Is It Worth It? - 2005 Ford Ranger XLT 4X4

[fryerlawrence]

I cannot believe it took me so long to remember my fellow Ranger buds at TRS to ask for some wisdom. Here it goes...

Trying to make a decision on whether it is worth restoring (or restore to a point?) my 2005 Ford Ranger XLT 4X4 with approximately 122,000 miles. I bought it in 2010-ish with only 63k miles. It's been a good truck to me, but... it is showing its age now and I am on disability with a job that I can work to the best of my ability to make extra money to the max that I can make. I am trying to get out of debt at the same time; I have medical stuff needing taken care of costing more than $3,000k, Can't really even afford groceries right now,

- Just had the brake pads done this year and had a full workup 2 years ago-ish costing to the tune of $1500-ish, so not an issue.
- Battery: I have an Optima Red cover batter w/ an Optima battery reconditioner. So far so good, need to remember to take it out once a month-ish
to recondition it. It's like 5 years old-ish?
- Tires are due before this next winter to the tune of $700-$800ish for 5 tires because I need to replace my spare. Spare has been "in service"
since I bought the truck.
- I keep forgetting to remember about the Shift-on-the-fly 4X4; it's not engaging/disengaging correctly sometimes. It's winter still.
- The windshield fluid reservior needs to be replaced; just a hose clamp and a sandwich bag for now.
- There is paint sun damage on the roof near the top of the windshield and the headliner is now starting to peel down. The clear coat is severely
compromised with visible white spots or extensive blistering; it's gunna need a complete paint job I think. With my disability, it was hard to
afford truck washes, and if you saw how tiny my driveway used to be, I couldn't wash n' wax it at the apartment.
- The seat because of my disability is coming apart on the edge and I have a seat cover trying to cover the driver's side at least.
(reaaaaally hard to find an intact used seat that's not trashed or possibly flood damaged)
- There is body damage to the tune of $6,500.00 (conservatively, estimate done years ago), $8,000.00 now??
- Medium dents on both sides of rear quarter panels because the house jumped out and bit me when
there was snow in the driveway and it slid side to side even being careful (I do not live there now)
- Because I didn't notice right away, the rain & snow freezing and melting (from the little mother-in-law's style
garage converted into an apartment) cascaded down the right door area; significant rust below the door and
below the step plate because of standing water; the holes naturally in the bottom of the door were plugged? (theory)
- It's sentimental to me. I have always wanted a Ford Ranger. I was able to purchase it outright originally for $12,000.00; disability
was approved and was back pay. My uncle had a hand in me buying it; he is no longer with us due to cancer years ago.

So that's kinda what swirls my brain when I think about it. What say y'all?

Thanks,
fryer

 

[2011Supercab]

In my opinion, getting out of debt and medical expenses are more important than making the truck look good.

Brakes, tires and oil changes are one thing, but paint and body work may not be worth it.

Depending on how long ago you got that body work estimate, it could easily be double that now, prices have gone way up in the last 4 or 5 years.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Lots of people, including me, drive rust buckets. Do what you have to do to make it safe and don't sweat the cosmetics. Not sure what your disabilities are, but you can always learn to do rust repair and paint yourself?

 

[fryerlawrence]

Both of you really kind of brought it together succinctly. I agree with you @2011Supercab It's already a 20 year old truck. Even when I got the estimate, if I did do any bodywork shortly after that, it wouldn't have made the truck more valuable, it would have been more for "looks".

@alwaysFlOoReD It would certainly be a "project". As stated before (and from above), it might be worth being a part of the #RustBucket crowd, not caring what people think. Yeah... got too much going on that "need" to be taken care of to even think about esthetics.

Thank you gentleman for helping me think this through. I appreciate y'all.

 

[sgtsandman]

I agree with the above. Keeping it road worthy is the priority. It looking nice is a luxury. If you can swing it, maybe do a little rust and body repair yourself. Enough to keep it street legal and prevent it from getting worse. If you have the money later, you can always get it painted and whatever body work needs to be done in order to make it look pretty.

