Thinking of buying a parts truck, or swap good parts and re-sell it

[Mark_BC]

Tonight I looked at a 2.7 L automatic, '97 with 4WD, no locker. Manual windows. Everything worked. But it is from Quebec and pretty rusted underneath. The frame has completely rusted through in one area beside the gas tank. Everywhere else underneath is rusty but it doesn't look rotted through.

Interior is pretty nice. For some reason the body is almost pristine, not sure why. Rocker panels are good. Maybe because they undercoated the underside with rust"proof" coating which just makes it rust even worse because it traps the moisture and salt in there forever... (which is why I stay away from monstaliner and bedliner type coatings)

Here is the ad:

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/cto/d/1997-toyota-4runner/6623954838.html

170,000 km which is like 100,00 miles.

The transfer case is slowly dripping oil, looks like through the driveshaft seal, not sure.

The coolant reservoir was empty, the radiator was almost full with disgusting brown gunk. Added water, took it for a drive up a hill and it didn't overheat.

Pulls to the right, probably just needs an alignment. Brakes don't seem very grabby, they will need some work.

The reason I want it is for the nice rear lift gate, the same colour and year as my mom's that is rusting at the wiper mount for some reason. A tricky place to repair, so I could instead just swap it out. Here is a pic of my mom's where you can see the rust at the wiper mount. That location is a bear to get to and the metal has rusted pretty thin there.

What I could do with this one is weld up the rotten part of the frame and fix a few issues and sell it for what I buy it for, or more.

Nice steering wheel I could swap out.

Is $2000 too much? Seems a bit steep considering the likely cooling system problems. Maybe I should offer $1500.

 

[T4R2014]

Rare but I'd pass. There's another Evergreen truck bound to pop up. Plus that steering wheel is the cheap rubber base model one.

 

[tvpierce]

Check the ATF. Brown in the radiator could be coolant mixed with oil -- which would give you a pink milkshake in the tranny.

If you could get it for $1000, you might do alright parting it out, but that's a lot of work. Personally, I wouldn't feel right patching that frame and selling it. Not worth the bad karma... or carma as the case may be. See what I did there?

 

[dogtail]

Tonight I looked at a 2.7 L automatic, '97 with 4WD, no locker. Manual windows. Everything worked. But it is from Quebec and pretty rusted underneath. The frame has completely rusted through in one area beside the gas tank. Everywhere else underneath is rusty but it doesn't look rotted through.

Interior is pretty nice. For some reason the body is almost pristine, not sure why. Rocker panels are good. Maybe because they undercoated the underside with rust"proof" coating which just makes it rust even worse because it traps the moisture and salt in there forever... (which is why I stay away from monstaliner and bedliner type coatings)

Here is the ad:

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/cto/d/1997-toyota-4runner/6623954838.html

170,000 km which is like 100,00 miles.

The transfer case is slowly dripping oil, looks like through the driveshaft seal, not sure.

The coolant reservoir was empty, the radiator was almost full with disgusting brown gunk. Added water, took it for a drive up a hill and it didn't overheat.

Pulls to the right, probably just needs an alignment. Brakes don't seem very grabby, they will need some work.

The reason I want it is for the nice rear lift gate, the same colour and year as my mom's that is rusting at the wiper mount for some reason. A tricky place to repair, so I could instead just swap it out. Here is a pic of my mom's where you can see the rust at the wiper mount. That location is a bear to get to and the metal has rusted pretty thin there.

What I could do with this one is weld up the rotten part of the frame and fix a few issues and sell it for what I buy it for, or more.

Nice steering wheel I could swap out.

Is $2000 too much? Seems a bit steep considering the likely cooling system problems. Maybe I should offer $1500.

That rig should never see the road again, with frame that bad its thin in a lot of other spots that are not visible. Only 100K on the clock is nice for parts, but 4 cyl. We get parts rigs like that in Massachusetts for $500 and less.

 

[Scramble]

Rare but I'd pass. There's another Evergreen truck bound to pop up. Plus that steering wheel is the cheap rubber base model one.

And those steering wheels look the best & last the longest.

OP: It's not a driveable vehicle. I'd give him $500. No more.

 

[gamefreakgc]

And those steering wheels look the best & last the longest.

OP: It's not a driveable vehicle. I'd give him $500. No more.

Agreed. Even here in CA non-drivable vehicles rarely sell for north of $1000. And that's with no rust.