Tired of new vehicles. Should I sell my Ranger?

[pjtoledo]

damn, makes me want to repair & drive the '82 VW diesel that's rotting in the garage.
being an old style diesel I can jam a rod into the injector pump then push start it.

unfortunately the soot trail behind it would serve as a tracking device.

ya just can't win

 

[Jim Oaks]

Jim basically has two problems. The truck has 94,000 miles and the payment is $570/month.
So by the time it's paid off it will have 150,000 miles on it. And time for a new one.
If a vehicle is well-cared for it should get to 200,000 miles or more. I got to 212,000 on my old Sport Trac with a rebuilt transmission at 132,000 but the last two years I owned it I spent a lot of money on repairs and getting it to pass inspection and emissions. The blown head gasket was the last straw and I said no more, I'm done.
The thing with Jim's truck is that all the mods and money put into it don't really make it worth any more so I'm thinking you might as well keep it unless you want to try your luck at Barrett-Jackson or the For Sale Corral at Carlisle.

I'd be lucky to break even at a dealer, but KBB says it's worth more than I owe if I sell it myself. The lift, wheels, grill guard, sliders, winch, bed rack, and toolbox with my onboard air, DC/DC charger and Lithium battery don't really add to the value, but they might make it more appealing and make someone feel like they're getting a good deal. I could actually remove the winch, rack, onboard air, and aux battery setup. Remove my decals and slap a new FX4 decal on there and sell it. Add the air, winch, and battery setup to my next vehicle.

The advantage to Texas is that I can find older vehicles that are solid with maybe some surface rust if the paint has worn off. The clearcoat has started failing on my 2005 Jag, but it doesn't have any rust on it anywhere. I bought that thing a few years ago for $3,500. About the cost of 10R80 rebuild if I take the transmission in to them.

Heck, I saw a 1984 Bronco II on Marketplace with a Duraspark conversion, C5 automatic, and working A/C for $3,700 and "Flexible on price for the right buyer". Even has the opening rear window in the hatch that is a must have if I bought a Bronco II. I don't have $3,700, but if I had to borrow the money that would 6.5 months of my current truck payment and then I'd be payment free with an extra $570 a month for repairs and mods.

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I feel like I should drive my car more to keep mileage off of TRS-3, fix up TRS-2, and then consider selling TRS-3 once I feel TRS-2 is reliable and I don't need TRS-3 to haul stuff I need for TRS-2 (why does that sound confusing?).

I don't know. We'll see.

 

[Jim Oaks]

damn, makes me want to repair & drive the '82 VW diesel that's rotting in the garage.
being an old style diesel I can jam a rod into the injector pump then push start it.

unfortunately the soot trail behind it would serve as a tracking device.

ya just can't win

Just put an amber light on the roof and a sign on the side that says 'Mosquito Control'.

 

[4x4junkie]

Why do phones always end up being brought up in these types of threads?
Your phone normally does not send vehicle & personal driving data to your vehicle's mfgr that could potentially be sold off by them to your insurance co. or whoever else they might choose (that is unless you install your vehicle's app or your ins. carrier's app on it)

I also think (would hope anyway) a majority of people aware of (and not wanting) their vehicle tracking them are also aware of their phone's tracking capabilities too, and so have turned off Location, Bluetooth, and perhaps Data in their phone's settings if they have such concerns about it (maybe even NFC & Wi-Fi as well, though I don't see those as as much concern since you have to be like an inch or something away for NFC to pass any data, and Wi-Fi requires you actively connect to and log into a system or router terminal somewhere). They only turn these on when they need to actually use them.
With all those off, your phone can at most be traced to being within the vicinity of the nearest cell tower it last pinged (a rather coarse metric about a half-mile at the minimum). Don't want that? Turn it completely off.

A side benefit: Your phone's battery lasts MUCH longer per charge with all those radios turned off too.

AFAIK, disabling the telematics system will void the warranty and in some cases is illegal. Newer vehicle purchase agreements specify that you're the user, not the owner. Now, that agreement currently doesn't apply to used vehicles, so if you're not the original purchaser you're in the clear.

