1989 Chevy S10 for $800. Good buy?

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Hard seeing the cab corners with the black paint and photography but those are among the first things to rust out and they look intact.

This'll have the 2.8 V6 or the 2.5 iron duke, neither of which is terrible.
 
Looks pretty good. Plus it says willing to negotiate. None of the stuff in the background looks shady either. Most of the cars for sale by owner around here are car flippers. Not full of rust either.
 
Agreed. It's a pretty nice area where the seller is from. Looks like he used the truck for the same purposes my friends looking for. Might go check it out today.
 
he is willing to negotiate. if your sold on it ask for $200 off. would not be hard to find this and that wrong and work from there. that said, i have always thought small trucks a waste of time/money/effort.
 
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If I were selling I'd hold out for $800, and be ready to hit someone who starts picking nits about a 26 year old work truck.

Remember the flip side, there's a jerk (buyer) for every seat.

You'll find about half its problems when you go to check it out, and the other half after you've put plates on it, by which time, it's too late, so budget for it.

As a buyer, approach it with the "will you take 600? 700? ok 8" in the span of about 5 seconds. Whip out your wallet before opening your mouth, and be respectful.
 
Great advice from everyone so far. He messaged my friend back. He's living in Colorado part of the year so the truck is only used during summer months. The CL ad was posted up less than an hour ago. He's going to take a look today I believe.
 
Looks to me like someone just wants it GONE without a lot of drama working out a deal. I would not worry about negotiating too much......Someone will buy a running truck....ANY running truck.......For $800.
 
For $800, it's hard to beat a running pick'em up truck.

That being said, you'd have to pay me $800 to own an S-10.

I bought a Toyota compact pickup new in '93 and it was night and day compared to the yucky S-10 jalopies my friends had.

The S-10 platform was the single-most biggest factor that swayed me away from GM. That and watching the awful way GM dealer's service and warranty treated my friends and relatives.

But hey, what makes us all the same is that we're all different.

You say potato, I say toyota.
 
Looks good to me. I would try to buy for less, but if moves and runs good, then the price seems fair. Lots of things would be expected to be wrong at that price, I would not waste time pointing out flaws in hopes of knocking money off.
 
Check cab mounts, frame and floors. I had an '85 S10 that ran great, and looked pretty good on the outside. Unfortunately there was no longer anything holding the cab to the frame, so I had to scrap it. Frame by rear leaf spring shackles was getting bad too.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If I were selling I'd hold out for $800, and be ready to hit someone who starts picking nits about a 26 year old work truck.

Remember the flip side, there's a jerk (buyer) for every seat.

You'll find about half its problems when you go to check it out, and the other half after you've put plates on it, by which time, it's too late, so budget for it.

As a buyer, approach it with the "will you take 600? 700? ok 8" in the span of about 5 seconds. Whip out your wallet before opening your mouth, and be respectful.


thats why you list it for $1000 and take $800. there aint nothing that price doesnt fix.
grin.gif
 
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That sure looks like a good deal to me. I agree about the clues in the photo: nice area and nice-looking rack on the bed. You can figure that you have as good of a chance as any finding an honest seller with this one, who obviously didn't restore the truck, but spent money to keep it in good working order.
 
Odds are they will sell it by tomorrow unless they live in the boonies and people don't want to drive to look at it.

From the looks of the bumpers, that truck probably did not spend most of its life up North, or was not driven much in winter. Most trucks from up North I see that have painted steel bumpers have rust ALL over the bumpers. Hard to tell if anything is going on with the body, but if there's no hidden rot, I say go for it.

The main things to look for when checking it out...
1. Rust
2. Rust
3. Rust
4. Rust
5. Rust

That's the only thing that completely, totally ruins a vehicle. Anything else wrong with that truck is fixable.

If you ever have major engine or trans problems from it...just get a cheap 350 and 700R4, TransDapt Swap In A Box kit, and call it good.
 
Originally Posted By: Bud_One
I'd jump on that in a heart beat.



Agreed. If the body is in good shape, you can fix everything else...
 
That's the beauty of a truck like that. If the body is clean and straight and the engine runs well and the transmission shifts, everything else is cheap and simple to fix.
 
If the frame isn't rotted, rust is tolerable and it runs, I would go for it. That would be a $1200.-1500. truck around here all day long.
 
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