Is Tim McGraw’s F-150 from ‘7500 OBO’ worth $7,500?
In country music superstar Tim McGraw’s song “7,500 OBO,” he sings about his beloved Ford F-150 that he’s selling. We’ve all owned that one car or truck that holds a special place in our hearts, and this was his.
In the Top-40 country song, though, he’s not selling his F-150 truck because he doesn’t love it. Instead, he’s selling it because his girlfriend is gone and he has so many memories of her in the truck he has to let it go. He’s as sad to lose the truck, with a dent in the bumper, as he is the girl.
He says he wants $7,500 or-best-offer for the truck. So, it begs the question: Is $7,500 a fair deal for an ’06 F-150?
Maybe he’s close to the right price in ‘7500 OBO’
In the first verse he lays out the specs of the truck:
“7500 OBO” lyrics:
“Got an ’06 stick shift
Dark blue F-150 in good condition
Got a hundred and nineteen thousand miles
Only five on the new transmission
It’s got leather seats, a sun roof
It’s sittin’ on 33s, it runs smooth”
A little bit of going through Ford’s back catalog tells us that his truck had the 4.2 liter inline-6. The 4.2 was the only F-150 available with a stick shift in 2006. That’s a bummer for Tim because 5.4 liter V8 was powerful for the day. Those trucks were quick. Not as quick as an F-150 Lightning, but, 202 horsepower was plenty for a work truck like the STX.
We do know, however, that F-150s do hold their value.
The truck in the “7500 OBO” video is not a 2006
The truck in the “7500 OBO” video is NOT an ’06, nor is it dark blue, as the song says. Instead, it’s a 9th generation F-150 STX Extended Cab. The ninth-generation F-150s were made between 1992 and 1997. That means it likely has the 4.9-liter inline 6, which in the 1990s wasn’t known as a barn burner, with just 145 horsepower.
The next-generation trucks that McGraw is singing about in the song, often called the “soap bars” because of their aero styling, are not as beloved as the earlier Twin-I-Beam suspended, slab-sided, trucks of the 1980s and 1990s. On Edmunds.com, reader reviews generally say the 2006 F-150s are reliable trucks and go more than 200,000 with ease.
The XLT then, like today, was the upgrade over the STX. But, the STX with a manual gearbox has a loyal following on forums like FordF150.net, where enthusiasts still work together to keep these trucks on the road. In 2006, they cost about $23,000 new.
But they do have one major drawback: They are some of the most-stolen vehicles on the road.
What does NADA say?
NADA’s online nadaguides.com guide is a good tool for estimating the value of a car or truck. It’s a good place to start for a price estimate if you’re planning on buying, or selling, a vehicle.
Since we know most of the specs on his truck in “7500 OBO,” we can plug them into the guide: 2006, STX, 2-wheel drive, 119,000 miles. We can also select the six-cylinder, and the “non-automatic” options. There’s no box to check for leather seats or aftermarket 33s (the originals were a puny 255/70R17).
The Results? Come on Tim!
We know the truck has sentimental value for you, but a clean 2006 STX is only worth $6,125 according to NADA. And, we know from the song that yours has a dent in the bumper, so we can’t even call it a “clean retail,” price. Also, in the second verse, we learn that truck has a new transmission, but if Tim doesn’t have receipts for that, we can dock him another $1,000 or so.
Also, there were a few recalls on F-150s from those years, McGraw, that we don’t know if you’ve addressed.
So what’s our offer? Let’s say $4,000, unless it comes with a signed CD and concert tickets.
