Which one to buy?

[429CJ-3X2]

This is something of a hypothetical question at this point because I haven't looked at either truck or cleared it with my wife. We were looking for another 4WD last winter before her health took a dive. I'm looking to replace my '01 Sport Trac that the timing components killed last fall. As I said in the thread about that truck, it has rust issues and needs enough work that replacing the engine is not an option. There are 2 Sport Tracs for sale locally today.

#1 is a 2001 with 143,000 miles, Island Blue, with a one-piece hard cover (which adds no value to me since I already have 2 one-piece covers, a factory cover, and a topper/cap). Everything supposedly works well. The photos on Craigslist don't show a lot, but it looks like there's a little rust above the cladding on the rear driver's side. No pics of the interior. It's been on Craigslist for a month. $3500

#2 is a 2004 with "210,000 miles. Transmission was replaced at 185,000 miles. Harmonic balancer, alternator and tension pulley all replaced in the year. All doors and windows work. AC & heat both work. Back window rolls down. Pretty neat feature this style truck has. Has good tires, sunroof and trailer package. Really clean truck." 2 owners - same family, both female. The leather/vinyl interior looks really good in the pics. It also has a cover on it, but can't tell if it's the factory cover or aftermarket vinyl (my guess). $5500

Other factors from my end - my '01 is black, as is the topper that's on it. I replaced the bed in '17 and it's in excellent condition - no rust at the hinge area. I also have a trailer hitch on my '01. Both trucks look to have mismatched tires - front to rear, but I have a good set I can put on either truck.

Without having seen either truck, I'm leaning toward the black 2004, although the mileage is high.

Help me decide!

 

[DintDobbs]

@429CJ-3X2 I vote for the 2004, although the price is a bit high. More service information is worth the cost. 210k can still have plenty of daylight left, and if you're not scared of a motor swap in either case, you're better off with the one with a good body and a known good transmission.

Ladies tend to either take exceptionally good care of their vehicles and have them serviced on schedule, or ignore it altogether; these are quite apparently the former, so you're probably golden.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

That's my thinking too. With the work that's been done, that price isn't too out of line here. When I was looking last winter, there were 2 on car lots here. One was in about the same physical condition as my '01 before the bed swap, with 140,000 miles, I think. They were asking $4500. The other was in very good condition except for a hole in 1 rear cab corner, but had 230,000 miles. They wanted $4900. Both sat on the lots for 6+ months.

Whoever wrote the ad for the '04 said their aunt was the original owner, and they bought it from her for their daughter to drive to school. Could be a lot of highway miles.

My wife isn't totally opposed to me buying another vehicle, but she's not wild about another truck. I bought the '01 because she wanted 4WD for the few winter days she "needed" it. I liked my '02, and knew she wouldn't like anything I bought for her, so I bought the second Sport Trac. She drives a '98 Escort, which she loves, but the heat is minimal at times during the winter, and fine at other times. I've never figured that out. Now the a/c isn't working for some reason. So she's not opposed to a vehicle that has working a/c and heat. She has cancer and might not be here by winter, so I may as well buy what I want again. I have too many ST parts to go to anything else!

 

[93BlueDemon]

Any clean 1 gens in your area? I have had 3 nothing but good things to say! First 2 were lost due to accidents

 

[429CJ-3X2]

There are quite a few Gen 1s on the road around here, but they don't show up on the used car lots like they did a few years ago. How clean they are, I don't know. My 2002 has 126,000 miles and drives like it has fewer than that. It does have a little surface rust on 1 wheelwell lip, but is as clean as any. Finding a nice one for sale is getting a little harder than it was, but they're 20+ years old.

 

[oklagp1200r]

The price here in Oklahoma City area is stupid on these sport tracs!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The dealership I bought my '02 from 10 1/2 yrs ago has 4 2001-2005 Rangers with 86,000 to 100,000 miles priced from $8000 to 13,000. And knowing this dealer, they probably all have salvage titles. If they are as good as my ST has been, ok, but he's been in trouble before for some of his dealings.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The 210,000 mile black 2004 will be mine tomorrow! It needs sway bar end links (the end links on my dead '01 aren't very old, so I can use those) and the body mounts will need replaced at some point, but the truck is solid, drives well, has ice cold air, better brakes than anything else we own, and the engine is very quiet and shows no signs of any leaks.
Current owner is a Chevy guy who only bought this because his aunt was the original owner. He said he's glad it's going to an Explorer guy. I said, "So I'm rescuing it, right?" His wife liked that.
And get this, it's a mile from my house!

