Everybody loves a shiny new truck. There’s something about being the first to ever drive this rig down the road, proudly parking it in your driveway, and taking photos for posterity. But, pragmatically speaking, there are smarter ways to spend your money. And no, we’re not talking about buying a beater for as little as you can spend and driving it until the wheels fall off. There’s a lot of middle ground between buying the cheapest used truck you can find and going into debt on a bare-bones 2026 model.
To be more specific, a 13th-generation Ford F-150 Limited is more powerful than an entry-level 2026 model, and it comes with nearly all the amenities for about half the price of a brand-new top-spec pickup. What you’re getting in a five-year-old Limited is nothing less than a top trim Ford at a base trim price. If you don’t mind being the second owner, we think this is one of the smartest buys on the used pickup market right now. Here’s why.
A Look At The 2020 Ford F-150 Limited
2018 Ford F-150 rear 3/4 hauling hayFord
The 2020 Ford F-150 was the last model year for the 13th generation, sold from the 2015 to 2020 model years. The 13th-gen F-150 marked the nameplate’s major transition to aluminum bodies, shaving hundreds of pounds off the curb weight.
2020 Ford F-150 Limited Performance Specs
Engine
3.5-Liter Twin-Turbo 6-Cylinder
Power
450 hp
Torque
510 lb-ft
Transmission
10-Speed Automatic
Drivetrain
Rear or All-Wheel Drive
Maximum Towing Capacity
7,000 lbs
The 2020 Ford F-150 is available with a 5.0-liter V8, but, at 395 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, this is actually a downgrade from the Limited’s twin-turbo V6. The Limited’s intercooled V6 delivers an impressive 450 hp with the help of a dual-exhaust system and a 10.0:1 compression ratio.
The Limited Was The Best Of The Bunch
The Limited comes standard with a four-door Super Crew cab. It was a top trim in more ways than one, producing more horsepower than some other trims and featuring more creature comforts and onboard tech. Standard features in a 2020 Limited include the following.
- Keyless entry
- Keyless start
- Heated steering wheel
- Heated front seats
- Automatic parking
- Remote engine start
- Leather seats
- Leather steering wheel
- Seat massage
- Woodgrain interior trim
- Sunroof Premium audio
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Ford CoPilot 360
- Adaptive cruise control
- 360-degree camera
- Pro trailer backup assist
- Blind spot monitoring
- Advanced pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking
While the 13th-gen Ford F-150 didn’t earn a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it did earn a Good rating in every crash test and a Superior rating for the front crash prevention systems found in the higher trims. It also scored a Poor rating for headlights and a Marginal rating for the ease of using child safety seats, which cost the truck a straight-A report card.
What Will A 2020 Ford F-150 Limited Cost You In 2026?
2018 Ford F-150 front 3/4Ford
To get an idea of what we can expect to pay for a 2020 Ford F-150 Limited, let’s start with an average of prices we found on the CarBuzz Marketplace.
Original MSRP
Fair Purchase Price
2020 Ford F-150 Limited
$72,855
$35,403
This is an overall average, rather than specifically for a two- or four-wheel drive model. It assumes typical mileage, which is usually somewhere around 15,000 miles a year, depending on factors like the truck’s location.
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Buyer’s Guide To The 13th-Generation P552 Ford F-150
The 13th-generation Ford F-150 was a game-changer. Here’s what you should know about this Blue Oval truck before you buy.
Based on these numbers, we would argue that the sweet spot is somewhere just under 100,000 miles. These trucks frequently sell in the $30,000-$35,000 range, and still have plenty of good years ahead of them. At 200,000 miles, it may be well past the halfway point in the rig’s life, depending on how well the previous owner kept it.
What Does It Cost To Own A 2020 Ford F-150 Limited?
2019 Ford F-150 Limited interior seats steering wheelFord
When it comes to dependability, J.D. Power gave the 2020 Ford F-150 a Quality & Reliability score of 78/100. This rating is typical of a full-size pickup.
RepairPal estimates an annual maintenance cost of $788, with the following among the most expensive common problems:
- Valve cover gasket replacement: $390 – $520
- Air conditioning receiver drier assembly replacement: $374 – $525
- Window regulator motor replacement: $246 – $400
- Steering center link replacement: $196 – $236
- Blower motor resistor replacement: $91 – $137
Some of the more worrying reports on Car Complaints include four instances of engine knockat an average mileage of 37,850 miles and two reports of excessive oil consumption, averaging $500 in repairs. Assuming you’re buying a truck in good condition, and you’re not skipping oil changes, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine in the 2020 Limited is about as reliable as anything you’d find in a Ford these days.
Owning A Truck Is Often Pricier Than Buying One
As for all the other expenses that come with owning this used pickup: According to CarEdge, insurance for an F-150 should cost you around $2,424 each year, assuming a 40-year-old driver with good credit, full coverage, and a clean driving record. The EPA says you’d pay around $2,300 per year in fuel, assuming you’re going with the four-wheel-drive model, driving around 15,000 miles each year, and spending 55% of your time on city streets.
Add it all up, and here’s what we get.
2020 Ford F-150 Limited Ownership Costs
Maintenance
$788
Insurance
$2,424
Fuel
$2,300
Total Annual Expenses
$5,512
Obviously, your mileage would definitely vary. You might go with basic liability and cut your insurance costs in half, and this might not be your daily driver, meaning you’re putting nowhere close to 15,000 miles a year on the pickup. For a typical used pickup buyer, this is somewhere in the ballpark of what you should be spending to own a 2020 F-150 Limited and keep it legal.
Is A 2020 Limited A Smarter Buy Than A Brand-New F-150?
2025-2026 Ford F-150 front 3/4 angle in redFord
As we see it, a 2020 Ford F-150 Limited in good condition, with low miles, is giving you a lot more value for your money than a brand-new entry-level Ford F-150. It’s a more powerful truck, it comes with all the upgrades that would cost you upwards of $60,000 in a brand-new model, and a well-kept F-Series can easily last hundreds of thousands of miles.
Additionally, the 13th-generation Ford F-150 was a much bigger leap forward than the 14th-gen version of the truck. The 13th-gen saw the F-150 going all-aluminum, while the biggest upgrades for 2021, if you’re not buying a hybrid, would mostly be minor, incremental changes, like improved displays and a redesigned steering wheel. That is to say that there are plenty of reasons to buy a 13th-gen F-150 over a 12th-gen F-150, but a 14th-gen model felt, in some ways, more like a facelift than a whole new generation.
Related
Why Classic Pickup Trucks Are Still So Popular
The term “out with the old, in with the new” certainly doesn’t apply to classic pickups.
Ultimately, the only thing you’re really giving up when you buy a gently pre-owned F-150 over a brand-new model is that new-car smell, and we’ve been reading that that’s not even good for you, anyway. Unless you insist on being the truck’s very first owner, we can’t think of a good reason to recommend an entry-level 2026 Ford F-150 over a fully loaded 2020 model.
Sources: Ford, CarEdge, Car Complaints, RepairPal.
