Cars And Track Staff
The Beauty of the Beater: Why I Still Love My F-150 – Special Guest Post By R. Vosseller
Driving an old truck is a judgment-free experience. Headlights left on? “Hey man, you do you.” Swerving through unplowed snow? “You’ve got this—we’re in this together.” She isn’t as pretty as she used to be, and she’s definitely rough around the edges, but she’s the first to volunteer when it’s time to move that junk you’ve been paying to store for six years. My Ford F-150 is the automotive equivalent of pizza and beer: simple, reliable, and always welcome.
Built to be Fixed
Ford made millions of these, which means parts are cheap and everywhere. Years ago, back in my “minivan and car seat” era, I had a Chrysler Town & Country. Replacing the water pump required lifting the entire engine just to see the damn thing.
Not so with the F-150. Everything is accessible. In fact, I once replaced the water pump on a summer afternoon just because I thought it might be acting up. (It wasn’t, but the point is—I could.)
To the Moon and Beyond
My 2013 F-150 currently has 206,000 miles on the clock. I’m on a mission to settle a bet with a friend who drove his truck to 240,000 miles—the average distance from the Earth to the Moon. I intend to hit that lunar milestone and keep right on going.
In 13 years, the repairs have been shockingly minimal:
- The Tech: Around 2017, the SYNC system pulled a “HAL 9000” and started speaking in tongues. I skipped the exorcist and replaced the whole thing with a budget-friendly unit from Crutchfield.
- The Transmission: In 2022, a hydraulic channel failed. It was a $2,800 fix using a sourced part, but that was the only “major” surgery.
- The Rest: A broken window motor, a fan motor, and my “false alarm” water pump.
Through it all, the 3.7L V6 has asked for nothing but regular oil changes.
The Bottom Line
She isn’t a beauty queen. She drinks gas by the gallon and handles the highway like a stumbling house guest. But when there’s work to be done, she never fails.
She’s tall enough to see over traffic, small enough to (barely) park in the city, and cheap enough that I can fix her myself on a Sunday afternoon. She’ll never win a car show, and if she showed up in Monaco, it would be at the service entrance to deliver HVAC parts. But she’ll get you through the daily grind, every single time.