Do you have an example?
Our last new vehicle purchase was in 2020 (a time when these systems were already prevalent), there is zero anything about disabling a telematics system on the papers we signed... Infact, we were even given the option by the dealer to not activate the system at all (though I don't trust that the system truly isn't active and transmitting data in such cases). If the system isn't activated, it should be neither here nor there if it's been disabled.
If such clause existed, I also think it would be worded such that it would apply to a second owner too.

I read an article about a 2026 Ranger where the owner disabled the telematics. after an update from FORD the telematics had been restored !!!!!!
the average owner cant win

So if they put a fuse back in it, pull it out again (this only can happen with the truck physically at a dealer, it simply cannot happen if the system is disabled since a disabled systems cannot get OTA updates at all).

everyone should be aware that any device with a cellular baseband chip in it will be communicating with every cell tower it passes (they can and do triangulate your position - SOS calls) regardless of whether there's a SIM in it or not (unless you can actually physically kill the power to the chip). That's just how cell radios work. No question the companies that run the towers are collecting that data. What they might do with it, that's up to you to decide. I have my ideas.

SIM chip has your vehicle's ID on it... Without that, it's just an anonymous signal. But pulling the fuse eliminates that too.

 

[4x4junkie]

The lift, wheels, grill guard, sliders, winch, bed rack, and toolbox with my onboard air, DC/DC charger and Lithium battery don't really add to the value

They actually can devalue it to some extent for the average buyer. For sure you'd have to find the right buyer who actually wants that stuff to get a good return on it.
Removing them (and their evidence where possible) will often get you more $$$ back for your truck, and then you can either use those items on a new ride, or sell them separately yourself.

 

[Robert Mangrum]

Hmmm. I wonder who the guy dropping 6k on a new transmission is? Haha. I truly feel your dilemma. When my transmission first started acting up I thought about the same thing. Then I thought I would be honest when I sold it and really didn't want to pass the problem on. So that left me with dealership trade in. I set for days before the fall campout (being the teans was acting great at the time) looking at Rangers on Autotrader. Found a 2011 4.0 4x4 with 126k. I even sent an inquiry. Well after sleeping on it. I really like my 2020. Even though I've beat the piss out of the body. I do all the maintenance on my schedule (not Fords) and try and keep it reliable. This is the most comfortable vehicle I've ever owned haha. I remember as well how hard it was getting to find parts for my 05 Sport Trac at the end. I also only have a few payments left. Should be mine early next year. I'm not worried about the milage because I will drive it till it can't go no more. Besides the whole under side has been replaced almost haha. But I do see where your coming from. A first Gen Explorer or a TTB Ranger could be a lot more capable and easier and more affordable to repair. Plus have room to sleep in the back. My situation with the truck almost paid off influenced my decision quite a bit. Didn't want to start over in payments.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It's a double edged sword for sure.

For me with two older high mile vehicles the lack payments were nice... but the labor to keep two out of three in action was fairly intense. I would rather make a payment than spend my weekends doing this crap (and I need it back together for Monday...)





We both updated in 2022. My '16 F-150 is kind of crude on a lot of the stuff everyone loves to hate nowadays. The Bronco... eh.

OTA updates keep messing with my Forscan improvements in the Bronco. It hasn't turned start/stop back on but it did reverse my settings on the power point time limit. Good luck bucking it, it was a over the air recall update for the radio. Which now blanks out more than it did before the "fix"

A year and a half left of payments for both of ours, my F-150 will be crowding 200k pretty hard by then but compared to current crop of F-150's I will be hard pressed to go much newer. Its kind of in a sweet spot IMO

Bronco... who knows.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Hmmm. I wonder who the guy dropping 6k on a new transmission is? Haha.

