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2018 Ford F-250

The verdict on the 2018 Ford F-250

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WhipWorthy sticker

2018 Ford F-250

  • Loading owner complaints
  • Loading recalls
  • Loading crash ratings
  • Loading fuel economy

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA, the federal car safety agency, not adjusted for how many were sold.

Compare this carEvery F-250 year

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Steps for every device

Is it worth the price?

We do not price cars.

These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.

  • No costly part has enough owner reported mileages to show where it most often fails on this year.

  • Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost

  • Have the VIN (the car’s 17 character ID number)? Check it is this car, and see its open recalls at NHTSA.

    On the dash at the base of the windshield, or on the driver’s door sticker.

What about the price? Look up the same year, trim and miles on two car listing sites you shop on, and compare. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the dealer offer X ray.

Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.

The full record

Open any section

What owners complain about

397 complaints; the part named most is the steering
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When problems show up

Steering: the middle complaint around 25,000 miles
Loading mileage at failure

Recalls

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Crash ratings

NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight.

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Fuel economy

The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.

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Every year of the F-250

Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Pick a year to open it. The newest model years are not judged yet. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so we compare every year at the same age, not by these totals.

Loading every year of this model

Before you buy this one

5 checks, with a close look at the steering

Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.

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Going to see it? Take the checklist52 checks with the bad signs to look for, saved on your phone.

More with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro, from $15

Seller kit

Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Walk up to the seller ready

Questions to ask the seller of a 2018 Ford F-250, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.

Comes with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans

Write your offer

A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

Send the seller a fair offer

Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2018 Ford F-250, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.

Comes with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans

Will it outlast the loan?

The month of your loan when each part reaches its usual failure miles
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True cost to own

The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years

Car Hunt Pass or Pro

What it really costs to own

What the 2018 Ford F-250 costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.

Comes with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans

My Garage: save this car and see its recalls at a glance.

Car reportPro: every fact on this car in one page to print or save, with room for your notes.

Car report, a Pro feature
See plans

The pass is paid once for 30 days. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days. Its price is a launch price.

Check this exact car

The verdict is about the model year. These checks are about the one in front of you. Most are free or a few dollars.

Copy it, then paste it into each check. Nothing is sent until you open one.

Official checks on this VIN

  1. Open recallsFree

    NHTSA

    Safety recalls on this VIN that are not fixed yet, from the last 15 years.

    A recall already fixed does not show.

    Check recalls at NHTSAnhtsa.gov (opens in a new tab)

  2. Theft and total lossFree

    NICB, the insurance crime bureau

    Whether an insurer reported it stolen and not found, or wrote it off as a total loss.

    Only insurer records. Five checks a day.

    Open VINCheck at NICBnicb.org (opens in a new tab)

  3. Title brandsA few dollars

    NMVTIS, the federal title system

    Salvage, flood, junk and rebuilt brands from any state, and the last miles on the title.

    No repairs, service or recalls. Sold by approved sellers listed on the site.

    See the approved sellersvehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov (opens in a new tab)

  4. Title statusVaries by state

    The state motor vehicle office

    Whether the title is branded in that state and, where the state offers it, whether a lender still has a claim on the car (a lien), so it cannot be sold free and clear.

    It will not name the owner. Each state asks its own way, and some only by mail. Ask to see the seller’s title too.

    Find your state’s officeusa.gov (opens in a new tab)

What a paid report adds

A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:

  • Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
  • Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
  • How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
  • Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.

It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.

Red flags in a history

  • Salvage title

    Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.

  • Rebuilt title

    A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.

  • Flood damage

    Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.

  • Lemon or maker buyback

    The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.

  • Odometer rollback

    A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.

  • Many owners, fast

    Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.

  • Gaps in the records

    Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.

Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.

Before you pay

  • Pre purchase inspection

    Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.

  • Insurance quote

    Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.

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2018 Ford F-250: problems, recalls, verdict · WhipWorthy