I have been working at Ford dealerships for 17 years and can tell you they are good trucks. My Dad owns one that has 114,000 miles on it and has had no problems. I am also looking to buy an 02 F-150 4x4 for my wife to replace our 2wd explorer. The 2002 to 2003 F-150s are good years for the F-150. They are the last years of that body style, last years of a cable operated throttle, and last years of the 2 valve 5.4L motor. The 2004 and up F-150s have the 3 valve 5.4L motor with an electric throttle body and has those stupid $20 a piece spark plugs that break off in the cylinder head (not fun & very expensive). The last years of a long run of a truck are the most refined and most reliable. The F-150 ran that body style from 1996 to 2003. The common problems to look out for are, trucks that are lifted with bigger tires tend to wear out the ball joints. If the cooling system is neglected the heater cores will leak. The ignition coils can cause misfires if water gets in them (don't pressure wash the engine or go full throttle though a big puddle or water crossing). To prevent this use dielectric grease in the coils. Also use the factory spark plugs and make sure they are tight or your going to have problems. I make a lot of money from people who use cheap spark plugs (spend the extra $4) Towing with any lifted truck and big tires puts a ton of stress on the trans, use an aux. cooler. Maintenance records are a bonus, these truck will go over 300k when properly maintaned. The dealerships parts truck had 350k and was still running strong when they replaced it. Hope this helped, good luck.
