Would You Trust This Vehicle

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Chuckman

Chuckman

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I have the opportunity to buy a 92 GMC one ton with a 350 and only 17,000 miles for $1,500. The catch is it was used as a paint crew vehicle at a state institution and never driven outside the compound of about 300 acres. That means that for the last 24 years it has never been above 15 MPH. It starts and runs good, and has no leaks. The oil is clean and the tranny fluid cherry red. The question is will the transmission still function in the higher gears, or is it stuck in the lower ones from continual low speed driving?

It does need ball joints on the right side from running over curbs I am guessing.
Would you guys trust it for highway use or pass?
 
Test drive it. If it gets all the gears oh happy day. Even if it doesn't, are you saying it's not worth a transmission rebuild with such low mileage and such a low asking price?
 
I don't know. It might have an incredible amount of idling that is not accounted for with the odometer.
 
67Dart273 said:
I don't know. It might have an incredible amount of idling that is not accounted for with the odometer.
Click to expand...

as long as it had decent oil pressure, I would let it idle all day long
700 RPM, for say 6 hours, that is 1/4 million revs, that's 84 minutes at 3000 RPM, roughly 100 miles?

not sure what that means, but a fun calculation anyway
 
"It means" LMAO that what we need here, is an hour meter instead of an odometer, LOL
 
I always look at cars like this in the following. With whatever work it DOES or MOST LIKELY needs, is it still cheaper than the same vehicle in the same running condition as if you repaired that one. For example:

Buy a truck for 1500, you think it needs 500 bucks for sure, and maybe another 500 to get it completely road worthy. You're not buying a 1500 dollar truck, you're buying a 2500 dollar truck. Now look at the same model online and else where. If you can find one that runs better and will come in UNDER 2500, then it's not worth it. If you don't? Then you've got the best deal around. My buddies used to call me "king of the kijiji" cars. Cause I was known to buy old trucks (dodges primarily). For cheap (under 1000) drive em for a couple years or more and turn around and sell it for nearly what I bought it for. