Un-killable
My dad bought my truck used in 2017. It had been a one owner by a young lady that used it to pull a horse trailer for the first 143,xxx miles of its life. He gave a used car dealer $3,900 for it with no overdrive. My dad drove it for 2 years and put almost 200,000 miles on it without a tune-up. When the 2 valve 5.4 triton was down to a crawl, he parked it on 3 cylinders. It sat for nine months, while the whole time I kept telling him I could tune it up and put it back in service. Needless to say he balked on the idea, so I finally saved the $1.200 he wanted for it, and bought it from him. I spent $200 on a brand new battery, and $250 for new motorcraft plugs and edelbrock performance coil on plug packs. And surprisingly the truck came back to life. I was able to get almost 9,000 miles out of it before I was hit head on by a 07 BMW a month ago. BUT, once I have the money or parts it will take to fix the front left wheel and steering assembly, it'll be back on the highway screaming again! It's the best truck I've ever owned much less driven in my entire life and I'm 31. Built Ford tough REALLY means what they say!
Reliable Daily Driver
I bought this truck when I was still in college, as it was one of the few trucks that I could afford in cash ($6500). I have driven it for 5 years and 60k miles (currently at 208k miles) without any significant issues. Aside from regular oil changes, the only repairs I've had to do are: one bad coil and a short on the overdrive wire in the steering column. It has some creature comforts, like power seats and on-the-fly 4x4, but it's pretty utilitarian. However, with the addition of a 2-din touchscreen stereo and a backup camera, it's enough for me. Still has plenty of get-up-and-go. I've considered using it as a trade-in, but it's been so good to me, I'm not sure I will find a more reliable truck. Plus, considering its age, it still cleans up nicely and I don't feel too bad when it gets scratched up when offroading or having three rambunctious dogs in the back seat. My only complaints with the truck are the wheel lug pattern and the visibility. The 5-lug wheel pattern isn't as common as the 6-lug wheel pattern that every F150 after 2004 uses, so wheel options are limited. To make it worse, the particular wheels I'm running use the flat flanged lug nuts and not the more common tapered ones. As for visibility, the backup camera has been a worthwhile investment, but, for as long as it is, the side mirrors are a little small. In the process of buying some Expedition towing mirrors (Supercrew doors match the Expedition doors, not the F150 Regular and Supercab). I just moved to Northern Utah from Southern California, so I will get a chance to test it out in the snow in the upcoming months.
Love this truck
‘02 lariat super crew 4x4 5.4, currently has 219k+. My 4th Ford truck and all were great. My ‘02 has never stranded me, only wish it had better cup holders and better gas mileage. I plan on keeping it till I run it into the ground or someone wrecks it, whichever comes first.
