2011 F350 What to ask?

Charli · 12-21-2013, 03:34 PM

We have started the process of preparing for a fully retired lifestyle which will see us becoming snowbirds next winter. We are still searching for a larger 5er and have sold our 3/4T a few weeks ago. I now have a line on a 2011 F350 King Ranch with 60,000 km. it is located 4 hrs from home but is on the way to visit family for Xmas and will be stopping in Monday to view it. I am not even close to considering myself a mechanic so thought this would be an ideal place to get some suggestions on what to look for.
Here are some of the questions I have emailed to the salesman?
Car Proof History Report, including details of Original ownership, Any accidents, Service history; i.e. Any major repair work outside of regular maintenance, Mfg date, In-service date.
# of Hours on motor? # of Idle Hours on motor?
Does the F350 have in-bed 5th wheel hitch mounts?
If any of you have suggestions of other things I should be asking or looking for when I inspect and test drive the vehicle I would appreciate your feedback.
Thanks

gearhead · 12-21-2013, 04:04 PM

Don't trust CarFax, Car Check, etc. for reliable repair history. Arrange to have a possible truck purchase inspected at a known to you paint & body shop. Same with mechanical. You may be able to take the VIN to a Ford dealer and get them to run it for repair records.

Brantlaker · 12-21-2013, 04:45 PM

Is it a gas or diesel? If gasser is it a 8cyl or 10, ask to see the service records was it serviced by a Ford Dealer or a repair shop. if at a Ford Dealer the service records are on line at myford.com, it comes standard with a trailer toe pkg. You will need to know what it can tow look on the ford truck website and you can download the specs.PM me if you have any other questions. I worked as a Service Manager for Ford Dealers for over 30 years.

Charli · 12-21-2013, 05:07 PM

Its the 6.7 Diesel and it's for sale at a dealership. Will find out how they got it, local trade or auction? As long as it's not from the Alberta Oil fields and been sitting idling for hours at a time. As a dealer I'm hoping can check the service record if it was serviced at a dealer. I have a website with the towing/payload specs although it doesn't differentiate between the various trim levels although it should me more than adequate for any 5er we are considering

Ken / Claudia · 12-21-2013, 07:12 PM

The fords have a hour meter, you push a button to display it. Not sure what year it became standard. I thought the 08 work truck I had had one or was a option. The 08, E150 I drive now does not.

gearhead · 12-21-2013, 08:32 PM

Not sure if I would believe what they said about where they got it. However, CarFax will show previous registrations.
2011 may have been the first year for the 6.7. I don't think there were any major problems. Someone else may jump in on that.
You might dig around on diesel forums for info.

**JRTJH** · 12-22-2013, 03:21 AM

There were a couple of computer updates in 2011. When GM came out with the upgraded Duramax claiming more HP/torque, Ford reflashed the computers to increase torque. You might want to make sure that the dealership updates the computer in that truck.... Besides, that will "zero out" the driver preferences and let you start the "adaptive driver" settings all over.

Al Sandoval · 12-22-2013, 06:41 AM

I got a 2011 king ranch heavy duty diesel and love it just got done going cross country
Pulling my Fuzion 322 loaded
It run great plenty of power great truck

muddynoll · 12-25-2013, 01:19 PM

Tell the dealer that you want a complete "oasis" report. It will tell you all of the service performed on it, if the work was done at a ford dealer. I say ask for the complete report because the dealer that sold my truck new, only gave me the first page to hide the work details from me. Needless to say they will never see this truck again. Also the report should be Free of charge.

DirtyOil · 12-25-2013, 01:47 PM

[QUOTEAs long as it's not from the Alberta Oil fields and been sitting idling for hours at a time.][/QUOTE]

Not all of us sit idling for hours, even though my truck is my office on wheels. I'd sell you mine anytime with a good conscience, as I take great care in my trucks, as its got to get me home from the "Alberta Oil fields" to go Rv'ing. But I'm afraid, I like this truck way too much to sell it, so you don't have to worry about buying this "Alberta Oil field" truck anytime soon.

Why not another Ram? Why Ford? Nothing against Ford, my lil brother has one, (and he was suppose to be the smart one) 2012 F350 super crew 6.7.

P.S. that truck could also be a rental truck, which most would agree, was likely abused more then any Alberta Oil field truck with higher then norm idle times. look at the idle hours as suggested, check under the hood (see how dirty/clean the engine bay is), frame if you can look up at the top side of tranny(look for mud accumulation), frame cross members for "MUD" (mud comes from the Alberta Oil fields), check the wear (if any) on the brake pedal(excessive wear indicates a city driver...almost as bad as long idle hours) check steering wheel for wear spots (wear spots at certain position(s) on the wheel would indicate mostly highway driven-long drives hand(s) in same position on wheel) of course with only 60,000kms on it might not show much wear on the wheel.

jje1960 · 12-26-2013, 01:26 PM

Hope all works out for you. We have really enjoyed our 2011. One service visit since picking up back in 2010, sensor for the DEF. Other than that, man what a truck!

Yak · 12-27-2013, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muddynoll

Tell the dealer that you want a complete "oasis" report. It will tell you all of the service performed on it, if the work was done at a ford dealer. I say ask for the complete report because the dealer that sold my truck new, only gave me the first page to hide the work details from me. Needless to say they will never see this truck again. Also the report should be Free of charge.

