Kicked Some Tires Yesterday

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 11/18/2019 at 09:07 • Filed to: None

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I convinced my father to go look at a truck with me yesterday, it’s a 2002 Silverado that’s been on Craigslist for a couple weeks now. It was a solid 5-footer. As it, looks good even from 5 feet away. And it is pretty solid, structurally - no major issues there, or with the drivetrain for that matter. But:

Exhaust leak in front of muffler. Due to rust, probably need to replace a large section because you can’t weld to rust.

P0157 code - possibly an O2 sensor, but possibly a few other things as well. Won’t pass inspection as-is, unknown cost to fix.

Needs tires. The guy told me the current tires came from his OLD YARD TRUCK. Dry rot, cracks. Some decent tread, but not safe for DD or good for snow plowing. Tires ain’t cheap.

Driver’s side rear (suicide) door broken. Does not open. Who knows? Could be simple, or could be hours of chasing down a tiny broken part inside the door, which currently can’t be opened.

Brakes felt soft, but then, I drove there in a 5-series BMW wagon so it’s hard to compare. Might be fine. Rotors all looked good, for what it’s worth

Oh yeah, almost forgot. RUST. Again, there’s almost nothing visible from the outside. It’s really clean for an ‘02 in New England. But the bottom of every door (that I could open), the hood had a couple spots on it (??), and the tailgate is about one season from not working at all, falling apart on the bottom inside and at the hinges.

The listing said $8,500 and the only reason we went is he said something about coming down to $7,500 or so. I thought, hmm, it could be worth $6500 and maybe $7k if it didn’t have the issues that were not easy to see and of course, not mentioned in the ad.

My father said, “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s worth about $5k as is. And that’s what I’m going to tell him.”

Which of course resulted in a friendly handshake and our subsequent departure. He’d rather have a yard truck than $5k toward putting a plow on his other truck. That’s his problem, as is the rust and everything else.

In talking to my father on the way home, he admitted that even now, his truck (which has become yard-only) doesn’t start reliably and he’s worried about it making it through this winter even. And I told him I think the truck we just looked at was one of the nicest trucks under $10k that I’ve seen on Craigslist, even WITH all the issues, because all old trucks will have some issues. So the search is on, and the budget has been increased. We’ll end up splitting the cost and the use of the truck, so we’ll both have plowing ability, a shared extra vehicle for when others might be in the shop or whatever, and it won’t sit for weeks at a time in the summer like his old truck did, if I have full use of it too.

We’re also now open to 4wd trucks without plows, which is good. Because my father also realized that we could just take the plow from his old truck if this is going to be its replacement.

Back to The List of Craig!

Tripper > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 09:25

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You always often shop cars with your pops? I’m only asking because I do and it has become somewhat of a tradition.

We tell each other that the one not buying keeps the one who is buying on a non emotional track toward a good deal. In reality there is almost no chan c e that we are not coming home with at least one car. Unless of course we run into a situation like yours. Which we have plenty of times.

He’s a great negotiator and is at the age where he’s always got at least something in common with the sales guy so even if we don’t make a good deal, it’s normally a nice time and a smooth transaction. It’s sort of an unintentional good cop/bad cop situation.

facw > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 09:40

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We’re also now open to 4wd trucks without plows 

See! You should have bought that Lincoln!

functionoverfashion > Tripper 11/18/2019 at 09:49

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That’s cool, and a nice tradition, of sorts.

I can’t say we usually do shop for cars together, but since a tree knocked out two of their cars on the same day, and their truck was due for replacement, too, I’m taking a very active role in helping them find replacements, whether temporary or permanent.

So far they’ve bought a 2006 BMW 530xi wagon with ~90,000 miles, and a 2007 Honda CR-V for $2,500 with almost 200,000 miles. The CR-V will get them through the winter until they can get a Honda Clarity, which is proving to be more complicated than just slapping down a stack of bills at the dealer. And now I’m trying to parlay the momentum into replacing the truck that could have really been replaced 4 years ago .

He mostly defers to me in the negotiation and/or detailed inspection, but he certainly knows a lot and tends to be very skeptical, which is good. I did a lot of sales stuff in my prior job, so I’m very comfortable talking to people about everything that’s wrong with a vehicle and being totally honest about value. 

The owner of this truck said, “Geez I need you to come with me when I go look at used cars! You’re very thorough! ” haha

functionoverfashion > facw 11/18/2019 at 09:54

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ha! I had to think for a minute there. 

My biggest problem is time and distance. I looked on CL last night and there are two trucks I’d like to check out, both are 90 minutes away. I just... can’t do that... not this week, and maybe not until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

What I need is to wait about 2-3 more years until the 2015 F-150's are obtainable, because aluminum body!! I have a friend with a ‘15 F150 in North Carolina and he takes very good care of his stuff. That’s a real possibility, but it’s a few years out.

Tripper > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 10:10

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Damn two at once! I’ll chat with private sellers all day, but I won’t talk to anyone at a dealer until I’m ready to go.

functionoverfashion > Tripper 11/18/2019 at 10:30

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I have very limited dealer experience, and it’s all been exactly what I’d expect. Generic, sales-y, trying to be helpful without real product knowledge. Bleh. 

shop-teacher > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 11:41

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A few comments on this truck’s maladies.

-If the suicide door works like the one on my old S-10, it was a 5-minute job with a $30 part.

-Brakes are probably fine, it’s just an old truck. When I got back into my truck after driving around my buddy’s Grand Marquis for a few days, I thought there was something wrong until I re-calibrated my brain.

-As for the rust, the inside bottom of the doors is a huge problem for these.  My driver’s door has a lot, my other 3-doors have a little.  The hoods of these are aluminum.  I assume you noticed rust on the latch area underneath.  That’s a bolt on steel panel that is rusty on mine as well, but it won’t make it to the skin of the hood.

functionoverfashion > shop-teacher 11/18/2019 at 12:01

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Interesting... thanks for the info. I’ll probably look at more of these if I can find ones that are cleaner - I much prefer the GM trucks of this era to the Fords, though I haven’t spent much time in the Fords... they just feel bulkier and the interiors are awful.

You’re probably right about the brakes, it just seemed like a lot of effort to slow down, even compared to my ‘61 Ford.

And the rust, yeah. He had it oil undercoated, but the previous owner probably didn’t. He said “that stops the rust, so it won’t go any further.” Uh, no.

The hood I guess it wasn’t rust, but there were two, 2" diameter paint bubbles. I assumed rust.

None of these things were a big deal on their own. But too much for his asking price - honestly, if it passed inspection and had newer tires, it would have been different. It was just too much all together.

The rocker panels showed signs of major work by the way - could be fine, but they weren’t magically rust-free, it was repaired. 

shop-teacher > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 12:47

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My problem with Fords of the era, is their engines. Over- complicated, under- powered.

Anyways, I agree that truck is overpriced.  As for the hood, sometimes the aluminum will reject the paint.  Usually you see in on Tahoes and Suburbans of the era, as they have aluminum rear lift gates.

functionoverfashion > shop-teacher 11/18/2019 at 12:57

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My problem with Fords of the era, is their engines. Over-complicated, under-powered.

Great! Another reason not to love them.... I think the GM 5.3 and 6.0 are both good engines and would be fine with either. 

shop-teacher > functionoverfashion 11/18/2019 at 13:03

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Agreed.  Don’t sleep on the 4.8 either.  If you find a nice truck with a 4.8, it’ll get the job done. It’s not as fun as the 5.3 or the 6.0, but the same durability.