One big reason for buying another Sport Trac was to use some of the ST parts and accessories I have. This truck doesn't help with that at all. Now I'll have 2 running trucks, 2 toppers, 2 one-piece hard bed covers, a factory cover, a soft roll-up cover, and 3 bed extenders - 4 if I had pins for the 4th. And an extra set of wheels. This truck also has a trailer hitch, but I think it just bolts onto the bumper. Didn't check because it doesn't matter, but if it is a full hitch, I'll have a spare hitch, too. I might have to buy a 3rd truck. A Sport Trac trailer seems like a better idea all the time!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

id lean the 04 with some PM. change the tensioners and potentially the primary guide & tensioners (easy enough imo and the other ones in my experience outlasted the primary ones)

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The 210,000 mile black 2004 will be mine tomorrow! It needs sway bar end links (the end links on my dead '01 aren't very old, so I can use those) and the body mounts will need replaced at some point, but the truck is solid, drives well, has ice cold air, better brakes than anything else we own, and the engine is very quiet and shows no signs of any leaks.
Current owner is a Chevy guy who only bought this because his aunt was the original owner. He said he's glad it's going to an Explorer guy. I said, "So I'm rescuing it, right?" His wife liked that.
And get this, it's a mile from my house!

One big reason for buying another Sport Trac was to use some of the ST parts and accessories I have. This truck doesn't help with that at all. Now I'll have 2 running trucks, 2 toppers, 2 one-piece hard bed covers, a factory cover, a soft roll-up cover, and 3 bed extenders - 4 if I had pins for the 4th. And an extra set of wheels. This truck also has a trailer hitch, but I think it just bolts onto the bumper. Didn't check because it doesn't matter, but if it is a full hitch, I'll have a spare hitch, too. I might have to buy a 3rd truck. A Sport Trac trailer seems like a better idea all the time!

i so want a ranger or ST someday. im leaning ranger since alr have a 4dr and steel vs composite bed, but those are on my wish list!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Here it is! Super sharp and shiny! All I had done when this was taken was put the tires and wheels that had been on my '01 on this one. They aren't cleaned up like the rest of the truck. The tires that were on it were mis-matched and 17 years old, although the rears had a lot of tread. Since this was taken, I replaced the roll-up soft cover with the factory cover I already had. The roll-up cover is best suited for those who don't want the bed covered most of the time. You can't open the tailgate without taking the cover loose, which takes some effort.

The truck is pretty well optioned with the premium sound system, heated seats, overhead console, lighted mirror, bed extender, 4.10 gears, etc. It once had the step bars, or whatever they're called. Where they used to bolt on is the only significant rust underneath the truck. The few options I've found so far that it didn't come with are limited slip, fog lights, and the bed cover - the plastic plugs were still in the holes.

Some of the body mounts are shot, as are the cruise control buttons which I'll replace with those from my '01. The edge of the driver's seat is just starting to come apart, but hasn't yet. The rest of the interior is very good, including the console lid!
The blower was only working on high, so I changed the resistor today. There's a receipt in the glove box for when that was replaced by the Ford dealer in '18. The resistor and harness cost $95, plus a ridiculous charge for labor. I paid $17 for parts and did it myself. The instrument cluster was repaired or replaced at the same time with a separate high labor charge.

 

[DintDobbs]

She's a beaut! Treat her well, son!

 

[410Fortune]

Gorgeous! Body mounts not terrible to replace in the trac I had to do mine also. I guess they were an issue in these trucks.
does yours have the moonroof?

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Yes, it does. I always thought I'd love a moonroof, but when I got my '01 that has one, I found it to be a distraction when open. It's kinda nice at times at night, though.

As soon as I took the first bolt out of the cruise control module to move it to get to the blower resistor, I realized something important - or at least very handy - was missing. I took time out of changing the resistor to install the cover/tool tray that spans the gap between the radiator support and grille. My '01 had one, I added one to the '02, and now the '04. Fortunately, I had snagged a spare at the salvage yard several years ago. Those covers are so stinking handy, plus they eliminate parts falling and hitting the radiator.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I said the truck doesn't have fog lights, but it does have them. The fog light switch is built into the headlight switch, not a separate switch in the radio bezel.
I bought a 2004 sales brochure to help me figure this truck out, and see how it differs from the 2001s and 2s. The way this truck is equipped says it's an XLT Premium. The roll-up bed cover was a dealer installed option, and was for all 1st Gens according to the 2001-2002 Dealer Accessories Brochure I bought with the sales brochure. There were lots of accessories available that few of us have been aware of, let alone seen.