For Sale Is this a steal?

Location

United States

1976 daily driver FJ 40 is for sale near me and The owner is telling me they drive it daily and it runs strong. They won $14,000 for it. There is some rust on the body but nothing major like you would find in the salty belt of the country. The 2F motor is not original but is standard. It needs cosmetic work but runs. The mileage is really unknown as the diameter did not work. What do you think?

 

[satchel]

A steal? No. Probably around market price. I mean the "diameter" doesn't even work.

1976 daily driver FJ 40 is for sale near me and The owner is telling me they drive it daily and it runs strong. They won $14,000 for it. There is some rust on the body but nothing major like you would find in the salty belt of the country. The 2F motor is not original but is standard. It needs cosmetic work but runs. The mileage is really unknown as the diameter did not work. What do you think?View attachment 2126297

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[overton]

With the limited photos, impossible to tell. What the owner is "telling you", I would have verified with a $100 investment in a pre-purchase inspection if you're serious. The devil is in the details. A beautiful stock 76 will bring $30K all day long. I can see dropping considerable coin into this to make it a "beautiful stock 76"

 

[tstepp920]

Don't do it.

 

[thebigredrocker]

I think I saw that rig near bellevue, up by the church that has temporary shelters and mess hall.

 

[mattcamp]

Is that primer over repairs? Because it doesnt look like they repaired the ambulance door rust, just primered it. I have always wanted a dash lock box. Anyway, yeah, hard to tell from what I can see, maybe ok, I feel like there are still some sweet 40's in that price range. A steal would be half that IMHO

 

[xtremeVA]

Be patient and picky in what you purchase. These rigs can be money-pits so do your homework before jumping in.

 

[oakweb]

Agreed not a steal

 

[TalaLeo]

Thanks for all the replies and words of caution.
I’m going to go see this cruiser this week. I will take a crap ton of photos and share them in case any of you can spot something.

If the cruiser was for $5k and drives straight all day etc I would definitely buy it. Sounds like most of you probably would too!

Feel free to share any top issues to watch out for, outside of:

Rust in the tub and floor boards
Rust in rear quarter panels.
Lack of a compression test