'86 SR5 on eBay - in NJ

[ARCHINSTL]

This popped up today.

<a href='http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... S%3AUS%3A1' target='_blank'>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AUS%3A1</a>

It looks quite clean for a Northern NJ car vis-a-vis the tinworm. It has 159K miles, and the starting bid is $500.
The seller is pretty candid about the details, but it does not look to be a piece.
Oddly, it is listed in the Parts Cars section; now that's worth a query ...
Tom M.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Oddly, it is listed in the Parts Cars section; now that's worth a query ...
Tom M.

Much cheaper to list.

[ghettomobile]

Maybe it is a parts car, like most of these poor bastards cars. The tercel 4wd is such a poor bastards car. I went to Costa Rica, and I kept seeing them up on blocks in front of houses and businesses. I also saw one from my hotel window, and it was multicolored with rust and different colored doors. My friend sees it and says "that thing is such a poor bastards car". I really couldnt disagree, seeing how just about every one is a piece of shit.

[ARCHINSTL]

I have a dog and a pickup; are they next ?
Tom M.

[MootsMan]

I'm thinking seriously about buying this car. Anybody have any feelings on it ?? I just want to make sure I haven't overlooked anything.

[Typrus]

Amazing how one area in the world is instantly the way the whole world is. Ah yes. Sunny, dry sandy Canada. Isn't it great how everything is Arizona?
Oh wow. Look at all these cars.. Only 2 square inches left of the 21 year old body... Don't we love how Hawaii is the whole world?
Just because a bunch of people wreck them or put them on blocks because they cannot at the time afford a new part, does not mean that every person who owns one is a poor bastard. Well, lets see... My parents love these cars. We own a 23 foot powerboat with a 5.7L V-8 powerplant. We have a 28 foot camper trailer. We have a 4500 square foot house on 5 acres. We have a Ford Excursion Diesel Limited Ultra (The one with everything but a DVD player and limited slip diff) Ford F-250 Diesel with a 4 inch lift and extensive modification to the powertrain. We have 2 V-4 Honda Magna cruisers. We have a 96 diesel VW.
We have a lot more than that. Are my folks poor? Well gee, considering we aren't struggling through debt in paying these things off (those that are not so already) I'd say we aren't poor.
I have a father. I know who he is, where he is, and how he is. My dad has a dad who he knows who/where/how he is. My moms father has passed away. Are we bastards? No, we are not.

If you don'tlike your Terc, sell it to someone who will, and go buy a Pinto.

[ARCHINSTL]

MootsMan -
Did the one in Nashville not work out? If not, why not? Just curious.
It does seem odd that the NJ one has yet to elicit a single bid. Have you had correspondence with the seller?
Since you of course are conversant with the vagaries of our little beasties [particularly with timing belt replacement ], the only thing I could add would be the TVSV, but I think you know about those, too.

Incidentally, a Century in 4 hours, 40 minutes is pretty darn good, I think. As I recall from my getting lost going North to Clarksville (HWY 41) last April, you were riding in some less than flat terrain...sorry I did not answer your PM of the Holiday weekend.
Tom M.

[MootsMan]

It's cool ! actually the Clarksville century goes mostly north into southern KY, in an area called the Pennyrile Plateau....in the 100 miles, there is only 680 feet of elevation gain, so it's basically a flat ride. That's the main reason I was able to cover it that fast, along with riding in some good strong groups.

Back to the Tercel on eBay, I have corresponded with the seller, and he says that there was some rust over the fenders, which has been repaired, but some is showing in front of the right rear wheel well ( i think), but nothing on the frame, rocker panels , or strut supports. Driver's side fender was replaced due to a fender bender, but no major accidents, timilg belt supposedly replaced 50K miles back. He has a 99.8% positive feedback, so you can't get much better than that. I'd be all over this car if it was closer to home. I guess it's a little difficult for me to believe that a NJ car wouldn't just be eaten up with rust underneath.

The car in Nashville sold for $1025, and that was probably a good deal. However, it was not an SR5. I guess that was a pretty good deal, but to me the car didnt' look as nice "in person" as it did in the pictures. That would have been one for my wife to drive, with the automatic trans.

[MootsMan]

Well, the buzzard in NJ ended the sale early. I was in Nashville all day doing some work, but made it a point to get home before the auction ended. When I logged on to eBay to check it out, he had ended the auction about 3 hours before the official "closing" time......said that the "item was no longer for sale". Is that a way to get out of paying any kind of fees if there are no bids on the item ?? I was pissed.
He had made no mention that the auction might end early or if the car was for sale locally.

[ARCHINSTL]

MJ -
Well, he still has to pay the listing fees, whatever they are. He must be frugal (aka cheap), as Gasoline Fumes pointed out that it is cheaper to list the car as a "Parts Car", rather than as a "real car". Of course, unless the fact that it is for sale as a parts car only is listed in the description, then that is an eBay no-no (if it ever policed the ads, that is...).
It is possible he struck a deal with someone to sell "off eBay" for XXX$, and decided to end it early and not pay the Final Value Fee. Since it is a runner and should have sold, especially at only $500, this seems like a reasonable explanation. Of course, he also could have sold it locally, but I think the former explanation is more likely - cynical old me.
You might contact him to see what the deal is.
Tom M.

[MootsMan]

I did send an email to him expressing an interest in the car, if he still had it . No response as of this morning. Maybe another good one will come up here locally, or at least closer to home, sometime soon.

I still have the '86 deluxe that I have to get a transmission for.