Can you help value my '89 Eliminator?

[kickstarted]

Hi all, thanks for taking the time to look at this post. I've got an 89 Eliminator I bought back in February of 2010 with 79k miles and its been a wet dream of mine to keep this truck forever but now I'm realizing that’s its just not possible for me to maintain and repair as I'd like. I didn't know of anywhere else to ask my question but here. People have told me its worth anywhere from $300 to $500 but I'm sure its worth more than that if in parts alone.

I'd like to know what’s a fair price I can put on my vehicle, as it's in a rough condition. I'll set this up as the good, the bad, and the ugly... and if you've got some time and sage words, perhaps you could help me out.


Good:
I've got a clean title for the truck, with current registration and inspection. I've got a tubular, custom-made 1/8" rear bumper with built in hitch receiver. Tires are still healthy but no longer Michelins as in the picture, but Generals. The A/C runs ice cold and hasn't been converted to R134. Not much body damage is on this vehicle besides the occasional scratch or minor dent. It’s got a straight frame and absolutely no accidents from the previous, original, owner (as per the Carfax) or myself. The guy I bought it from only had it for a week in which he realized his daughter that had just got her license would never drive this so I’m not counting him. It's also got a 3" lift that the person that sold it to me had put on, not that 3" is much but it makes it distinguishable in a lot of cars. It has been a good truck for me, carting my motorcycles around and its even taken me from Dallas to Buffalo, not once but twice. As it stands now, it's got 115k miles.

Bad:
It has numerous problems such as coolant leak from the water pump gasket, the engine has an oil leak at the front main pulley, and the top end has been replaced along with the radiator from an overheating incident about a year and a half ago. I haven’t had a chance to replace the u-joints but they’re sitting in the center console. I’ve done all the work myself on the vehicle. The interior looks like a crime scene with the headliner tattered and the dash cracked in many places. I know this car isn't a looker, as it had red paint at one time but now the hood is all faded to gunmetal and some minor rust has settled on the top of the roof.

Ugly:
It's had a broken steering column since I got it, which just started shorting out my A/C on wide turns. Sometimes, turning is a bit difficult, as if the power steering doesn’t want to kick in until you turn the steering wheel a little more than an 1/8th of the way. The transmission goes into a false neutral sometimes when I get off the gas, which sounds to me like it could be a solenoid problem.

I couldn’t figure a good, true valuation on my Eliminator, and when some friends asked, I threw out a wild guess. Considering I paid $2250 when I first got it and subsequently poured more and more money in up-keeping it, I thought $1500 would suffice.

Thanks again for reading this, I would really appreciate your help.

[mountainman]

You should prob look at NADA guide and KBB. Then just post it on CL and even ebay and see what the market will bear. Of course a member or fellow collector will always want the best deal, i go through this all the time in the many things that i collect of value. We have an unspoken code where you decide, rather you want top dollar, or a good home for your item.

If you want top dollar thats fine, we all understand go ahead and post it for sale to the public and stack some cash.

If you want to sell it to a fellow collector or MJ lover, your gonna take a hit on the total price because all of us are in the know, and will wait till someone NOT in the know sells one of the item we are after, for dirt cheap. Its just the law of life.

But no fellow collector/connoisseur should ever take advantage of one another by suggesting grossly low prices for an item just because they want it.

3-500 is ridiculous. You can get quite a bit more than that id imagine if you find someone who really wants your manch and isnt just trying to squeeze you.

Best of luck with your sale. Keep us posted. :) Hope it goes to a good home.

[sinkrun]

If its rust free I would quess 1500 to 2000 now if it were up here in pa and rust free it would go FAST in that range for sure.

[johnny quest]

id say its worth about $200, but i'll give you twice that ;)

[89eliminator]

i would say $2000-$2500

[jimoshel]

$800 delivered to my yard. $600 I'll come get it if your no farther than the Amarillo area.