Misfire Issue

[DaytonGuy]

Hello all,

This may be a question that is too difficult to answer with the limited information I have but here goes.

I've been looking for a Sport Tract for awhile. I found a 2007 with about 120,000 miles on it at a local dealer new care dealer. On the test drive I noticed the CEL was on (truck was sluggish and slight rough idle) and when I got on the interstate it started flashing. I took it to the local pep boys and they told me the code was misfire on cyl. 6. I told the dealer, to see what the problem was before I was interested. The sales guy calls me back the next day and said they found a loose wire and fixed it. I go drive it again and essentially the same thing happens. He says he will talk to the manager about getting it into service center. He calls me the next day and said they have decided to wholesale it because they don't put money into their used cars. They are sold "as is". He offered to knock $1500 off the $10,900 asking price.

Here's my question......is this misfire issue worth taking a risk on? I could tell the engine was quiet and pretty smooth aside from the sluggishness caused by the misfire. It seems to me the likely culprit is a faulty coil, but I don't know. Could it be something major? I can deal with coils, plugs, fuel filters, etc. I wouldn't want to get into anything much more complex or costly than that.

Also, if it is worth a shot, what would be a reasonable offer? $8,000? The truck is otherwise in pretty clean shape.

Any thoughts would be great.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Tech By Trade]

Get out while you still can.

 

[GSU4x4]

Watch out because Tech By Trade will list every single thing that has gone wrong with his truck...but no everybody has had the same issues. All trucks/cars have issues and especially if they bought a lemon. (You can read his signature and expect that kind of advice)

There are a few things that I would research on that truck before you bought it, for example I believe that the trucks vin # has all service records attached to it if the repairs were performed by a Ford dealership. This would give you some insight as to what has been replaced or fixed by the previous owner.

That being said, I personally would not get serious about buying a vehicle that already has known issues. Even if this is a simple $200 fix, if the previous owner traded it in with the issues, who knows what else they knew about but didn’t fix. I would keep looking for a ST and I’m sure you’ll find a good deal.

Edit: I love my ST and if you get one from a reputable dealer that offers extended warranties, you'll be fine like I was. I needed more truck than a Ranger and the F-150's are too bulky for daily driving and easily pulling into parking spaces.

 

[Bobmbx]

Ask them what the wholesale price is. Don't pay a dime over that.

Secondly, the salesman lied to you. Shocker, I know. They didn't fix it the first time. When it happened the second time, they looked at it and decided it wasn't a loose wire at all, and its going to cost them money, so much so that they decided to dump it.

Give'em the wholesale price, if they'll even tell you what that is. If they won't tell you, or won't let you have it at that price, keep shopping. Lots of fish in the pond, you know.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Watch out because Tech By Trade will list every single thing that has gone wrong with his truck...but no everybody has had the same issues.

I like that. These things are sisters to the explorer, and if you look there you will see these common issues. Quality is job 1. The only thing I haven't had an issue with is the transmission.

 

[DaytonGuy]

Just a quick update. I ended up buying a 2007 Sport Trac Limited...V8...4x4. I love it so far. It has the clunky transmission downshift that I've read about. I'm going to call the dealer about the TSB repair that may fix that.