I bought my Bronco II from a church sale for $900. It was a fantastic deal even if it was covered in rust. The car had come south from Michigan and looked like the salt was never washed off. Lots of rust on the back fenders and some on the doors. I do not think the rust was Fords fault but the paint was. Some colors of this year model had some serious paint problems. My blue and gray Bronco is now a mix of rust, blue, gray, silver and primer. I call it the Critter.

You are probably asking why I would recommend this vehicle. Well, it is a great deal if you want cheap transportation, and you could get four wheel drive as a bonus. You can buy one of these gems for around 2K in good condition. Or you could get one like mine for a lot less. My Bronco is loaded with a 2.9 V6, power windows, tilt wheel, adjustable wipers, lumbar support, cruise control and a great stereo system. It has a manual transmission that I had replaced after about six months. The garage said they are a problem and I should not be surprised that it went out. I could have still driven the car but third gear was real loud, so I fixed it before it left me on the side of the road. This vehicle has the tightest turning of any I have ever driven. You can make a full U-turn on a goat trail. This comes in handy when four wheeling or just trying to find the fastest way out of a parking lot. I have about 120K miles on it and have only done the transmission and water pump. The valve cover gaskets have leaked from the first day I got it but I just tighten the bolts about once a year to slow it down some.

The Bronco II is reliable but it is not a power house. I put mine in 4WD Low to get my boat out of the lake. I do not think it would pull it out in 2WD. It will cruise the highway at 70 – 80 MPH but you should not pull out in front of anyone. The 4WD works great and will get you out of mud or climb a steep hill. I have used it several times in low range to pull cars out of ditches. If you carry a chain you could make a bunch of friends when the roads freeze in Mississippi. I get over 20 MPG with the 5 speed manual you can expect less from an automatic.

Amount Paid (US$): 900
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1989