What I saw in my head when I read that. LOL.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Why do phones always end up being brought up in these types of threads?
Your phone normally does not send vehicle & personal driving data to your vehicle's mfgr that could potentially be sold off by them to your insurance co. or whoever else they might choose (that is unless you install your vehicle's app or your ins. carrier's app on it)

I also think (would hope anyway) a majority of people aware of (and not wanting) their vehicle tracking them are also aware of their phone's tracking capabilities too, and so have turned off Location, Bluetooth, and perhaps Data in their phone's settings if they have such concerns about it (maybe even NFC & Wi-Fi as well, though I don't see those as as much concern since you have to be like an inch or something away for NFC to pass any data, and Wi-Fi requires you actively connect to and log into a system or router terminal somewhere). They only turn these on when they need to actually use them.
With all those off, your phone can at most be traced to being within the vicinity of the nearest cell tower it last pinged (a rather coarse metric about a half-mile at the minimum). Don't want that? Turn it completely off.

A side benefit: Your phone's battery lasts MUCH longer per charge with all those radios turned off too.


Do you have an example?
Our last new vehicle purchase was in 2020 (a time when these systems were already prevalent), there is zero anything about disabling a telematics system on the papers we signed... Infact, we were even given the option by the dealer to not activate the system at all (though I don't trust that the system truly isn't active and transmitting data in such cases). If the system isn't activated, it should be neither here nor there if it's been disabled.
If such clause existed, I also think it would be worded such that it would apply to a second owner too.


So if they put a fuse back in it, pull it out again (this only can happen with the truck physically at a dealer, it simply cannot happen if the system is disabled since a disabled systems cannot get OTA updates at all).


SIM chip has your vehicle's ID on it... Without that, it's just an anonymous signal. But pulling the fuse eliminates that too.

Why do phones always end up being brought up in these types of threads?
Your phone normally does not send vehicle & personal driving data to your vehicle's mfgr that could potentially be sold off by them to your insurance co. or whoever else they might choose (that is unless you install your vehicle's app or your ins. carrier's app on it)

I also think (would hope anyway) a majority of people aware of (and not wanting) their vehicle tracking them are also aware of their phone's tracking capabilities too, and so have turned off Location, Bluetooth, and perhaps Data in their phone's settings if they have such concerns about it (maybe even NFC & Wi-Fi as well, though I don't see those as as much concern since you have to be like an inch or something away for NFC to pass any data, and Wi-Fi requires you actively connect to and log into a system or router terminal somewhere). They only turn these on when they need to actually use them.
With all those off, your phone can at most be traced to being within the vicinity of the nearest cell tower it last pinged (a rather coarse metric about a half-mile at the minimum). Don't want that? Turn it completely off.

A side benefit: Your phone's battery lasts MUCH longer per charge with all those radios turned off too.


Do you have an example?
Our last new vehicle purchase was in 2020 (a time when these systems were already prevalent), there is zero anything about disabling a telematics system on the papers we signed... Infact, we were even given the option by the dealer to not activate the system at all (though I don't trust that the system truly isn't active and transmitting data in such cases). If the system isn't activated, it should be neither here nor there if it's been disabled.
If such clause existed, I also think it would be worded such that it would apply to a second owner too.


So if they put a fuse back in it, pull it out again (this only can happen with the truck physically at a dealer, it simply cannot happen if the system is disabled since a disabled systems cannot get OTA updates at all).


SIM chip has your vehicle's ID on it... Without that, it's just an anonymous signal. But pulling the fuse eliminates that too.

My information was skewed and, I realized, the sources don't mention any sources except other similar sources, so it's a loop of misinformation. I apologize for this continued spread of incorrect data, and I dug into it last night. Dealers are likely the cause of this reported warranty violation.

January 2nd of this year, a member of the Maverick Truck Club said, "I got confirmation from the dealer that disabling the TCU will void the warranty". That was immediately pointed out as being in the dealer's best interests, though it was claimed that the dealer went back on that claim and "would do some research".

Under Magnuson-Moss, the FTC says a company can't void a warranty solely because of unauthorized parts or service; the modification has to be shown to cause the failure. I found nothing saying disabling a modem is illegal, and no "user, not owner" clause. If anyone has a real source, or if your own dealer purchase agreement indicates anything like this, I'd love to know.

