I am currently looking at buying a 1996 Ford F250 with a 7.3L turbo diesel for a used car dealership/detail shop. The truck has 270,726 miles on it. Considering that is on an Ohio truck it has little to no rust on it. I have included a video that they have the truck running. https://youtu.be/qssC8NeANBU. Would this be a good buy. They only want 4 grand for it.
In my opinion most likely no. The first question anyone who is considering buying a diesel should ask is: do I NEED a diesel? I have a 2012 Ford Powerstroke that I use for work. I barely need it and have been considering going back to gas and I haul every single day with it. A diesel is expensive to own because its expensive to fix. Do they last longer? Yes. Do they technically get better gas mileage when hauling? Yes. The cost of ownership is high though and at 270,000 miles you're not look at a ton of use left in it. You might get another 70,000 out of it if you're lucky but that's going to cost you in repairs. If you don't NEED a diesel don't buy one. 99% of people do not need the hauling capabilities of a diesel truck.
If you like it and want to work on it just as a kind of fun truck to have then I would go ahead and buy it. That being said I would not make it my daily driver. I would also not being paying 4,000 for a 22 year old truck that I will be putting money into via car parts. I also would not buy that truck with out thoroughly inspecting the vehicle with a special attention to the chasis looking for rust spots.
