1996 Ford Ranger, good deal?

[Mojo027]

Well my parents' 1988 GMC Safari passenger van has been on it's last legs for a few years now. They've continuously been putting some money into it just to keep it on the road and they're about at the end of the ropes. We've been looking at a 1996 Ford Ranger XLT, owned by a neighbor of my aunt's. We aren't too sure about the exact specs, but we do know it's a 4x4 (interchangeable from 2wd), has an extended cab, it's a 1996, it has a little more than 35,000km on it (yes, that number is correct, so thats like around 22,000 miles I guess?), we think it's a 6 cylinder but not sure if it's a 4.0L or 3.0L. They only want around $9500 Canadian for it (~$5000 USD). Do you guys think it's a good deal? I was wondering how the gas would be compared to our old Safari van (which has a 6cyl 4.3L engine).

Thoughts?

[KDM_95Ranger]

I bought a 95 Ranger XLT extended cab (2wd) with 80,000 miles last year from a private first time owner for $3300. It was in great shape. I did have to replace two oxygen sensors. The price you quoted seems a little high but I have not looked at the blue book values.

[amac209]

get a shop to go through it with a fine tooth comb before you buy it. there are several thing that affect a vehicles value such as the obvious(body, tires, winshield, milage, interior, factory options) but theres a lot of hidden things that can come back and bite you such as oil leaks, brakes, balljoints, tie-rods, bushings, exhaust, bearings, u-joints. this seems like very low milage for an 8 year old vehicle and that isn't necessarily a good thing it means either it was used for short trips which are hard on a vehicle or it's been sitting for a while, also bad because seals dry up and leak and other stuff happens. ask the owner how often it's been serviced and what work has been done to it. either way get a shop to look at it i can guarante they will find at least one minor problem and if your still serious about buying it you can use whatever they tell you in the barganing process.
hope this helps

[TheRangerOfDanger]

if there are no problems, then that sounds like a good deal- the blue book on that car, give or take depending on the options, is about $6,480 assuming that the truck doesn't have any real body damage. if it is the 3.0, you can expect to get somewhere around 20 mpg - that's what i get on my 1999 3.0