What I did find, however, when I dug into the telematics/data question from this thread: the real issue is the manufacturer's verbiage and owner requirements in their privacy policies.

Per Ford's connected vehicle privacy notice (effective July 1, 2026), the modem talks to the cellular carrier unless it's deactivated or connectivity is disabled, and some model-year 2020+ vehicles send analytics/diagnostic data from delivery. Modem messages identify the vehicle, SIM, and modem serial number. Turning off radios on your phone does nothing to the car's modem. (Ford also says vehicle location can be derived from a phone paired by Bluetooth or tether.)

Ford's privacy notice lists service providers, dealers, marketing partners, and ad companies, and some of that can count as a "sale" under state-law definitions. It may also disclose de-identified connected-vehicle data to others. On insurance, Ford said in 2024 that the in-car insurance data setting is off by default and that it doesn't send connected vehicle data to LexisNexis or Verisk. I found no evidence of Ford selling driving data to insurers, but there are allusions to the data being available to law enforcement. Now, a policy shows what a company says it may do, not what it does. Models and states differ.

I did find the California privacy agency v. Ford: $375,703 fined in March of this year for requiring email verification before processing opt-outs, but not for selling driving data.

In fact, GM got hit harder for their actions (FTC v. GM): In an order finalized Jan 14, 2026, GM allegedly collected and sold precise location and driving data without informed consent. The FTC placed a five-year ban on giving that data to consumer reporting agencies, plus 20 years of consent/opt-out requirements.

This data assumes the owner has not sold the vehicle, and will continue to associate with the previous owner if you don't go into In-vehicle privacy/connectivity settings and perform a master reset if you buy used or perform a modem deactivation (remove the modem). A ranger5g member cut power to the telematics module (fuse #9), but because of that you lose remote start and remote find.

A lot of vehicles make this process intentionally difficult and the drawbacks mostly remove modern conveniences in a privacy tradeoff. I found a Rav4World post that shows on 5th Gen Rav4's that the Bluetooth function is disabled when removing the DCM (data communication module).

You can ask Ford what they hold on you (rights vary by state), and request a free LexisNexis consumer disclosure once a year as well to verify Ford's claims. All this is to say that, @4x4junkie is right about most of it. I'll go ahead and add that there can be situations where pulling the fuse continues to broadcast data, though I'm not sure about Ford specifically, and what data is broadcast may be limited to.

• GM: service guidance says the backup battery powers the telematics module so an emergency call can still be made after the main battery is disabled. It may be built into the telematics module itself. GM's guidance also warns against pulling the OnStar fuse unless the ignition is OFF, because of this design.
• Toyota/Lexus: some models have a backup battery that's part of the DCM (Telematics Transceiver). Toyota calls it the Back-up Battery, Mayday battery, or Mobilephone battery.
• Volvo has one too, and the EU eCall mandate pushes European-market vehicles toward systems that work during and after a crash without the car battery, but that's not specific to the US. It does present further challenges, however.

SOURCES___________________
Backup battery in TCM/TCICM: https://rts.i-car.com/crn-2278.html
California agency v. Ford: https://privacy.ca.gov/2026/03/ford...ding-unnecessary-friction-to-opt-out-process/
EU eCall requirements: https://www.mouser.lt/pdfDocs/Four_..._telematics_hardware_in_the_connected_car.pdf
Ford statement on insurance data sharing (via Ford Authority, March 2024): https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-issues-statement-on-data-privacy-sharing-amid-concerns/
Ford connected vehicle notice: https://www.ford.com/help/privacy/connected-vehicle/
FTC GM order: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...ected-sold-geolocation-data-without-consumers
FTC on warranties and aftermarket parts: https://www.ftc.gov/node/54283
GM backup battery / fuse guidance: https://rts.i-car.com/collision-repair-news/backup-batteries-and-main-battery-disconnect.html
LexisNexis consumer request: https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com
Maverick Forum dealer post: https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...elematics-void-the-warranty.59244/post-998092
Rav4World forum thread: https://www.rav4world.com/threads/how-to-fully-disable-telemetry-and-have-an-air-gapped-car.343029/
Toyota/Lexus DCM backup battery: https://rts.i-car.com/crn-2377.html
Volvo backup battery: https://volvocars.com/en-ca/support/car/s60/article/7d2f769f8cef9620c0a801514256de31

