These are some nice examples
I think I'm in the owners club now! 2003 117k
- Thread starter Brett Branch
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Too filthy! I'm with @LX470Mack . No way anyone lets their vehicle get that dirty and do a good job at basic maintenance. Get another $2k off and maybe..... but the person getting the good deal here is the seller 
I'm of the opinion, if you don't care care of the inside of the vehicle, you probably don't take care of the rest of the vehicle...
- Thread starter
- #24
I *think* you guys are being too harsh, maybe. 
Four kids over 7 years can make a mess. And so far as vehicle care beyond the cosmetic, the seller did have it enrolled in a service program and did take it in for service, at the dealer. That history plus the fact that everything works, and nothing broken, smooth running, smooth shifting, idling, no rust, etc. and I'm committed to going for it. Even with all the filth inside, nothing is broken like the console hinges and latches, etc. And the suggestions to fly and drive, I get it, but... did you miss my wife won't let me do that? I had found this GREAT truck and deal in Texas, but that was vetoed. I do understand her point of view. Once you've flown to see something, you are kinda pressured to buy because of the expense of the flight and the time not going for nothing (its hard to get time to fly for nothing). And a lot of things aren't exposed by pictures, and you will only see what the seller wants you to see and you'll never get an accurate assessment until you see in person, so you could spend a lot of time and money going to look at a lot of crap. But limiting the shopping to a few hours radius severely limits the choices.
New question - given that the TB/WP service is overdue, I've been reading the procedure and parts list, but for fun decided to call the local dealer, they are running a special on TB/WP replacement, all drive belts and pieces for this service for $699. At that price, should I let the dealer do it rather than doing it myself?
Four kids over 7 years can make a mess. And so far as vehicle care beyond the cosmetic, the seller did have it enrolled in a service program and did take it in for service, at the dealer. That history plus the fact that everything works, and nothing broken, smooth running, smooth shifting, idling, no rust, etc. and I'm committed to going for it. Even with all the filth inside, nothing is broken like the console hinges and latches, etc. And the suggestions to fly and drive, I get it, but... did you miss my wife won't let me do that? I had found this GREAT truck and deal in Texas, but that was vetoed. I do understand her point of view. Once you've flown to see something, you are kinda pressured to buy because of the expense of the flight and the time not going for nothing (its hard to get time to fly for nothing). And a lot of things aren't exposed by pictures, and you will only see what the seller wants you to see and you'll never get an accurate assessment until you see in person, so you could spend a lot of time and money going to look at a lot of crap. But limiting the shopping to a few hours radius severely limits the choices.New question - given that the TB/WP service is overdue, I've been reading the procedure and parts list, but for fun decided to call the local dealer, they are running a special on TB/WP replacement, all drive belts and pieces for this service for $699. At that price, should I let the dealer do it rather than doing it myself?
New Carpets would make a big difference.
Personally, TB/WP for $699 sounds like a deal to me.
My 2002 only has 33K miles on her and $699 to do the TB/WP would sound tempting.
Personally, TB/WP for $699 sounds like a deal to me.
My 2002 only has 33K miles on her and $699 to do the TB/WP would sound tempting.
How on earth can a 2002 have 33k miles? Are you guys even driving it? Lol. That's insane.
I *think* you guys are being too harsh, maybe.
New question - given that the TB/WP service is overdue, I've been reading the procedure and parts list, but for fun decided to call the local dealer, they are running a special on TB/WP replacement, all drive belts and pieces for this service for $699. At that price, should I let the dealer do it rather than doing it myself?
For $699, I would let the dealer do the TB/WP service, unless you really want to do it yourself. That's a great price and it's a major weekend project that's got some tricky parts (crank nut removal comes to mind).
A clean car makes a big difference. If you buy it I'd count on a new carpet and floormats. You won't clean that carpet well enough no matter what, IMO.
Nothing else threw up a flag, but for me a professional, high quality detail would be money very well spent.
Nothing else threw up a flag, but for me a professional, high quality detail would be money very well spent.
Insane is right. I purchased it a year ago with only 24K miles on it.
It was owned by an 80 year old lady who had a lot of money and too many cars.
Spent most of its life under a car cover in her garage.
