Gbreadman32
New Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi, everybody! Welcome to my Rookie Ranger Owner’s Learning Log. I plan to use this thread to document the life of my truck. I’m hoping to capture and log basically everything I do to my Ranger - costs, maintenance, mods, issues, etc. This is not a build thread. I am far from an expert mechanic and don’t do a ton of off-roading or anything like that. I bought a pretty basic XLT and only have a few upgrades planned. Most of what I mod will be on a budget. Aside from hauling a few loads of wrestling mats around every summer, my Ranger will mainly be used for my commute, chauffeuring my 5 and 8 year-old kids around, and weekend warrior type stuff(lumber, mulch, etc). I was lucky enough to take an engines and power trains class in college(Go Hokies!) so I understand about 90% of what’s being discussed on the forums here but, my confidence level for working on my own vehicle stops around doing my own oil changes. My hope is that others with more expertise will chime in here and tell me if I am doing something stupid, so I can learn from all of you and keep my new toy running as long as possible. If I can keep the Ranger on the road as long as my last vehicle, my youngest could be driving it to his High School graduation, which would be pretty cool. At the same time, if anyone on here is even less knowledgeable than I am(unlikely), they might get something out of hearing my experiences and others input too. If nothing else, I’ll try to keep this thread updated for myself, just so I have a record of what I’ve done and how much money I’ve sunk into this thing. Please, everyone feel free to chime in here with questions or comments on anything discussed. Here we go!
For anyone interested, here is my vehicle owner history:
-86 Ford Thunderbird, bought used, had for about 2 years, died and donated
-96 Mercury Mystique, bought used, had for about 1 year, totalled
-94 Subaru Legacy, bought used, had for about 3 years, sold for the same price I paid for it!
-05 Subaru Legacy GT, bought new, had for 8 years, sold off after engine issues
-14 Jeep Patriot, bought new, had for 13 years, traded in for the Ranger
-26 Ranger XLT 4x4 Sport, bought new, picked up about 2 weeks ago, TBD
Here’s my new baby, her sticker, and my initial investment:
This sticker is identical to mine minus the color. I didn’t download a digital version of mine before it got pulled from the dealers website and I’m sure this is easier to read than me taking a picture of mine.
Here is what I paid.
After trade-in, taxes, tags and fees, I was out the door for $37,115.37. Almost $5k under MSRP. I was happy with that. If you think I got a good deal, feel free to congratulate me! If I got hosed, don’t tell me because I feel pretty good about it right now.
She had 14.4 miles on her when I drove her off the lot but I drove her straight to the beach a day later. After two weeks at the beach and some errands, we’re back home with 598.6 miles logged. I didn’t know new cars had a break-in period until I bought my GT(my first new car) and at the time I was told to just take it easy for the first 500 miles or so. I was planning to take it very easy on the Ranger through the first 1000 miles(and do my first oil change at that point) but, I’ve also been told that you need to hit max torque for the piston rings to seat properly during break-in. So while I took it easy on the way down to the beach, I enjoyed putting her through a little more work on the drive back. I did have a brain fart and clicked into cruise control for a bit of my drive down while I was just exploring everything the car had to offer. Luckily, I don’t think I stayed on cruise for more than 5 min due to traffic/lights. For the less experienced, cruise control or otherwise maintaining consistent RPM for an extended period of time during the break-in period is supposed to be a no-no. What does everyone else do for break-in? Do you just take it easy on the gas and brakes or is it better to work the engine? How long do you consider the break-in period? I’d love feedback from others on this. I’ve seen some people saying the first oil change should be at 500 miles to get rid of break-in debris, which I've already passed. My plan was to do the first at 1000, second at 3000, and then get on a schedule of every 4-5k/6mo after that. If anyone has strong thoughts about early oil changes and break-in driving methods, please post them.
I’ll leave it at this for a first log but, while I was away, all my fun accessories that I ordered started getting delivered. Thanks to the people on here and on other social media who made recommendations! On the way or already delivered is a bed cover, bed mat, running boards, splash guards, and all weather mats. I have an appointment for a spray-in liner(Linex) on Thursday so, I’m holding off on the bed mat and cover until that’s in, but I'll try to get the rest installed ASAP and post some pictures, what I paid, how long install took, etc.
Total Investment to date - $37,115.37
For anyone interested, here is my vehicle owner history:
-86 Ford Thunderbird, bought used, had for about 2 years, died and donated
-96 Mercury Mystique, bought used, had for about 1 year, totalled
-94 Subaru Legacy, bought used, had for about 3 years, sold for the same price I paid for it!
-05 Subaru Legacy GT, bought new, had for 8 years, sold off after engine issues
-14 Jeep Patriot, bought new, had for 13 years, traded in for the Ranger
-26 Ranger XLT 4x4 Sport, bought new, picked up about 2 weeks ago, TBD
Here’s my new baby, her sticker, and my initial investment:
This sticker is identical to mine minus the color. I didn’t download a digital version of mine before it got pulled from the dealers website and I’m sure this is easier to read than me taking a picture of mine.
Here is what I paid.
After trade-in, taxes, tags and fees, I was out the door for $37,115.37. Almost $5k under MSRP. I was happy with that. If you think I got a good deal, feel free to congratulate me! If I got hosed, don’t tell me because I feel pretty good about it right now.
She had 14.4 miles on her when I drove her off the lot but I drove her straight to the beach a day later. After two weeks at the beach and some errands, we’re back home with 598.6 miles logged. I didn’t know new cars had a break-in period until I bought my GT(my first new car) and at the time I was told to just take it easy for the first 500 miles or so. I was planning to take it very easy on the Ranger through the first 1000 miles(and do my first oil change at that point) but, I’ve also been told that you need to hit max torque for the piston rings to seat properly during break-in. So while I took it easy on the way down to the beach, I enjoyed putting her through a little more work on the drive back. I did have a brain fart and clicked into cruise control for a bit of my drive down while I was just exploring everything the car had to offer. Luckily, I don’t think I stayed on cruise for more than 5 min due to traffic/lights. For the less experienced, cruise control or otherwise maintaining consistent RPM for an extended period of time during the break-in period is supposed to be a no-no. What does everyone else do for break-in? Do you just take it easy on the gas and brakes or is it better to work the engine? How long do you consider the break-in period? I’d love feedback from others on this. I’ve seen some people saying the first oil change should be at 500 miles to get rid of break-in debris, which I've already passed. My plan was to do the first at 1000, second at 3000, and then get on a schedule of every 4-5k/6mo after that. If anyone has strong thoughts about early oil changes and break-in driving methods, please post them.
I’ll leave it at this for a first log but, while I was away, all my fun accessories that I ordered started getting delivered. Thanks to the people on here and on other social media who made recommendations! On the way or already delivered is a bed cover, bed mat, running boards, splash guards, and all weather mats. I have an appointment for a spray-in liner(Linex) on Thursday so, I’m holding off on the bed mat and cover until that’s in, but I'll try to get the rest installed ASAP and post some pictures, what I paid, how long install took, etc.
Total Investment to date - $37,115.37
Sponsored