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

What a great in depth post. Most of this is not applicable to me as I don't own a newer vehicle, but interesting nonetheless. Thanks!

 

[gw33gp]

Jim, I understand your frustration. I have a 2024 Bronco and have the same concerns. I was lucky enough to be able to pay cash for it, so I don't have the payment issue but don't like all the complexities about it. However, I like it so much that I would never get rid of it to find a simpler vehicle. I did keep my 2002 Ranger with 312K miles on it because I like having a truck to haul things. When I drive the Ranger I realize the less complexity of it but miss the comfort and ease of driving my Bronco.

I bought a 10 year/1,000 mile extended warrantee for my Bronco just in case some of that overcomplicated stuff starts giving me problems. It did have a serious problem before it got to 2,000 miles. It took a while for the dealer to find out what the problem was and get the correct parts but is has been flawless since at 14K miles. I hope that lack of problems continues.

 

[4x4junkie]

My information was skewed and, I realized, the sources don't mention any sources except other similar sources, so it's a loop of misinformation. I apologize for this continued spread of incorrect data, and I dug into it last night. Dealers are likely the cause of this reported warranty violation.

January 2nd of this year, a member of the Maverick Truck Club said, "I got confirmation from the dealer that disabling the TCU will void the warranty". That was immediately pointed out as being in the dealer's best interests, though it was claimed that the dealer went back on that claim and "would do some research".

Under Magnuson-Moss, the FTC says a company can't void a warranty solely because of unauthorized parts or service; the modification has to be shown to cause the failure. I found nothing saying disabling a modem is illegal, and no "user, not owner" clause. If anyone has a real source, or if your own dealer purchase agreement indicates anything like this, I'd love to know.

What I did find, however, when I dug into the telematics/data question from this thread: the real issue is the manufacturer's verbiage and owner requirements in their privacy policies.

Per Ford's connected vehicle privacy notice (effective July 1, 2026), the modem talks to the cellular carrier unless it's deactivated or connectivity is disabled, and some model-year 2020+ vehicles send analytics/diagnostic data from delivery. Modem messages identify the vehicle, SIM, and modem serial number. Turning off radios on your phone does nothing to the car's modem. (Ford also says vehicle location can be derived from a phone paired by Bluetooth or tether.)

Ford's privacy notice lists service providers, dealers, marketing partners, and ad companies, and some of that can count as a "sale" under state-law definitions. It may also disclose de-identified connected-vehicle data to others. On insurance, Ford said in 2024 that the in-car insurance data setting is off by default and that it doesn't send connected vehicle data to LexisNexis or Verisk. I found no evidence of Ford selling driving data to insurers, but there are allusions to the data being available to law enforcement. Now, a policy shows what a company says it may do, not what it does. Models and states differ.

I did find the California privacy agency v. Ford: $375,703 fined in March of this year for requiring email verification before processing opt-outs, but not for selling driving data.

In fact, GM got hit harder for their actions (FTC v. GM): In an order finalized Jan 14, 2026, GM allegedly collected and sold precise location and driving data without informed consent. The FTC placed a five-year ban on giving that data to consumer reporting agencies, plus 20 years of consent/opt-out requirements.

This data assumes the owner has not sold the vehicle, and will continue to associate with the previous owner if you don't go into In-vehicle privacy/connectivity settings and perform a master reset if you buy used or perform a modem deactivation (remove the modem). A ranger5g member cut power to the telematics module (fuse #9), but because of that you lose remote start and remote find.

