85 Sierra Classic- WIW?

[HuggerCST]

Help me decide; I found a red one owner 85 short wide Sierra Classic for sale locally for $4000 firm. It is very clean inside and out, but has a crack in the dash, the rally wheels need to be repainted, and the chrome belt molding needs to be replaced. No dents or rust anywhere, good tires, had a GM crate 350 installed last summer, and is still under warranty, cold a/c, new duel exhaust with headers. The owner said that he gets 16mpg around town, and has 192,000 miles on it, but would easliy pass as 92,000 or less by it's looks. Is that a descent buy? I REALLY want it, but it would have to replace my DD, which is a full size extra cab, and I don't know if I want to give up the space. I've always liked the mid 80s GMCs, and would really like to have a 87 with EFI, but the loaded short bed 87s seem to be rare.

[lilpup69chevy]

i found a loaded nice 87 swb for 3 grand with a new engine in it and i know where a very nice 87 is but its carbureted for 3500 i wouldn't give 4k for the truck you are talking about doesn't sound like that great of a deal sounds like a 2500 dollar truck if that and thats just cuz of the new engine

[HuggerCST]

Yeah, realistically, it is probably a $2500-3000 dollar truck I would guess, but I have seen some trucks like it go for 5 or 6 2 or 3 years ago. I just didn't know if those were rare occasions, or if the market on them had dropped. I guess I just like them in red.
Would an 85 have a 700 trans, or a 350 lockup?

[craig@ridetech.com]

A good deal is a state of mind. If you really like it and thats what you want then do the best you can with him otherwise wait and see what else comes along. Remember that trucks bring different money in different areas, it's all about what the "market" will bear. If you don't buy it maybe someone else will or if the thing sits there for sale long enough maybe he will come down on the price. In any case you should give what you think it is worth and if you think it is a good deal then go for it. Do some comparisons between it and other trucks in the area that are similar.

[HuggerCST]

Originally Posted by LSC71

A good deal is a state of mind. If you really like it and thats what you want then do the best you can with him otherwise wait and see what else comes along. Remember that trucks bring different money in different areas, it's all about what the "market" will bear. If you don't buy it maybe someone else will or if the thing sits there for sale long enough maybe he will come down on the price. In any case you should give what you think it is worth and if you think it is a good deal then go for it. Do some comparisons between it and other trucks in the area that are similar.

Well, after talking to a few people about it, and checking some old ebay sales, I made up my mind that I would buy it if it ran and drove as good as it looked. I called the owner and set it up for the following day, (yesterday), but it got stolen sunday night. The owner is a police officer, so he has some help looking for it, but it's probably stripped by now. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be.