E-Series milage

Matt71 · Jan 17, 2015

I've been looking at vans and the ones that seem to come up the most in our price range (about $3000) are Ford E150s and E250s. The years on them seem to range from early '90s up into the mid 2000's.

I was surprised to find the newer models in that price range. Today I saw a 2007 that looked to be in really nice condition, but it had over 200,000 miles on it.

I'm curious, at what point do the Ford vans start hitting the wall and needing significant repairs? It seems like they are built for high milage, so is 150,000 miles a lot for a cargo van?

,Matt

LeeRevell · Jan 17, 2015

It depends hugely on how well it was cared for. My late Dad's old '86 E150 has less than 70,000 on the odo, but is a rusted worn out ruin. The '88 E150 I bought recently has 115,000 miles, is in much better shape but still pretty worn from years of use. I have seen older Fords in better shape, and newer Fords in worse shape. Can't just make a blanket statement about age and mileage.

One Awesome Inch · Jan 17, 2015

I have a 99 E150 with 132,000 miles on it. Mechanically it seems fairly sound. Its got some other issues like most of the doors not closing perfectly (slightly bent frame perhaps). I paid $2200cdn and think I got a bit better than average deal.

Personally I would not buy anything over 150K and would not buy anything previous to around 95. Everything wears out with age and mileage. Best to buy as new as you can, but as mentioned *the* most important thing is how it was maintained by the previous owner(s). Its a good idea to have it inspected by a mechanic before purchase.

Matt71 · Jan 17, 2015

The nice thing about the ford cargo vans is that most of them around here were fleet vehicles so they were maintained pretty well. The bad thing is that they generally have a lot of miles on them for the same reason.

Almost There · Jan 17, 2015

Matt71 said:
The nice thing about the ford cargo vans is that most of them around here were fleet vehicles so they were maintained pretty well. The bad thing is that they generally have a lot of miles on them for the same reason.

Personally, I stayed way far away from anything that had been used commercially. No matter how well maintained they might be they don't usually put them up for sale until they've got a bazillion miles on them and the mechanic has determined that major repairs are likely imminent.

It takes a while longer and one must have a significant amount of patience but finding one that has been personally owned and has lower mileage is a far better idea. That said the first van I looked at that was privately owned had been 'road hard and left out wet'...

It was evident from the bumper and grill damage that the guy had absolutely no idea where each end of his van was...

and one look at the interior and I was running instead of walking away from it...disgusting mess...:huh:

TravelDerby · Jan 17, 2015

I currently drive a 2004 E-350 and have just over 160k miles on it. It's the 5.4 V8 and has been relatively problem free for the 40k miles I've put on it. Previously it was owned by a municipal water department a was used as a service vehicle.

For a well maintained E-Series with the right drive train 150K+ is nothing!

There are a lot of different engines used in that time frame, but if you're considering an older model (Pre 1997) I'd highly suggest looking for one with the 4.9 V6. Those were true workhorse engines and are known for running 400K miles plus (And often times much more). I would avoid the 4.2 V6 models and the earlier years of the 5.4 (1999-2002). All the 4.6 and 5.4 V8's are capable of running for 300+ miles, but many early ones had issues with the heads (Spark plugs would strip out).

The other engines available during that time frame were the 7.3 diesel (Maybe the best diesel engine ever made, but they are $$$$$$$ now), the 5.0 V8 (Avoid it), the 5.8 351 V8 (Ok, but the MPG sucked and the power was not impressive and the V10 (Good motor, but pointless overkill for unloaded van).