used truck purchase advice

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Checked out a 97 Chevy Silverado ext cab, v8. The ext and interior is very clean, the owner takes care of it. test drive, it ran normal, did not see anything leaking. No maintenance records. The truck has 250k mikes on it. if I buy it, it will not be my daily driver. Price is $2800. Your thoughts on the high mileage? Thanks
 
Which transmission? The 4L60E isn't the toughest one in the world, has it ever been rebuilt, or (God forbid) done any heavy towing? At that mileage, a 4L60E is on borrowed time if it hasn't been rebuilt already, a 4L80E might have some life left if it's been maintained & not abused.
 
I had the exact truck but a 96'. Fantastic engine but as said that's a lot of miles for a 4L60E. $2,800 is too high of a price too.
 
Transmission is only week spot I rebuilt a 4l60e myself over a weekend cost me about 500 dollars and it's got 90k on it . The real problem with the 60e is how some people drive them . Impo most transmission problems are people bad driving habits
 
The dude is the 2nd owner and he did not rebuild the tranny and doesn't know if the original owner did it, so I assume it original. I got a quote for $1250, remove rebuild and install tranny local shop. I'm not gonna tackle the rebuild myself.
Ok, thanks, I'll keep looking
 
Originally Posted By: mulehead
Transmission is only week spot I rebuilt a 4l60e myself over a weekend cost me about 500 dollars and it's got 90k on it . The real problem with the 60e is how some people drive them . Impo most transmission problems are people bad driving habits

Not disputing what you say, but could you explain? What driving habits are you referring to? Thanks.
 
People who put a lot a load on a a power train . Power spikes Impo is what puts heat in transmission and heat is what kills most trans. Got a good Buddy who's a fire chief and he can't keep a 1500 truck because of the way he drives he asked me one time how come my trucks or vans last so long my response was I don't do a lot of speed changes and when I do its a small throttle input
 
Impo a clean well maintained truck with a unknown trans problem shouldn't be a deal breaker . When you buy a used truck your taking a gamble on the trans.
 
2800 is definitely to much for that many miles if it has a 4l60e. I see you are in socal so the truck is probably in pretty darn good shape rust wise. If it has a 4l80e that is still alot of miles but its a much better trans and they have gone 3-400,000 although rare. Just remember every single moving part of the truck has 250,000 on it. The truck is still worth it if you can get it for a lower price.
 
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I'd never pay that much for ANY almost 300K vehicle. It may be a ticking time bomb. Also remember it's almost 20 years old as well. Offer the seller $500.
 
Yeah, $500. Thats nice, lowball a nice guy who took care of his truck. That'll show him to ask $2800. I was just looking for this type of truck, a 88-99, but ended up with the second truck i looked at a 03.

Ask him about oil useage and lookfor smoke on startup and under throttle. Search craigslist up to SF for your truck and see what shape they are in, other stuff, etcetera.

I prefer reg cab and a 5mt, but my pops got a new 92 like you are asking about and kept it til 2002 or so. It did well and only had problems once i got it stuck in the mud and my cousin said "you gotta rock it" then proceeded to demonstrate. It had about 175k miles. He put straight pipes after the cat, duals and once in a while would turn the air cleaner top over and it sounded real nice.


After checking for oil usage and a test drive revealing it power is good, these trucks generally get rebuilt, i think, around the mileage you are talking about, so keep thhat in mind. But if you get a manual and do it yourself it may be fun and educational. I think the 350 SBC is the most common engine in e States or Earth, and I hear they are easily serviced. Good luck!
 
I disagree, a good clean running truck is worth $2,500-$3k all day long, more if its 4wd.

With any used truck north of 100k your rolling the dice. At least at that price point you can put a transmission in it, and still be ok.
 
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Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I'd never pay that much for ANY almost 300K vehicle. It may be a ticking time bomb. Also remember it's almost 20 years old as well. Offer the seller $500.


What, is that scrap value?
 
I have a friend at work that has a 98 ext-cab Z71 with over 350,000 miles on it. He bought it when it had 76,000 miles on it. As far as he knows it still has it's original engine and transmission and never rebuilt. This truck has the 5.7L and 4L60E.

Wayne
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I disagree, a good clean running truck is worth $2,500-$3k all day long, more if its 4wd.

With any used truck north of 100k your rolling the dice. At least at that price point you can put a transmission in it, and still be ok.


I agree with this. If it runs nice and doesn't leak or make funny noises, why would anyone suspect the tranny was about to fail? If you like it, buy it. It will probably serve you for many many years.
 
This truck has way too many miles for that kind of money
Maybe 1200-1500 bucks tops
Why doesn't the current owner have any service records if he has had it awhile ?
Makes me wonder about the level of care.
 
If a vehicle is well cared for and in good condition, mileage doesn't mean much. Where mileage comes into play is when you have a neglected vehicle. A vehicle neglected for a long time or a lot of miles isn't worth much, and will be much more likely to be problematic.
 
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