What signs to look for to determine actual miles?

[Spire]

I bought a 1988 F-250 7.3 IDI last fall and love the truck.

Odometer says ~89,000 miles. I bought it from a guy who only owned it for a few months and knew no history.

He bought it from the original owner.

What would you look for to determine if this is 89k, 189k or 289k miles?

Pedals are not worn at all, seat looks OK, no rips, dash is not cracked.

Rear brakes and seals were trashed, rear tank leaks... Pretty sure the shower heads have dropped.

What else would positively point to total miles?

 

[1990idi]

one thing that can be a giveaway is the paint and interior.... i picked up a 1990 lariat 4x4 7.3 with 60k miles 6 months ago. it is in mint condition and i bought it from the second owners son. i guess some things to look at would be the known issues like the return lines leaking, if it still have the factory injectors which would be painted grey i assume, if it looks like it still has the original injection pump. those are some possibilities.... im sure other long time owners will pitch in.

 

[firehawk]

First thing I would look at are the pedals. I have seen people roll back or swap clusters, but they never seem to bother with the pedals.

 

[chris142]

i have the same q's about my truck. it was advertized @159k but everything like hoses and belts,paint etc were original. clutch pedal shows slight wear on one side,no rattles! all 4 brakes were worn down. im fairly convinced that it only had 59 k on it when i bought it.

 

[whiteboyslo]

Depending on how the DMV works in the state(s) the vehicle resided in, a carfax report may tell a lot. My truck came from Oregon, where it's my understanding they require periodic vehicle inspections and record the mileage. I bought mine with about 70K miles on it, and aside from the interior being absolutely mint, I was sure the mileage was accurate because I could see the incremental odometer increases in the history report.

Mike

 

[gandalf]

I would suggest Carfax.

If you're lucky you can get a fairly complete history of the vehicle. It isn't foolproof, but oftentimes it works well. If they want money for the report, look for a friend with a Carfax account.

 

[chris142]

no info on carfax for mine

 

[OLDBULL8]

As Hillary Clinton said "What difference does it make now". You bought it 7-8 months ago. If it runs good, do the repairs on it that show up, like fix your tank, replace shower heads and fix the brakes as necessary. Save up about $600 to a $1200 for Injectors and New/rebuilt IP.

 

[Spire]

As Hillary Clinton said "What difference does it make now". You bought it 7-8 months ago. If it runs good, do the repairs on it that show up, like fix your tank, replace shower heads and fix the brakes as necessary. Save up about $600 to a $1200 for Injectors and New/rebuilt IP.

I am all about this. Is more like a curiosity and what to expect in the future. Carfax shows the truck was bought in Alaska, one owner, no shop work, registered in Kentucky for 3 months, returned to Alaska, and sold in 2013. Not much to go on. IP and injectors are still grey. Pedals show no worn spots. I'm going with 89k.

 

[79jasper]

On my 94, only my brake pedal pad is slightly worn.
205K.


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[FarmerFrank]

When I bought my 2wd the guy kept saying "it only has 39k miles". I already had him talked down on price to my liking so I didn't argue but it had the wrong ip timing cover, worn front end, blow head gaskets, worn brakes, and the list goes on but I'm certain it's 2-340k. But I'm also not certain it's the original dash.

Fun times of old trucks.

 

[chris142]

I am all about this. Is more like a curiosity and what to expect in the future. Carfax shows the truck was bought in Alaska, one owner, no shop work, registered in Kentucky for 3 months, returned to Alaska, and sold in 2013. Not much to go on. IP and injectors are still grey. Pedals show no worn spots. I'm going with 89k.

mine was registered in fairbanks for 20+ yrs.the dealer i bought it from bought it in az to tow a trailer that they also bought in az back to ca.

 

[Andertusa]

Not to sound like a ****, but the pedals, pedalpads, dash-pad and seats and that are EASILY obtainable in the aftermarket; to a guy interested in getting top dollar for his used truck might consider spending the dough to repair those defects and 'fudge' the odometer,and tryto convince you it's lower,because you're too flabbergasted at how little the rubber pads are worn to notice the body is falling apart or whatever.

Honestly,a lot of these guys have a lot of experience, and I'm not going to try diminishing that fact, but in my experience, possibly the biggest tell-tale of how well the truck's been cared for and the milage and abuse is the wiring harness; if you look at it and it's covered in thick layers of oiland caked on oil-dirt and looks like 'non-original' splices are all over it, well....

 

[Spire]

Don't get me wrong, this truck has been USED, bed shows the age, a few dents here and there etc. I bought it assuming it had 189k and it looked good for that assumption. Still the best $2500 I have spent on a vehicle regardless of mileage. Alaska is not kind to work trucks...

No harness hacking, no modifications. The radiator support has been welded up, though.

The NEW tires on it covered the first $1000 bucks, so its a $1500 truck.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Well one good thing is your gonna have a lot of daylight to work on it if need be. I was in AK in 2008, stayed in Soldotna from July to Sept., took a ride up as far as Nikiski. Lots of Petro and NG going on around there IIRC.