Should I buy this truck?

[caslerst]

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a truck to be my daily driver. I have owned a few gas trucks but never a diesel. I love the look of the F250's and came across this on CL.

00 F250 diesel 4x4 Extra cab

Owner says it has 297k miles, he used it to commute to work and has never used the 4wd in the year he has owned it. I'm not too worried about the hub, I think I can fix that (he said the inner splines are stripped).

My concern is what to look for in regards to the engine? I know the rep of the 7.3 but what can I look for to make sure it's not about to crap out or that it hasn't been abused? I've read this What to look for when buying a USED 99-03 PSD and searched, read, and searched some more. My big concern is that I want to do some basic mods to the engine like exhaust and tune but nothing overboard. Is 300k too high as a starting platform?

This will be just a family truck, Home Depot and dump runner. Probably never tow anything heavier than a ski boat.

Does it seem like a good deal? Would you negotiate and why (other than principle of paying asking price)?

Thanks for your help and input. Steve

[SomethinBoutAtruck]

Seems reasonable, I'm new to these trucks as well, but you would be hard pressed to find a better deal... Normal things to check, oil in coolant and vice versa, burnt smell on fluids, maintenance records are extremely helpful and offer a lot of piece of mind. Make sure it runs out good and shifts through all the gears smoothly. I am enjoyin mine, I understood it was going to need this and that, but fixing these things are making it mine, I feel like I've rescued it.