Its a unicorn for sure. I had been looking for a 100 for over a year
and one day my Isuzu Trooper broke down and had to be trailered
home and presto this appeared on Ebay. She is a sweet ride indeed.
I would run not walk away. I agree that to let the cosmetics get to that point of decay show
lack of basic concern for care and maintenance. There are much better ones out there for not
much more money. I spent the last year looking at many examples and finally found one on
Craigslist LA a couple of weeks ago. Keep looking!
lack of basic concern for care and maintenance. There are much better ones out there for not
much more money. I spent the last year looking at many examples and finally found one on
Craigslist LA a couple of weeks ago. Keep looking!
i'm not as much of a car expert as others, but in my own personal experience a dirty interior doesn't always mean a neglected vehicle. My old pathfinder had a lighter tan cloth interior and it was my dd for about 4 years which I used for a variety of chores (college, pizza delivery, commuting, hauling bicycles, bricks, firewood) and when I traded it on my current vehicle I had put about 80-90k miles on it. Yet I still made sure oil was changed and other routine maintenance was taken care of, but the interior wasn't the cleanest even if I vacuumed and wiped it down regularly. If you have service records that are more recent and for important work, go for it! And from what i've read $700 for a TB/WP job is a very very good price.
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But its more then just the inside, the outside seems to have been neglected too...
I would do as some others have recommended....buy, baseline, clean.
A door ding and some bumper scratches doesn't mean neglected maintenance. I'm sure the door crease was caused by a kid swinging the door open and the bumper scratches came from a distracted parent.
I have saved some filthy interior carpets from the trash by removing them and taking them to the car wash. A hot soap spray will remove most of that mess. Heck, you may be able to get by with a handheld carpet shampoo machine. Since you have driven this vehicle I trust you are comfortable with it, since you agreed to buy it.
A door ding and some bumper scratches doesn't mean neglected maintenance. I'm sure the door crease was caused by a kid swinging the door open and the bumper scratches came from a distracted parent.
I have saved some filthy interior carpets from the trash by removing them and taking them to the car wash. A hot soap spray will remove most of that mess. Heck, you may be able to get by with a handheld carpet shampoo machine. Since you have driven this vehicle I trust you are comfortable with it, since you agreed to buy it.
Not meaning to be harsh here....just responding to your statements....
Sure they can make a mess but that doesn't mean you should be OK and satisfactory with the results of 4 kids....its also pretty common that a demolition derby results in a fairly damaged vehicle but that doesn't mean I should be OK with it if I'm looking to buy the vehicle. Who cares how and why the car is filthy. It's filthy and there are better options out there. If you want a abnormally filthy vehicle just because it has lower mileage then you have found it. By the way, that kind of filth is very much the exception and pretty darn rare with this caliber of vehicle.
Sure they can make a mess but that doesn't mean you should be OK and satisfactory with the results of 4 kids....its also pretty common that a demolition derby results in a fairly damaged vehicle but that doesn't mean I should be OK with it if I'm looking to buy the vehicle. Who cares how and why the car is filthy. It's filthy and there are better options out there. If you want a abnormally filthy vehicle just because it has lower mileage then you have found it. By the way, that kind of filth is very much the exception and pretty darn rare with this caliber of vehicle.
Brett, I'm in Portland and it's been a long, wet, messy winter. My carpets are trashed from ADULTS with muddy boots... my two kids are the least of my problems. A few trips out to the coast and that fine dark sand will work its way into every crevice and look bad, but it doesn't necessarily indicate woeful neglect; it's just hard to keep up if you actually get out and DO stuff during our winters.
BTW, I bought a '98 LC from Medford a few months ago, but it had 280k, which I was ok with. Very well maintained, full, up-to-date dealer maintenance records, and normal wear & tear. You may have seen it on CL, it was listed for around $6K.
If you're ok with $14k then follow your gut.
BTW, I bought a '98 LC from Medford a few months ago, but it had 280k, which I was ok with. Very well maintained, full, up-to-date dealer maintenance records, and normal wear & tear. You may have seen it on CL, it was listed for around $6K.
If you're ok with $14k then follow your gut.