 

[fryerlawrence]

If you can swing it, maybe do a little rust and body repair yourself. Enough to keep it street legal and prevent it from getting worse.

Ooft... never thought of that. Thanks Sarge!

 

[Brain75]

I'm gonna be the voice of (slight) dissent... I would say get anything mechanical repaired back to working order (4x4) or eliminated (swap trans to 2wd, replace front axle)... keeping it in good mechanical shape will make it less expensive to fix later... who knows instead of $150 to put a seal or fix an electrical gremlin it could turn into $1k to do major surgery later.

That said, I get limited income and options... don't throw money to the wind fixing every little thing... fix the things that will stop the future flow of money ("little" rust today is a whole new cab tomorrow)..

And tackle em as you can... I am pretty new into my ownership and I just painted it myself - about $400 in supplies and $800 in paint (professional urethane acrylic), you could do it for $500 if you used enamel (look at tractor supply's truck/tractor/implement paint - I honestly wish I had gone the cheaper paint). That was really the first thing I did, and I did it because the clear was 60% gone, there was some extremely minor rust showing (a couple deep scratches through the primer)... I did it so I would be proud to drive it an not have a "rusty old truck".. I am looking at the future and my next few improvements/ repair and new tires are there for me as well - I am changing sizes cause the 14" rubber is unaffordable.... perhaps you are up against a rare size issue too. I found 16" stuff in sizes I like for $75-85 a shoe.

That said, I never suggest someone go into debt or stay in debt to keep a car running.... clear your debt and get back to operating in the black, harder for some of us I know, but no sense paying someone else money to borrow money.

 

[bobbywalter]

bodywork.....

 

[rubydist]

I agree, given your situation stick to the mechanical stuff and don't worry about trying to make it look better.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'm ok with body work just not an appearance kinda guy, if you're strapped for cash screw body work, primer and rattle can any rust spots to keep it from getting worse if in the rust belt then do what you gotta do to keep it going...

 

[Rick W]

bodywork.....

Bobby, having gotten to know you a little bit, I can understand why you’re confused. Let’s go with the basics.

You may want to sit down, and brace yourself.

“Bodywork” is when you do things to the vehicle to make it look better to the average guy on the street who knows nothing about the mechanical parts.

It doesn’t make it run better, climb more, run on used motor oil, nothing practical like that.

It’s what you do to try to keep the homeowner association lady out of your yard in the subdivision and out of your face.

If you don’t know what a subdivision is, let me know, and I’ll expand.

Oh, and by the way, I’m talking about the top side of the vehicle, not the bottom side.

@fryerlawrence. First question, where do you live, put it in your details. I’m in Atlanta, so whatever I do, if I take the slightest bit of care, it tends to last a long time. My son lives in New Jersey just west of New York City. The weather is horrible, there’s salt on the roads all the time, and there’s no such thing as a pothole. It’s one constant rough moonscape everywhere. Nothing you fix on an old vehicle will last very long. Keep in mind the weather and road affects when you plan to do anything.

Having said that, there is nothing better on earth than financial security, nothing sexier. Nobody is ever impressed if you have a beautiful vehicle, and you can’t buy groceries.

Having said that, I’m an old fart and I work on legal pads. Take out a legal pad, draw a line down the middle, and put pros on one side and cons on the other side. No matter how well you know such things in your head, when you put it down on a piece of paper all together, it will jump out at you like a title wave. Estimate some prices.

Can you do something within your budget to the truck that will increase its value so you can sell it to someone else at a good price, and then use that money to buy a better more reliable vehicle. Even if it’s just a little four-door beater, catch up on your money, and then you could buy anything you want and better shape probably. If it’s roadworthy and safe, then consider fixing it as you go.

As regards keeping it, both of my Rangers have over 300,000 miles. I’ve seen people beat up vehicles, but if it’s got 115,000 miles on it, we’re talking maintenance not rebuilding it.

It goes without saying, but first and foremost, do the things that involve safety. After that, sort your list from either low price to high price, or probably more practically, greatest need now versus things that can wait. Then, once it’s safe, don’t look at the whole list. Especially if you’re a little short, it will make your head explode. Just look at the first three items on the list, and figure out how to get them done.

