1987 Tercel 4wd in Seattle

[OlyTerc]

I saw the original ad for this one. The pictures looked great, and the write up sounded too good to be true.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/3587977802.html

[rer233]

wish i could find something like that in the baltimore area!!

[TURTCEL]

Bummer deal on the Terc...hopefully a lesson learned. Craigslist is a tough place to buy a car from. People are trying to sell items by means of an online garage sale style site...they will say whatever to make something sound good to a buyer.

I traveled 2 times to buy cars off of Craigslist before that were said to be great rigs...even talked to seller's on phone first to confirm it would be a good deal. One trip to Portland, OR and the other trip to Tri-Cities, WA. Both trips were long...800 miles round trip to WA and 1300 miles round trip to Portland, OR...both cars turned out to be POS. Only buy local stuff off Craigslist...too risky otherwise. Not to say good deals don't come up there but be careful.

I have learned my lesson about Craigslist.

I would also not spend too much at a shop having it looked over...shops are sleazy sometimes and just doing a check over is gonna be based off of hourly diagnostic time since no specific job is being done. I suggest being honest about the car and just ask a fair price based off of what you know and let the buyer go from there. Honesty sells cars, not a good write up.

Peace

[dlb]

ditto on turtcel just said. i've had too many similar experiences with losers saying their vehicle is in mint condition only to find it to be a project car at best.

however, from what the current owner/seller says, the car doesn't sound that bad. he says the engine was rebuilt in 2007, but then he says it will require extensive engine/exhaust work—if it was rebuilt properly, the engine should be fine, and the exhaust is no big deal. front end work is no big deal either. from his description of the trans, it sounds like a typical toyota trans of this age and might be just fine as long as you shift carefully and rev match. if the frame is straight and passed inspections after the accident repairs, i wouldn't be concerned about that.

in short, it sounds like a typical t4 in decent shape. far from a total loss.

[TURTCEL]

It's always a wonder to me why the most decent looking Tercs are the ones with the underlying issues. By the looks of a car you can just never tell.

Always good to do your homework before buying a new rig, especially on an older vehicle. As long as the frame was straightened correctly at a shop I would not have a problem with it...it's the tree tug and chain straighten that always conserns me. Not to say it doesn't get things close but not like it should be.

Another thing to consider when buying a car with a history like this one is do you ever plan on selling it? If you plan on putting it on the market down the road it might be very hard for you get much out of it compared to your investment. The more owners a car has when the car is known to be repaired can be a major determent to a potential buyer down the road.

I would make sure to take it on a good long test drive and check everything. Not all noises are bad...age on a car makes noise. Check for visible concerns and don't let yourself get caught up in the moment having the car in front of you. If the car has too many issues it is ok to pass, the right one will come to you at the right time. If we create what we want it is amazing what we can attain.

Peace