Looking to buy...blah blah blah.

[DerekKim]

Hey y'all. I'm new to the 'manche but I've been looking for a while. I just sold my car and I was driving home today and I spotted one! "No way!" I thought. My mom and I pulled into the lot and it was unlocked.

It's a 4spd manual, I4, 2wd. I wanted 4wd but that's minor I guess? Interior is so so. A few pieces missing like the crank but mostly complete. I looked underneath at the floor pans and overall it looks to be in good shape. Mostly faded paint. One minor dent in front of the passenger wheel well. The stereo system looks a little rigged and it has some ghey fog lights on it. Wal Mart brand possibly.

 

Anyways I was wondering if this would be a good commuter/daily driver. I would clean it up and get it repainted and probably Rhino the bed. He wants 1100 I was going to ask 500 cash. He said it ran well. It'll need some new tires soon. a/c is there I think. A few fittings without anythign attached in the engine bay.

 

Let me know!

[JeepcoMJ]

no offense derek,

 

$500 cash offer for an $1100 asking price is way...way too low, even if the truck isn't worth the 1100, the guy obviously thinks it is.

 

I'd say be prepared to spend $800.

 

then, without seeing the truck, it's hard to say.

 

I would say if it does run and drive well, and rust isn't bad, and who cares about interior (members like me have TONS of interior parts laying around that we can't wait to get rid of), then it's probably worth $800.

 

hope that will offer some insite.

[DerekKim]

Wow that was fast thanks!

 

Maybe I should explain a little. It's from one of those repo towing companies. The guy owns 2 companies or something and he has a whole lot of cars chilling. There is a load of trash in the back but that wouldn't be nothing more than a trip to the dump and a push broom.

 

That will work as I am fairly picky about interior. It's maroon and it sort of grows on you haha.

 

I guess I can maybe start with 500? I have about 700 to play with but I'd like to keep some for licensing, tires, etc. No job but I need a vehicle to get a job. What are some problem rust areas to look for? The floor pans? I'll pull the carpets up if I want to look at it again.

[JeepcoMJ]

floor pans, and the top arch of the rear wheel wells.

 

also, poke around on the rocker panels/cab corners and feel if they seem week...

 

from a repo company, they're probably not gonna budge much on price as they actually had to repo it for the fact that $$$ was owned on it most likely.

[DerekKim]

Hmm alright I will call him again tomorrow. He didn't have the key on him at the time. He had a whole box of keys so we'll go start it up tomorrow. I'm fairly competent mechanically. Anything big I need to look out for?

[Oizarod115]

snag her for as little as humanly possible.

 

the 2.5 is a good strong motor in most cases but definitely not a powerhouse.

and 4x4 is only a tranny/t-case/front axle away.

 

considering its not THAT guys truck, i say lowball him, he has no attachment to it, and probly barely ever driven it.

 

however if someone offered me that for my truck i would be highly offended.

 

but 1100 for a 2.5 4spd 2wd she better be PRISTTINNNE usually 4.0 4x4 5spds will go for around that much

[DerekKim]

Alright yeah I'll check it out. Reliable is good. 2.5 is good. I had a 2.6 4cylinder Isuzu and it hauled pretty well. Not looking for a powerhorse. Just enough to get up to 65 or 70. I'm really looking forward to getting this. It's either this or a gas efficient Geo Metro... Both would be fun.

[whowey]

No, a Geo Metro isn't fun.....

 

I'm one of the 4 dumbasses that actually bought one new off the lot.

What a piece of crap they were. But I did actually average about 57 miles to a gallon on the highway.(I paid $5100 cash for it)

 

And with the Suzuki motor, parts were worth more than the car was. I bought the parts to do a valve job, and it cost me $600. ON A THREE CLYINDER MOTOR. :mad: :headpop: (we need a 'buttream' smiley)

 

A 2.5l is damn reliable, and with the (probably) 4.10 gears it out to be able to get out of its own way, when its empty.

 

You just need to keep the desire to add big tires and a ton of bumpers,rollbars,fog lights, tools,etc. to it under control. Adding extra weight to the truck is going to be your downfall powerwise.

[Wildman]

snag her for as little as humanly possible.

 

the 2.5 is a good strong motor in most cases but definitely not a powerhouse.

and 4x4 is only a tranny/t-case/front axle away.

 

considering its not THAT guys truck, i say lowball him, he has no attachment to it, and probly barely ever driven it.

 

however if someone offered me that for my truck i would be highly offended.

 

but 1100 for a 2.5 4spd 2wd she better be PRISTTINNNE usually 4.0 4x4 5spds will go for around that much

 

:agree:

 

Oizarod said it best :D

 

The repo man only has towing involved, and maybe couple hundred to buy it as is, the owner is on the line for the balance due.

 

Offer him the $500 cash, and if he turns it down, tell him you'll give him is best price, but you want all of the repairs done, and tune-up, and new tires, and a inspection (if you need one) and you'll have him, and I'm sure he'll take your first offer :D

[87manche]

No, a Geo Metro isn't fun.....

 

I'm one of the 4 dumbasses that actually bought one new off the lot.

