Car question, take two
 

I want to buy another vehicle. I have a couple requirements, some are stricter than others. I have to fit in the vehicle. I'm tall, and long in the torso so seat to headliner distance is a crucial measurement. I am looking for a used vehicle as a second car/truck. It will be used for SonofV as his starter vehicle, maybe he'll drive it regularly, someday/depending. I have a VW Golf 4-door which I love so I don't need something too similar to that. Looks are not my primary consideration. Something that is reliable, inexpensive to purchase, maintain, operate and insure are important factors.

There's a 1989 Toyota pickup at the corner lot that is appealing. I sat in it and I barely fit. I'd explore what it takes to lower the seat closer to the floor. I've read that these vehicles (mid 80s to 1994) are extremely well made, and that appeals to me. This truck, it's clean, has a bed liner and a shell, looks nice, but. But it has 355,000 miles on it. The price on the window is $2600, in my range. But man, that is a lot of miles. It has the V6, not the four cylinder which is legendary.

I invite your opinions, things to look for, suggestions, etc.

The truck. Does it have headrests? I can't imagine buying an old truck where your head could sail right through the back window.

don't recall about the headrests, but it's an extended cab, so there's 16 inches of room between the back of the seat and the back of the cab.

eta:

Headrests are a cruel joke for me. The tops usually hit me right about C5, C6. Just high enough for a clean break.

Remember that price is negotiable. We bought a used car recently. We wanted to spend under $7k, but we expanded our search on cars.com up to $8k and the car we found was listed at $7,500 there. In person, it had a sticker in the window that said $10,221. We bought it for $6,900 (plus tax, tags, etc..)

If your range goes up to $3k, you should look at cars listed at $4k and then negotiate down.

Yeah, I was thinking about some of those old smaller trucks where the back seat was right up on the rear window and there was nothing between your head and the window.

I used to laugh at The Troll Who Time Forgot because I'd see her little Honda parked in the lot and her head rest was all the way up in the sky. She was like 5 feet 2 with no neck whatsoever. A regular Jabba the Hut. What, did she wedge her head in there to try to keep it on straight, due to lack of neck?

What's wrong with Big Sarge's rig ?

He willing to help with the purchase

I like Big Sarge's rig, I do. But I live in the city, and there's no place for that beast to lie down and rest, much less frolic. It would be... cruel.

Any suggestions on negotiation strategies?

Any thoughts on a vehicle that's been around the world 14 times? I was pretty surprised to see that many miles on the odometer. What about V6 versus the inline 4?

How long has it been sitting on their lot? If it's been a while, they should be ready to get rid of it.

Honestly, with that many miles, they have a lot of gall asking that much for it. I bet they would take $1800. You know it will need maintenance right out of the gate and going forward.

I don't know anything about 4 vs 6 cylinders for that vehicle. Is that the truck they tried to kill in Top Gear by putting it in the ocean and blowing it up in a building that was being demolished? The one that would not die?

It is that truck, that lineage anyhow. I think the Top Gearheads had the 4 cyl and theirs is called Hilux, and not an extended cab. But a sibling for sure.

Go to http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars and plug in your zip code and as much info as you can about it.

This site only goes back to 1995, but it will give you an idea of what they probably paid for it and you can put yourself in their shoes and guess what they would accept for it.

I bet they paid less than $1k for it and would take somewhere between $1500 and $2k. Unless they did a lot of work fixing it up.

it's not that kind of car lot. very small, their main line is used tires. They probably have a dozen cars. It has been there a few weeks.

If you do seriously consider buying it, look for rust. You can fix a lot of things, but not rust. If there is nothing to bolt the new parts to because the frame/body is all rusted out, then game over.

355,000 miles is curious. Most dealers will not touch any vehicle with that much mileage. Don't know what that means or even implies. But it sure is curious.

That's the kind of lot where you find things most dealers won't touch, but that doesn't make it a bad truck. They could have picked it up cheap at auction just because most dealers wouldn't want it, or it might have even belong to a tire shop employee/friend/customer. Did you ask if they could tell you who the owner was?

"Oh, it was a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays... in Alaska."

Car Fax. That might have a very long history.

I wouldn't offer more than $1200 for that truck....and that only if its a 4x4. otherwise, $700.

355k. somebody kept that thing going this long, and has NOW given up. they know the truck.. there must be something looming that you won't discover until it happens. plus, it's not a good fit. you're not going to alter the height of the seat. NEXT.

there are a million cars out there. if you can find a Wrangler I-4 with a manual trans that's not beat to death for under 5k, they have great headroom. And if you can find one with tilt wheel, there's even MORE headroom. ;)

japanese cars tend to have crap for headroom. german cars are better for long bodied mooks like us. PT Cruiser might be an answer, unless you hate them. some people really do. but you can get them cheap, and they were actually relatively reliable. Older Grand Cherokees are cheap. the straight 6 is one of those bullet proof motors. and the v8 is not bad either. look around ....you still see the first body style on the street (93-98)

there are a bunch on craigs list in seattle. here's one for 2k.

If it's a Tacoma, there was a recall due to frame rust, most of those vehicles are condemned when inspected, that price is way, way too high.

What about a military surplus CUCV? They are the old full size K5 Blazers with a 24 volt system and most have the 6.2 diesel. There is also a pickup and ambulance version. Parts are very cheap and they run on biodiesel

I tried finding one of those a few months ago. All that I found were missing an engine or had severe body damage. Not exactly what I was hoping to find.

Found an M1008 and an M1009 on eBay. Massive want.

Both are far too far away to take a look at in person.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985-...item3f1f4fb8c6

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MILIT...item1c2dc9f055

perry winkle - try government liquidators. they have a few at camp shelby going for a little over $1,000

Or you might have to settle for one of these.