A lot of vehicles make this process intentionally difficult and the drawbacks mostly remove modern conveniences in a privacy tradeoff. I found a Rav4World post that shows on 5th Gen Rav4's that the Bluetooth function is disabled when removing the DCM (data communication module).

You can ask Ford what they hold on you (rights vary by state), and request a free LexisNexis consumer disclosure once a year as well to verify Ford's claims. All this is to say that, @4x4junkie is right about most of it. I'll go ahead and add that there can be situations where pulling the fuse continues to broadcast data, though I'm not sure about Ford specifically, and what data is broadcast may be limited to.

• GM: service guidance says the backup battery powers the telematics module so an emergency call can still be made after the main battery is disabled. It may be built into the telematics module itself. GM's guidance also warns against pulling the OnStar fuse unless the ignition is OFF, because of this design.
• Toyota/Lexus: some models have a backup battery that's part of the DCM (Telematics Transceiver). Toyota calls it the Back-up Battery, Mayday battery, or Mobilephone battery.
• Volvo has one too, and the EU eCall mandate pushes European-market vehicles toward systems that work during and after a crash without the car battery, but that's not specific to the US. It does present further challenges, however.

SOURCES___________________
Backup battery in TCM/TCICM: https://rts.i-car.com/crn-2278.html
California agency v. Ford: https://privacy.ca.gov/2026/03/ford...ding-unnecessary-friction-to-opt-out-process/
EU eCall requirements: https://www.mouser.lt/pdfDocs/Four_..._telematics_hardware_in_the_connected_car.pdf
Ford statement on insurance data sharing (via Ford Authority, March 2024): https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-issues-statement-on-data-privacy-sharing-amid-concerns/
Ford connected vehicle notice: https://www.ford.com/help/privacy/connected-vehicle/
FTC GM order: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...ected-sold-geolocation-data-without-consumers
FTC on warranties and aftermarket parts: https://www.ftc.gov/node/54283
GM backup battery / fuse guidance: https://rts.i-car.com/collision-repair-news/backup-batteries-and-main-battery-disconnect.html
LexisNexis consumer request: https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com
Maverick Forum dealer post: https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...elematics-void-the-warranty.59244/post-998092
Rav4World forum thread: https://www.rav4world.com/threads/how-to-fully-disable-telemetry-and-have-an-air-gapped-car.343029/
Toyota/Lexus DCM backup battery: https://rts.i-car.com/crn-2377.html
Volvo backup battery: https://volvocars.com/en-ca/support/car/s60/article/7d2f769f8cef9620c0a801514256de31

You get an A for homework!

I can't entirely blame you on this though... The internet (social media) is what actually makes it easy for people to propagate misinfo nowadays without even realizing it (and makes me wonder how A.I. will end up playing into all this too).

What you found about companies being fined is exactly why it's probably best to physically get rid of / disable the systems (you can't trust that they are no longer collecting some info, even after you have opted out).
It might be cool (no pun intended) that it lets you push a button to start your car from inside your house several minutes before you leave on a cold morning, but simply putting on a coat for 30 seconds (the same coat you'll probably already be wearing when you leave anyway) to walk out to your car to start it then walk back in to say "bye" to the family isn't so hard to do either, is it?
Really it just shows how lazy some of us are becoming.

If the internet should ever go down for any reason (maybe as collateral damage from a data brawl between multiple A.I. agents knocking half the world's servers (and power plants) offline, or from a cybersecurity war with adversarial nations, or who knows what), the less we actually depend on these things, the better off we will be.

 

[pentode]

SIM chip has your vehicle's ID on it... Without that, it's just an anonymous signal. But pulling the fuse eliminates that too.

Respectfully, and please adjust your tinfoil hats, but it's only anonymous if you bought the vehicle with cash.... edit for 2026: assuming there wasn't a surveillance camera nearby. Yeah, I know it sounds nuts, except read the news.

Rarely is a device with a soft power button actually "powered off". There are myriad examples of devices sending data when apparently powered off.