck on the vehicle search for Jenny.

Those weren't all dealer trucks- about a quarter of them were private party rigs. Point being, though, a 4X4 Ranger is good used merchandise up here. I understand Ian's situation perfectly. He's got his first "real" job after college, makes good money, can comfortably afford this, and- most importantly- doesn't have the time or opportunity to wrench on a DD. He needs to be able to walk out in a 15 degree blizzard, crank it up, and drive to work with no trauma and no drama. First time, every time.

I've been down this road a few times before. Nick's friend Andrew on the left, with his new Ranger. Nick is on the right, with his. Allen, in the middle, has a '94. He's in the Navy currently, and doesn't plan on a new truck until he's done with his tour (good thinking).