What a piece of crap they were. But I did actually average about 57 miles to a gallon on the highway.(I paid $5100 cash for it)

 

And with the Suzuki motor, parts were worth more than the car was. I bought the parts to do a valve job, and it cost me $600. ON A THREE CLYINDER MOTOR. :mad: :headpop: (we need a 'buttream' smiley)

 

A 2.5l is damn reliable, and with the (probably) 4.10 gears it out to be able to get out of its own way, when its empty.

 

You just need to keep the desire to add big tires and a ton of bumpers,rollbars,fog lights, tools,etc. to it under control. Adding extra weight to the truck is going to be your downfall powerwise.

 

if it doesn indeed have a 4 spd trans it will have 3.55's in the axles.

The good news is that it makes finding a matching front axle easy, the bad news is that it's not gonna be terribly fast.

 

I bought a mint 4.0 5 spd 4x4 with buckets and a sunroof for 1500.

1100 sounds a bit steep for a 2.5L 4 spd 2wd rig. I bet it doesn't have powersteering either.

 

and when I say mint, I mean it, mine had just had all the body work done and had recent paint and decent 31's on it.

[DerekKim]

So I didn't end up going to check it out today... I might be using the money to fly out to California instead. I don't know lol mom was telling me about it. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see what happens. If I end up buying it I'll head over there tomorrow and give hi ma call so he can start her up.

I don't think I'm going to ask for anything higher than 500 unless the engine is running REALLY well.

[Eagle]

My grad school roommate was even more of a gearhead than I was -- to the point that friends would ask him (sometimes even PAY him) to negotiate car purchases for them. His ground rules were simple: Tell me how much you're willing to spend. If I think your bottom line is reasonable for what you want to buy, I'll negotiate for you. But you have to promise me that your bottom line IS your bottom line -- if I tell you to walk out ... we walk out. If the seller sees that you're at all flexible on what you "said" your bottom line is -- I can't help you.

 

In this instance, I would NOT make the guy an offer. I would decide how much I was willing to spend for that truck. I would then go in, talk to him, explain to him that the old 2.5L 4-speed, 2WD is the least desireable model possible for a Comanche, which is not an especially desireable truck anyway (that's your story ... DO NOT tell him that you're a member of a Comanche forum and you've been searching high and low for one for five years!), so .... like ... "What's your bottom line ... really?"

 

If his bottom line is within a couple hundred of yours, tell him you've got 'X' to spend and if he'll take it he has a deal, if he doesn't take it God only knows how long he'll have to wait for someone who's willing to buy an underpowered orphan of a truck.

 

If he won't go for that, hand him a paper with your phone number, shake his hand, and walk out.

[DerekKim]

Update! I still haven't talked to him. We are going on Monday. In MS because I am only 17 I can't legally own a vehicle so my mom has t obe present.

I pulled the VIN 1JTHS6411JT194605

1988 Sportrack

179k miles.

 

Wiring looks messed. Could someone post a picture of the passenger side of the engine bay of a 2.5 so I can see what the wiring is suppose to look like? Looks like he had a sub setup at some point but all the wires are exposed and running by the drivers side door.

 

I poked around the corners, rocker, floor rear wheel wells... Looks like some surface rust on the hood, and a little here and there. Really no significant rust anywhere on the vehicle.

 

Paint is faded and peeling. I want to do a flat tan and repaint all the trim pieces black anyways so that's no biggie.

 

The aftermarket lights do work but they are pretty rigged. There is a lot of trash in the back... didn't dig around in it but the bed looks solid. I want to rhino the bed anyways.

 

I crawled around the underside and couldn't find any rust.. anywhere really. bottom of tranny is way dirty but the engine bay looks clean overall.

 

It's not if I think it's worth 500... but 500 is all have to spend.

 

We'll call him tomorrow and get him to start it. it definitely needs new tires. I kind of want some off road slightly oversized tires... what is the biggest I can go for a 2wd with stock ride height and not rub?

[Eagle]

I kind of want some off road slightly oversized tires... what is the biggest I can go for a 2wd with stock ride height and not rub?

You should be able to go to 235/75R15 with no rubbing, or a 30x9.50-R15 with very minor rubbing where the tire rubs the lower control arm when the steering is turned all the way to one side or the other.

 

Just remember that you're dealing with a 2.5L 4-cyl, 4-speed. It's a reliable engine, but it's not a ball of fire. Personally, with that setup I would not go any larger than 225/75R15, and I might decide if I was having a "sane" day to stay with 215/75R15s.

[DerekKim]

Here are some pictures.

 

If I get it... the name will be Mongo

 

Wiring mess?

 

Really though... how bad is it?

 

I like the size tire it has on right now... I didn't check though.

[90PioSport99]

I'll tell ya one thing, you're not going to have any heat. And I imagine if you try to hook th heater core back up, it's gonna leak like a sieve. A heater core isn't that big of a deal though. Other than that, I think that is just the typical 2.5FI wiring harness, just a lot messier. Renix systems didn't have clean wiring harnesses to start out with, but as long as it runs okay, I'd say go for it.

[Mobius1]

If you really want a Comanche I'll let you buy mine for 750 Bucks. If you're willing to either come get it or pay to have it shipped or we can work something out.

 

Thats my lil monster. Either way I hope you end up with something reliable and not a turd.

[Eagle]

They're asking $1100 for THAT? That wiring harness hasn't been butchered ... it's been massacred.

 

$500 tops, if it starts and runs. Otherwise, he should pay you to remove it from his premises.