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What’s it worth…. Ford Ranger

Motor Boater

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So I found a 2004 Ford Ranger with 32,000 miles on it. It’s been parked for 4 years. The guy had a recall done on the airbag and when he got it home from the dealer the battery died. Put a new battery in it and that was dead the next day so he parked it. It has some paint peeling on the roof and hood. Interior is immaculate. AC, no pwr windows, 4cyl manual, no major damage. The guy bought it new.

I figure it needs full tune up, belts etc. new tires. A good clean up but the mystery is the battery issue. It’s just tough to price it with the unknowns. KBB has it 5200-7100 in fair condition. I’m thinking no way. He paid $13K for it new. Trying to find a good price to offer thinking it will cost me a couple thousand to get it running. Then you still have the paint issues.
 

hallett21

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I could see that being a 10-12k truck on the open market. Rangers fetch stupid money.


Edit. Never mind closer to 8k. Thought it was 4x4
 

attitude

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I sold this for 10k, it was a quick family friend deal and was never posted other than RDP so it might have been worth a tad more.

 

outboard_256

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It's going to be the cost to fix it up that's an issue when coming up with a price to agree on. Tune up, belts, tires, battery, paint could add up to thousands real quick. Then you have the unknown battery issue. If you can factor all this in then it could be a good find. But my guess is seller thinks this truck is a few hundred dollars away from being cherry. Non-car people have no clue how much stuff costs to actually fix. I have started refusing to work on family and friends cars now. Let them know how much it really costs for the work I do. This $60 squeaky wheel bearing is really $300 to fix at a shop. If you can do the work yourself great, but factor in shop prices when you negotiate.
 

stokerwhore

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So I found a 2004 Ford Ranger with 32,000 miles on it. It’s been parked for 4 years. The guy had a recall done on the airbag and when he got it home from the dealer the battery died. Put a new battery in it and that was dead the next day so he parked it. It has some paint peeling on the roof and hood. Interior is immaculate. AC, no pwr windows, 4cyl manual, no major damage. The guy bought it new.

I figure it needs full tune up, belts etc. new tires. A good clean up but the mystery is the battery issue. It’s just tough to price it with the unknowns. KBB has it 5200-7100 in fair condition. I’m thinking no way. He paid $13K for it new. Trying to find a good price to offer thinking it will cost me a couple thousand to get it running. Then you still have the paint issues.
how much is a new alternator?
 

D19

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I bought a brand new one in 2005, put 30k miles on it and sold it a year later. Got it for $100 over invoice through my family. To this day, it's the only vehicle I ever regret selling. Loved that little puddle jumper and wish I still had it for a spare vehicle. It would probably still be worth what I paid for it. Rangers are a popular truck, I think in 10-15 years, they're going to become collector items/ midlife crisis projects for guys who had them in their teens.
 

DaveH

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Probably cheap and could be the issue but he believes they did some thing wrong with the airbag. If it sits overnight now it kills the battery.
if its draining a battery that fast...yeah something is VERY wrong. from an electrical perspective though it should be easy to find and fix.
 

bowtiejunkie

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Probably cheap and could be the issue but he believes they did some thing wrong with the airbag. If it sits overnight now it kills the battery.
Different make/model, but a 2005 GMC Sierra I had needed a bearing replaced in the steering column. When the steering wheel and ignition was R&R, the service tech installed the ignition one tooth off. Battery would drain overnight, but was also intermittent. Another GMC dealer figured out the problem. Might be something to look into?
 

CLdrinker

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I know beat to shit rangers are going for 7-10k with 200k miles.
 

TimeBandit

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Small trucks are gold.

Hard to put a number on it with NO pictures!

$5,000. easy
 

Blue Oval

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Sold my 2003 with 110k with a plow for $3500.00. At the same time I sold my 2010 for 11,000.00 with 40k miles. It had a little rust on the back fender, but looked really good. Tough little trucks.
IMG_6903.jpeg
 

n2otoofast4u

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Garrett Mitchell has drove the price of these and Crown Vic’s through the roof!!

The one in question from the OP is probably a $5k deal even in it’s current condition.
 

COCA COLA COWBOY

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I would offer $5k....I think this is a situation where your ability to act ignorant towards the values would be your best friend. I would just state you're looking for a third truck to keep people from parking in front of your home and to run to Home Depot.
 

GreenEnergy28

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I bought this 2001 44k mile salvaged V6 Ranger for $5k to build for my son. Old man I bought it from hit a parking pole and crunched the fender and head light, so the insurance totaled it out.
IMG_1965.JPG




I build it with Craigslist finds and some new Rock Auto bushings. Put maybe another $6k into it including the wheels/tires and stereo

IMG_2121.JPG


Could be a great little truck if you get it sorted out.
 

Sharp Shooter

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I paid $4500 for my 2001 4.0 XLT Ranger. It had 150,000 on it. Great vehicle! The plastic thermostat housing on a 4.0 v6 is not one of Fords better ideas, but you can replace it with an aluminum one.

Ranger small.jpg
 
Last edited:

El Rojo

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So I found a 2004 Ford Ranger with 32,000 miles on it. It’s been parked for 4 years. The guy had a recall done on the airbag and when he got it home from the dealer the battery died. Put a new battery in it and that was dead the next day so he parked it. It has some paint peeling on the roof and hood. Interior is immaculate. AC, no pwr windows, 4cyl manual, no major damage. The guy bought it new.

I figure it needs full tune up, belts etc. new tires. A good clean up but the mystery is the battery issue. It’s just tough to price it with the unknowns. KBB has it 5200-7100 in fair condition. I’m thinking no way. He paid $13K for it new. Trying to find a good price to offer thinking it will cost me a couple thousand to get it running. Then you still have the paint issues.
Buy it and flip it on Bring a Trailer...
 

lbhsbz

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A lot. I'd say $7-12K, maybe more. There are no more small trucks with that few miles on them. I'd give $7000 for it sight unseen and pick it up with a trailer tomorrow.
 

Motor Boater

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A lot. I'd say $7-12K, maybe more. There are no more small trucks with that few miles on them. I'd give $7000 for it sight unseen and pick it up with a trailer tomorrow.
Keep in mind this one is a single cab, 2wd, and the paint is peeling (has some surface rust on the roof). Hasn’t run in 3-4 years so it needs to be towed out of there. Gonna need to empty the gas tank and prime the motor to get oil moving before I would even start it. Gonna need belts, hoses, tires, full tune up etc. Then I gotta figure out the issue on why it’s killing batteries every day. I called the guy last week but didn’t get him. Gonna try again tomorrow.
 

lbhsbz

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Doesn’t matter…it’s a low, small truck with no miles that’s not worn out.
 

DWRAT

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Keep in mind this one is a single cab, 2wd, and the paint is peeling (has some surface rust on the roof). Hasn’t run in 3-4 years so it needs to be towed out of there. Gonna need to empty the gas tank and prime the motor to get oil moving before I would even start it. Gonna need belts, hoses, tires, full tune up etc. Then I gotta figure out the issue on why it’s killing batteries every day. I called the guy last week but didn’t get him. Gonna try again tomorrow.
If I was you, I would buy it and then sell it to lbhsbz. 😁 😁 😁
 
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