In every used vehicle market, there are a few surprises lurking with otherwise ordinary cars and trucks that have a passionate following. Light-duty pickup trucks are one class of vehicles that turn over pretty quickly when they hit the marketplace, and the 2000 Ford Ranger shown here on craigslist likely won’t last long. While it’s not the most desirable four-wheel drive spec, it’s extremely low mileage with just 32,444 miles on the clock. The usefulness of smaller trucks is enormous, and whether it’s rear-wheel or 4WD doesn’t have much of an effect on desirability.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip. Now, there are certain trucks where having 4WD represents a major bump in value, such as any old Toyota or Nissan pickup. The 4×4 variants of those rigs carry a major premium. That doesn’t seem to be the case with vehicles like the Ranger shown here, likely because these were never heavily promoted as off-road rigs. Now, that’s not to say that you can’t use a Ranger on overgrown trails and tire-deep streams, it’s just that they were never heavily marketed that way. The Ranger and its twin, the Mazda B-Series, were almost always promoted as workaholic in-town rigs, or useful accessories for a beach weekend.
The seller’s truck looks to be an incredibly clean example, outfitted with some nice options like the chrome alloy wheels shown above (although it appears to be riding on the spare rim on the front passenger side.) The rear jump seats are not places you’d want to spend a lot of time, but the focus of this photo is not on backseat comfort but on the cleanliness of the cabin. It looks absolutely mint inside. The plastics and other interior surfaces are not particularly high-quality in domestic vehicles of this era, so to see it in such fine condition suggests that perhaps only the driver’s seat saw much use.
Under the hood is a reliable and decently powerful (for this truck size, at least) 150 horsepower 3.0L V6 engine. The Ranger’s appeal is all about packaging, and it seems like everything was just right: a cabin that was more than comfortable for two occupants; a bed that could swallow a respectable amount of gear; and an engine that wouldn’t blow your mind but would get up to speed without issue, not to mention be cheap to run. The seller is a dealer that always seems to snag a few interesting vehicles each month, and he’s asking $10,995 for a truck you can likely use for the next 10 years while only paying for gas, oil changes, and the occasional tire replacement.
Should show those jump seats to my kids. Hauled them all over PA and to the Jersey Shore towing a pop up camper. With a large dog in there as well. Looking back very happy we never had a accident, not much protection. Had to use 4wd often when towing up steep dirt road ads in the allegheny natl forest. This 2wd wouldn’t cut it.
The shackles on these rusted out first, followed by everything else.
This is overpriced, market isn’t there, yet.
4wd, 5 speed, and 4.0 might get that much
You are very correct. Although here in Nevada we don’t get the rust issues. The 3.0 might show some less horse power. The the torque difference is huge. A base 4.0 4×4 comes with 3.73 gears. Where a base 3.0 comes with 4.10 gears. What does that tell you about the torque? My experience shows that year 2000 and newer Rangers are nowhere as robust ans reliable as the older Rangers. The 3.0 is a nice smooth running grandma engine. Good looking truck, but I would take a big pass.
I came home on leave from Germany back in the late 90’s. Dad had just gotten a brand new Mazda B4000 (same truck except the bigger 4.0 V6). I mean, that thing had maybe 1500 miles on it. He let me borrow it to drive from Texas to AZ to visit Mom with my new wife and baby. What I didn’t tell Dad was I was gonna hop up to Wyoming to visit an old Air Force buddy and his family and hand deliver a case of Maredsous (if you know, you know).
Got back home with THOUSANDS of miles on his brand new truck. He was pissed LOL. Didn’t matter, he’s the type that got bored and got a new car pretty much every year. Ahh memories. Great great little truck, pretty quick with that 4.0 in it. Would still love to have one to this day.
I had a ’98 Ranger Super Cab, 4×4, auto transmission and 4.0 V6. It rode good and did fine driving on a snowy dirt road in the Alleghany Mountains in Southwest Virginia. There was about 4″ fresh snow on the ground, and I was the first to drive it.
As long as there’s no snow on the roads? You’ll be fine with 2wd. If not, get ready to load the cement bags over the rear axle.
I bought a 98 new 3.0 4 speed 4×4 step side got 348k out of it never apart just reg maintenance one of the best rides i ve ever owned still ran when i sold it !!!
miss it every day
I still have my 95 2300 that I bought 15 years ago with about 90K on it. The maroon finish on it still shines. I have the 5 speed 2WD version and have looked to find a rough 3000 or 4000 to swap the V6 in for the underpowered 4 (as well as the typical power windows, etc. that came with the bigger engined model usually). About 155K now and still going strong. I paid $2200 for it, an Alabama truck so no rust, and still no rust anywhere.
The current vehicles ask is to say the least, aspirational if not absurd. They’re a dime a dozen out their…either the Ranger or the Mazda (like the Probe and Eclipse, the same vehicle).
I have a 93 with 227K miles and the 4.0 V6. Plenty of power. I do have to be careful driving it in wet weather. The end tends to fishtail rather easily. Snow? Forget about it!
You can see by the condition of the bed the former owner actually used it as a truck. This is the kind of truck the manufacturers need to bring back
Had a 92 XLT 4.0, 5 speed extended cab. Could surprise people at a stop light. Loved it. Only had it about 2 and a half years. Kids outgrew the jump seats. Turned it in on a 94 Sable GS wagon. 3.8 and 3 seats.
The amazing thing about this ad is the seller actually cleaned the truck up before he took the photos. Great job too.
Another Hank Hill special!