A side note to that would be repairs that you would want to do together. If you have to replace a front end part and you also have to replace the shocks, it only makes sense to try to do those two together. The cost of doing the two together, may affect their position on the list.

I’m handicapped, but mostly it slows me down, and I can still do a little bit of everything. You don’t have to divulge what your handicap is, but you can look at your list for what you could do yourself and what you have to have someone else do. If you think you could do it yourself, there’s a ton of help in this forum, and there are hundreds of videos on YouTube to show you how to do it. All my life I would invest in new tools and learn how to do something instead of paying someone else to do it. It’s the reach a man to fish concept…

My final thought, is who is doing your work? If you’re going to the name brand outlets or the dealership, and paying what they ask for, thinking that you will have a guaranteed result, well, let’s just say a lot of guys on this website have learned that doesn’t always work.

Are any of your friends handy with this stuff? Maybe you could take them to dinner and buy them a bottle of wine or a case of beer to get them to do some of the simpler stuff instead of paying hundreds of dollars to a shop. If you don’t have handy friends, You can just start asking around if somebody knows somebody who can work on this or that. Obviously, you still have to be careful and evaluate anyone you run up on, but if you’re not rebuilding engines, these trucks are not that complex. You’d probably have to give a shade tree guy a few bucks to come look at it, then you can buy the parts so you don’t risk your money, and then when he fixes it, pay him when he’s done. Never pay him when it’s half done. Not on these trucks, but I have occasionally run a free ad in Craigslist, or back in the day in the newspaper, looking for somebody who does whatever. It takes a little time, but you can save a lot of money.

Blah blah blah, I can go on. But you get the concept. It’s just my two cents, and I hope it helps. Certainly reach out if you want some refinement or additional information.

 

[97RangerXLT]

bodywork.....

and @fryerlawrence

I love this one coming from the guy that has a truck that was so horrible looking that a homeless man gave him money... don't believe me? see this post...

You know your truck is a pos

When your getting off the freeway in Detroit to go home.....and the homeless guy walks up and knocks on your window.....and gives you 10 dollars. True story.

www.therangerstation.com

btw, I found the above thread using the new advanced search function that @Jim Oaks snuck in on us a few nights ago. worked very well.

that said, he also has probably the best and most reliable Ranger on the forum. you got to see this truck in action to believe it. so get the mechanicals taken care of, and there is no reason why it cant go 1.3 million miles.

Remember, shiny paint causes stress.

AJ

 

[Saddle Tramp]

My truck is near that point as well. I'm replacing the wheel bearings this weekend. Had the brakes done a year ago. Replaced the shock absorbers. Changed out the power steering fluid. (Turkey baster and four quarts of fluid bit by bit over the week.). Changed the fuel filter. Had the transmission fluid flushed. Same with the antifreeze.

The paint is flaking off like a bad sunburn so I sand the edges down and hit it with kinda matching spray paint. (Yes it's patchy looking but keeps away the rust.)

My seat is torn and missing some foam at the seat bolster. I have some foam that I'll shape to fit for now and those a seat cover over it when I can.

Step by step. Doing it in bits. I got a compliment yesterday on how well it rides. I'd rather keep wrenching on it than spend big money on something newer used and not know what's going to go wrong unexpectedly.

As long as the frame and major components aren't rusted out I'd keep it.

 

[Bill]

Does it need to be "restored," or just repaired? You are ultimately the one who decides if it is worth it. Some people make this determination based on market value. If the cost of repairs exceed market value, then they don't repair it. I think people should consider the overall condition of the vehicle and the cost of a replacement vehicle plus insurance. You should also consider doing the work yourself when you can. That $1500 brake job is around $200-$250 in parts when you replace rotors, pads,and bearings.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Her's another angle to look at. I just read an article where the taillights of a modern Ford F-350 Platinum cost up to $1,200 to replace. Each. How much does it cost to fix your truck and keep it going in comparison?

Taillight theft ring caught