Like others have said, the general lack of upkeep on the interior is concerning, but not as concerning as a timing belt that is 27k miles overdue. That shows a pretty significant disregard for the vehicle. The price isn't good enough for me to overlook that, nevermind the $1200 expense as soon as you buy it.
I think this entire thread overlooks the main issue. It's not whether the truck has been used and dirtied...all of our trucks have been used and dirty at some point in their lives, the issue is that the owner didn't feel the need to clean it up before posting it for sale. That annoys me. If you can't take the time or spend a little $$ to give your truck a basic cleaning out of respect to your potential buyers, you will never ever have my business. This is a similar mentality to people who rent houses or apartments and move out of them leaving them completely filthy. I was raised to leave a rental cleaner than I found it when I moved in. When I go to sell a vehicle, it's clean. It's washed. It's vacuumed. Simple. Towards the other end of the spectrum is my dad who literally hand details his rental cars before he returns them. He's a tad OCD.
This is how great CL bargains happen, though. My buddy practically makes a living off buying badly-advertised older Ford trucks, washes them, tunes the engine, takes a ton of good pics, and re-posts. He averages $1-2k profit each.
This LC, though, is still commanding top dollar...
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- #40
The vehicle wasn't even listed on Craigslist, or Autotrader, or any "normal" vehicle classifieds. Not sure the seller was that motivated... it came up of all places on FB marketplace, which only shows on phones, not even viewing FB on PCs. Because of the lack of real advertising, the vehicle wasn't getting anyone looking at it and the seller was continuing to daily drive it. I know it was on FB marketplace for at least 4 months. So I understand not cleaning it for sale with no one looking at it. I ignored it for a long time because I really want(ed) an '06-07.
So far as top dollar, for my area which I am constrained to, the only other options that have come available over the past 6 months have either been for significantly more money (one in my area is listed on here by another 'mud member, looks like a very nice vehicle, even lower miles at ~80k, but also has a small dent so not perfect though a LOT nicer, but he's asking $24k. I'm fine saving $10k in exchange for a dirty interior that I'm hoping I can detail out), or significantly higher miles, with most around 220k++ for ~$10k, and most of those also 98-02 models so lacking the extra gear, which I am willing to pay a bit more for so I can hold an appropriate gear when doing light towing over mountain passes.
Based on my watching the market for 6 months, I really think this is an $17-19k vehicle once baselined and maintenance caught up and presuming I can get the interior looking pretty decent. Which I hope I can. Not sure. If things were more than dirty I would have walked away (broken handles, hinges, etc.). But I'm not looking to flip unless an '06-07 drops in my lap. And I'm sure I'll be getting into it with muddy boots. But I'll keep them on washable floor mats (weathertech or similar).
The door was a kid carelessly opening the door. I think it can be repaired fairly inexpensively by a body shop I use. The bumper was done at their house, they have an odd cement pillar anchoring a corner of a carport and it was grazed while parking. I can sand and paint the bumper cover myself, or, what I'd like to do is replace with a Dissent bumper eventually.
So far as top dollar, for my area which I am constrained to, the only other options that have come available over the past 6 months have either been for significantly more money (one in my area is listed on here by another 'mud member, looks like a very nice vehicle, even lower miles at ~80k, but also has a small dent so not perfect though a LOT nicer, but he's asking $24k. I'm fine saving $10k in exchange for a dirty interior that I'm hoping I can detail out), or significantly higher miles, with most around 220k++ for ~$10k, and most of those also 98-02 models so lacking the extra gear, which I am willing to pay a bit more for so I can hold an appropriate gear when doing light towing over mountain passes.
Based on my watching the market for 6 months, I really think this is an $17-19k vehicle once baselined and maintenance caught up and presuming I can get the interior looking pretty decent. Which I hope I can. Not sure. If things were more than dirty I would have walked away (broken handles, hinges, etc.). But I'm not looking to flip unless an '06-07 drops in my lap. And I'm sure I'll be getting into it with muddy boots. But I'll keep them on washable floor mats (weathertech or similar).
The door was a kid carelessly opening the door. I think it can be repaired fairly inexpensively by a body shop I use. The bumper was done at their house, they have an odd cement pillar anchoring a corner of a carport and it was grazed while parking. I can sand and paint the bumper cover myself, or, what I'd like to do is replace with a Dissent bumper eventually.
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