What Ranger to buy?

[harkauto]

I'm looking for used Ford Ranger and I read by the so-called experts what to do, not to do, and what to stay away from.

Some say stay away from:

All 4WD vehicles.... Could have been someones weekend 'MUDDIN TRUCK" with a tranny, engine and suspension about to shell out.

Used car dealerships...... Because it's hard telling what your getting for the two and a half prices they will want for it. Dealerships can also be reluctant to talk about a vehicles history.

Stay away from the 4 cylinder engines. Too under powered.

Stay away form standard cabs if you are over 6' tall.

By not considering the dealerships this really limits me from the field of selection. Yes there are some being sold by private individuals, but there are also a lot of nice looking trucks sitting on car lots as well.
My friend told me to not shy away from car lots, but be careful and don't act desperate. He said to test the car for a strong tranny by holding down on the brake and accelerating in gear and look for slippage. Run the truck at highway speeds, get it good and warmed up, park on a section of clean concrete, pop the hood and look for smells, odors and leaking fluids under the vehicle.

As far as price and buying the car goes.....
My dad, who some consider the king of automobile negotiation told me to do your homework and investigate what the typical trade-in value is for a specific Ranger. He said on a typical 2002 Ranger if a dealer has a sticker price on it of $4500.00 and doing your homework you can figure the dealer has only allowed maybe $2000.00 trade-in tops on a twelve year old truck. Dad said if you pulled $3000.00 dollars cash out of your pocket, dad said he would bet me the dealer would not let me off the car lot with that cash still in your pocket.

I don't really want to consider anything under a 2002 V6 because I understand that Ford made some major engine improvements in 2001 and 2002 going to overhead valve cam engines rather than the old push rod engines. The made a change in V6 engines in 2001 and again in 2002 but I'm not real sure what the difference is and which is the better engine of the two.
Or, should I still consider trucks under the 2002 year for some reason.?

I welcome your thoughts!