used powerstrokes

[hurricane99]

hey guys im new here to the site and joined because i have a lot of questions and after looking around i found the right one to ask them. i am finding a lot of 1996-98 f-250's around my area pretty cheap. around 6,000 to 9,000 range. first of all how hard are these trucks to maintain. (this would be my first diesel). im worried that if i get this diesel then something will break and its gonna cost a boat load to fix. when i go for test drives (im looking to get a manual transmission) what sould i look for in tearms of if its a good truck to get. also the cars im finding have like 250k or more is this going to be a problem? thanks guys for reading my long winded post

[Granny]

Welcome to the site! I am sure you will find all the help you need here! Good luck in your search for a truck.

[vitalidle]

Welcome to Powerstroke.org Here is a link to some info for you to read on what to look for. What to look for when buying a used 94-98 PSD

[hurricane99]

thanks guys. sorry for not doing a search about this before i asked. i want a diesel and dont plan to do anything but commute to school and back. i am mostly concerned with if somthing breaks how expensive will it be to fix because im going back into collage soon so i will have no money.

[Clay Henry]

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by hurricane99

i am mostly concerned with if somthing breaks how expensive will it be to fix because im going back into collage soon so i will have no money.

Diesel trucks aren't cheap to repair but then again none of them are really.
Maintenance will cost you probably twice what a gasser will cost as far as oil, filters, etc.

[French_Toast]

Originally Posted by CHenry

Diesel trucks aren't cheap to repair but then again none of them are really.
Maintenance will cost you probably twice what a gasser will cost as far as oil, filters, etc.

True that... 70 bucks for the oil alone last change.

[hurricane99]

dang. that sucks that its so high to maintain. will it be lower if you do it yourself?

[pipelayerjdh]

Welcome to the ORG.!

[Brian]

you can do an oil change yourself for 40-50 bucks.
if your handy with a wrench, theres alot of things you can fix yourself when need be. but even though its a diesel, things still wear out (waterpumps, ball joints, ect...) and parts are a little more expensive mostly due to it being a large truck.
i always tell people to save some money for repairs when buying a used one. if you blow your whole wad on the truck, and find out 500 miles later you need a couple grand worth of repairs, well that can be disapointing