Oasis only shows the warranty work, no paid work.

muddynoll · 12-28-2013, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yak

Oasis only shows the warranty work, no paid work.

I must have misunderstood that. I thought it was a record of all work performed buy the dealer. even after warrante. Thanks for the clarification. It is a good addition to what the carfax report will tell you, and if buying a used Ford from a Ford Dealer ,it is a good Report to know about

Charli · 12-28-2013, 08:40 AM

Well we did it. A 2011 F350, KR, 4x4, 6.7L PSD, Crew Cab, 60,000 km is sitting in the driveway. Won't fit in the garage unfortunately. Will send pictures once the blizzard outside lets up.
Thanks to the tips received here and on a few other forums I was armed with my notebook filled with questions and things to look for. Didn't get them down in price cause we almost got caught in a bidding war with another interested buyer. Based on other trucks listed for sale, but located 7-8 hrs away, the truck seemed to be priced competitively. Checked Kelly Blue Book prices and this one was priced in the range for a clean truck and keeping in mind Kelly's prices are US$ I think we did ok. Original build sheet shows sticker price of $85k with a long list of options so $48k seems, choke, reasonable! Has new 20" Michelins, would have preferred 18" for ride quality and replacement cost but they sure look good. Has a PTC Supplemental Heater, not sure what that does but have a ton of manuals to read. Has a steel cable mounted in the box to tie down loads, FX4 off road, buckets, moon roof, nav, PTO provision, dual alt, roof clearance lights, heavy duty service suspension, factory remote start, and of course it's the new diesel.
It has the 5th wheel hitch prep package so will be researching Reece and B&W hitch options. We have the short box so not sure if a slider is available or will be required for whatever 5th wheel we end up with.
Got the Car Fax and Oasis reports plus the required Manitoba Safety Cert. There was some comments about wear on the front tires and the reports show work done 2 weeks ago on the front end (steering linkage, drag link, tie rods, ends) which was required to pass the Safety. Thus the new rubber all around. The kicker on the deal was the Ford Premium Care ESP which is good for another 4 yrs and another 90,000 km. this seems to cover almost everything with $0. Deductible. Thanks to the original owner for purchasing this and the fact it is fully transferable.
The interior of the King Ranch was in great condition. A few wear marks on the drivers seat and centre arm rest but was otherwise pristine. Don't think the back seat was ever used.
The exterior had a few small stone chips and tail gate has a rub mark on the exterior but the rest looks like new. The box is a bit banged up but plan on a LineX bedliner and tonneau cover eventually so that will cover it up nicely.
There is 970 hrs, 230 idle hours on the engine and the engine bay and underside is clean with no obvious leaks, even after the test drive. Weighed the truck on the trip home and it came in at about 8000lbs so after adding about 500# for hitch! DW, Dog, etc that leaves about 3000# for payload. GVWR 11,500#. The motor is so quiet and ride so smooth as compared to our previous 2008 Ram 2500. The truck bucks a bit on a rough road but certainly more than acceptable given the size of the truck. The creature comforts inside are impressive.
So we are set for the TV, now to get my drivers license upgrade, shop for hitch and upgrade 5er and we will be able to drive off into our retirement lifestyle.

**JRTJH** · 12-28-2013, 09:17 AM

Charli,

Congratulations, From your description, that's quite a truck!!!

As for the hitch, if you want to use your existing fifth wheel hitch, Reese makes an adapter assembly to mount into the peg holes in your bed. It actually puts a set of "removable bed rails" into the bed that your existing hitch sits on. When we bought our new F250, it was either buy a $1400 Ford hitch, a $1200 Reese hitch or the $175 adapter and use our existing hitch. I took the "cheap way out" ... It's always an option that's open, even if it's just temporary until your budget gets over the shock of buying the truck

If you have any questions on the adapter assembly, just ask.

Trent McCain · 12-28-2013, 10:12 AM

Congrats on the "new" truck. My folks ordered an F350 Lariat new in 2011 and it's been trouble free. I pull with an '09 F350 6.4 diesel, and the difference in the two trucks is night and day. The new Ford diesel is a very "refined" package. It's smoother, and pulls harder than my 6.4 Navistar, and as a bonus, gets on ave 2 mpg better than the 6.4. Dad reg sees 17-17.5 empty and 10 towing depending on the wind. I think you'll like it.

Trent

Yak · 12-28-2013, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muddynoll

I must have misunderstood that. I thought it was a record of all work performed buy the dealer. even after warrante. Thanks for the clarification. It is a good addition to what the carfax report will tell you, and if buying a used Ford from a Ford Dealer ,it is a good Report to know about

Also a normal Oasis report only goes back certain amount of time, you have to dig a bit deeper for a full report.

muddynoll · 12-28-2013, 04:47 PM

Congratulations. I'm Glad it all worked out for you. Enjoy your new ride.

Hansel · 12-28-2013, 07:19 PM

Congrats

Getting a 85k truck for 48k

Keep good clean fuel and all the fluids changed and you should be golden.

Does the truck have the feature where it doesn't shut off until the turbo cools down??? I had heard that the oil was cystallizing in the turbos causing failures.

Congrats again, and enjoy

jje1960 · 12-29-2013, 06:57 AM

Congrat's on your truck purchase! I can only imagine all the bells n' whistles, $85k is a bunch of truck. We ordered ours from the factory in Fall of 2010, only got the towing and power options, paid just a tad over what you paid for the KR. As previously stated, we love the truck, has been a joy to own.

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