The car market right now may be best described by Sofi Tukker, but some prices are still absurd enough to elicit genuine shock and horror. Usually, though, those prices are limited to new-car dealer markups or certain prestige auction sites. Now a new player has entered those hallowed high-price halls: A 2010 Ford Ranger, for which CarMax wants $23,000.
The truck, for the most part, seems to be in good shape. Some photos appear to have been taken from aboard a pogo stick, but there’s enough detail to show well-preserved seats and not one but two layers of floor mats protecting the carpet.
There’s no hiding, however, that this is a twelve year old pickup truck. The bedliner has scrapes and rips, and the keys are filthy and worn. It’s not even four-wheel-drive! If you want a two-wheel-drive Ford pickup for $23,000, you can still buy one new. It’s called the Maverick, and it includes a warranty.
You really need the longer bed of the Ranger? Fine, a new XL starts at just two and a half grand more than this, again, twelve year old truck. You could spend that difference very quickly in labor costs, chasing down vacuum leaks in decade-old rubber hoses.
This Ranger is in Tampa, where it’s likely lived a life free of road salt, but CarMax has similar trucks around the country for equally baffling prices. There’s one in Buffalo NY for $23,000, with lower mileage but more harsh upstate (or, if you want to get technical, western NY) winters. Greenville, SC has one for $19,000 with over 100,000 miles. These are new-truck prices, creeping in on new-Ranger pricing, for decade-old used cars.
The used car market may be absurd right now, but that doesn’t justify these sorts of absurd small-truck prices. If you’re in the market for a pickup, consider holding off until shortages cool down. Or, if you can’t wait, the Maverick is right there.