New Ranger?

[Matt77]

Hey,
I'm looking into getting a Ford Ranger, and I'm stuck where to start. I'd like a 2000 model year or above, 4 door, under 200k miles, 4x4, automatic, and a lift if possible. Is this a reasonable criteria for $6,000 or less?


Also, how is Ranger reliability and safety? I'm a teen- I don't want to kill anyone! I'll be chauferring around a 9 year old most of the time to and from school. How is the back seat safety? How is gas mileage? What should I look for when inspecting a truck? Is it better to buy pre lifted- isn't it abused? Is the ranger good offroad? How is parts and accesory availability?


If you got this far, and are over 21, here's a

Thanks a lot!
Matt

 

[97RangerXLT]

Hello and welcome to the Ranger Station! If you are hauling a 9 year old around, I would put him/her in the front seat and turn the airbag off. the Jumpseats in my 97 extended cab do not look very safe at all. I think the seats in the 4 door models (98 +) sit facing forward, so that is a little better as mine sit facing toward each other, but the back of these trucks in not very roomy at all, and with them facing forward they are going to be cramped.

If you are looking at gas mileage, the Ranger will not be a good choice. my 97 gets 20 mpg max on the highway, I have the 4.0 extended cab 4x4 with auto and 3.73 gears. I have heard that most of the 4x4's get similar mileage, maybe 1 or 2mpg difference. the 4 banger 2wd get a bit better mileage, but that is not what you are looking for.

and wait a minute... you are a teen, how did you get the

Hope this helps.

AJ

 

[Matt77]

Haha, thanks for the reply.

Any more than 9MPG is an upgrade for me. Coming from an Avalanche, there isn't much worse. How's the safety and reliability?

And offroad ability/towing?

 

[509lifted]

off-road ability is pretty decent, safty go look at some or the crashes that just happened that are at the top of this forum, as for what 97ranger said the seats do not face forward, my uncle has a 2000 and his seats face eachother.

 

[Matt77]

How comfortable is it back there? is this a good car for a teen? Will a 4in lift do? Or just bigger tires...

 

[509lifted]

i'm 6 foot 200lbs and road back there while hunting and it wasnt to bad but when i sat back there for a while it started getting uncomfortable. now it depends on what type of off-roading.... if just messing around on a few moderate trails, go the cheap route and get the biggest tire you can fit with no rubbing and go have fun, now if your gonna be hitting some harder trails that need quite a bit of clearance then go 4 inch and 32's but then again anything 2000 and later are way more exspensive to lift i beleive but not sure.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I thought the ones with the 4 doors faced forward as they have to be mounted on the back wall.... if it is like mine and just has the two doors they were mounted in the side wall and faced each other. and those seats are way uncomfortable... especially for a grown person. however if you are carting afew buddies around they will work. I am very leery of putting a child in one tho. and I sure as hell would not put any child that still needs a booster or car seat, as the seats are not big enough to properly support it.

Offroad capability is just like 509 says, pretty capable for mild offroading right out of the box, and with some money and time can be very capable. If you are wanting to do offroading and spend less money in setting it up, I would say go 97 or older, as 509 said, they are a bit expensive to lift for 98+ as they have changed the entire suspension in the front. Plus 98-2000 have vacuum operated hubs that really suck ass.

AJ

 

[509lifted]

97ranger they do fold off the back wall but the back rest lifts up towards the door once your in so u sit sideways still and i gotta say my friends truck is a 2 door and it is alot more cramped than my uncles 2000 and idk why i thought the cabs were the same size but maybe the 4 doors are a bit longer cab wise? idk for sure.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Heh, learn something new. I figured if they were bolted to the back wall, they would fold out from the back wall with the backrest against it. I guess it does give the unlucky people sitting in them a little more leg room.

I can't see sitting sideways as being a good thing when you hit something going over 40 mph.

I know my two door Ranger would be much more usefull if it had even just one of the back doors. getting into that rear space when you are over 6 foot tall is a pain. Even loading a toolbox into that area requires me to put it in the opposite seat from the door I am opening, moving the seat next to the door I have opened all the way up and folding the back forward and the seat opposite all the way back and then putting it in the back via the gap between the seats. the gap between the folded forward seat and the door post just isn't big enough.

AJ

 

[Mac]

Guess I learned something too about the rear seats. Four doors are really nice even if no one sits back there. Sure you can find a truck that fits you requirements for under $6K. I picked up a 2000 XLT 4.0L four door auto 4x4 Off-Road package from someone on this site late year for $4K. Off-Road does sit a little higher and has the 4.10 gear. Had 159K miles on it. Has the true bucket seats and a later in the year buld so it has the better 4x4 system up front. Mileage about 20mpg in normal weather on the road. The later SOHC motors do get better mileage but early ones had problems.
Dave

 

[Thed]

My little 1996 held up great through all of my teenage shenanigans. Off-roading, drifting, jumping, going 45+ through a construction lot, a flying drift (I DO NOT RECOMMEND the last few) and some other stuff lead to a fun run so far. But now I realized that that shit is just too damn dangerous. Plus, now that I'm driving like a sane person, I'm averaging 23 MPG in the city with my little four banger on 30's. You obviously can't get that from a 4.0, but I'm just putting it out there.

For a teenage driver, it's perfect IMO except for the lack of space. Just because you can fit five people, doesn't mean it's exactly comfortable.

 

[509lifted]

as mac said the early ones do have problems and my uncle is lucky if he gets 12 out of his on the hwy, he also has had quite a few problems with the 4x4 not working when he needed it most, lets just say in the las 5 years he has had to replace the hubs 3 times. now like we have mentioned if ur gonna lift is just go 97 or earlier it will be alot cheaper since u dont have tortion bars and all that crap which will leave u broke after just the lift and might cost more than u pay for your truck. you know this is the first time i have actually been able to truely help someone on here without screwing info up haha

 

[Matt77]

I just need some room for quick jaunts around, I have the 6-seater Avalanche, so it's fine. I can have someone ride in the Avalanche bed (Covered, hell yeah!) if it's THAT important. Just kidding!

Are the wheels and tires on ALL rangers that small? The one I saw today had golf-cart size wheels.

And how's reliability/safety in technical terms?

 

[Ryannn]

as mac said the early ones do have problems and my uncle is lucky if he gets 12 out of his on the hwy, he also has had quite a few problems with the 4x4 not working when he needed it most, lets just say in the las 5 years he has had to replace the hubs 3 times. now like we have mentioned if ur gonna lift is just go 97 or earlier it will be alot cheaper since u dont have tortion bars and all that crap which will leave u broke after just the lift and might cost more than u pay for your truck. you know this is the first time i have actually been able to truely help someone on here without screwing info up haha

You need to learn how to spell. It's annoying reading your posts.

 

[Rose2300]

when I had my SOHC I was averaging 19 mpg mix driving. the only lift you would find on that gen of trucks is most likely either a body lift or tbar crank and blocks in the rear. I wouldn't get an auto either as they tend to be unreliable