Should I buy '97 tlc w/ 65k @ 17.5k (1 Viewer)

[csabi]

New to tlc's, been looking for a while & a 40th anniversary w/ 65k for 17.5k is available @ local Infinity dealer. It appears clean & straight. Two obvious areas, some surface rust on running boards & fair amount of surface rust covering undercarriage, also the woodgrain is delaminating & looks terrible.

Are there any significant areas I should be concerned about?
Anyone know of a tlc checklist I should follow before committing to this & is the price high/low/reasonable.

My wife will be driving this frequently on road trips to visit the inlaws. Are tlc's prone to rollover? It has newer Cooper tires, are these any good, if not are they comparable to Firestones?

Thanks in advance,

Jim

 

[ParadiseCruiser]

Jim -

Welcome to the MUD forum.

You are going to find that the topics you mentioned have been covered repeatedly, and in some depth on this list over the past several months. I would offer you a couple of suggestions...

Spend some time with the "Search" tool on this list, and look up cost, value, tires, etc. and you will find in-depth discussions. Also, without mentioning where you are located, the "How much is it worth" question is impossible to answer - the value of Cruisers varies greatly. Out here in Calif, for exmaple, they tend to be several thousand higher than, say, in New England.

Also, familiarize yourself with Slee Off-Road http://www.sleeoffroad.com/index.html, and navigate your way to their technical pages. You will find a "Newbie" list that will answer many of your current questions, and others you haven't thought of yet.

There are many other resources , but this will get you started.

Good luck !

Cheers, R -

 

[Ron_Z.]

Jim,
Welcome to TLCA & Ih8mud. Most will agree that sleeoffroad is your best source and I think he has a checklist of things to look for. And as Ron stated, it all depends on where you live as to a good price. Since you have been looking for a while, how does it measure up to what you've been seeing? When I was looking for my '97, I found quite a few that had the genuine artificial wood worn away as well, especially by the window controls. If that's an issue, they can always be replaced. I have a set of OEM running boards fairly cheap if that's an issue.

As for roll-overs, I've seen an Escort rubber side upl after rear ending a parked Toyota mini-van in a 25 mph speed zone. I'm in the Chicago area and have done 2 trips to TN., 1 - Utah, 1 - AZ and 1 - S.D. and have NEVER felt unsafe. And that's lifted & running 33" MTR's. Prior to the lift, I had a guy pull out in front of me while I was going about 50 mph. Had to swerve into the oncoming lane and back in so not to hit a concrete pillar (all in the distance of a 4 lane intersection) and I was VERY pleased with the outcome. Other then the pucker factor, realizing that had I not swerved, the other driver would have definately been killed and being really pissed at him for going through a red light, all was ok. Given it's size, the old set of tires that were still on it, the speed and the bad rap suv's get for roll overs; I felt it handled exceptionally well. I can't think of another vehicle that I would rather put my wife and kids in for safety.

Sorry, don't know about the Cooper's

Good luck,
Ron Z.

 

[warpdriv]

You can go to www.kbb.com to get a price. Any initial price for a car is too high.

HTH,

 

[Beowulf]

Jim,

Welcome.

>> Two obvious areas, some surface rust on running boards <<
>> & fair amount of surface rust covering undercarriage, <<

Where has the truck spent it's life? For most of us the running boards are a non-issue 'cause they're going in the trash soon. The rust on the bottom might be a concern but it's hard to say without pictures.

>> also the woodgrain is delaminating & looks terrible. <<

Normal. Peel the junk off. You can do it the hard way with a heat gun (hair dryer) and something to gently pry it up without marring the surface underneath. Or, you can do what Junk and I did and use a chisel.... comes off quicker that way.

-B-

 

[Rookie2]

I just removed my DS running board (along with a couple other items) and had it sanded and repainted. If you take them off youself and drop them off at a body shop, you're probably looking at $150 to $200 for both boards. The paint on the top edge of mine had chipped off and the metal had surface rust. No big deal, just another thing to think about.

Good Luck,
Rookie2

 

[landtank]

I religiously soak mine down with bleach and try to hit every puddle I can. The idea is to rot those POS of my truck so I need new sliders for my wife to be able to get in.

I've recently lost 60lbs so the jumping on them routine has lost it's edge, but I'm persistant .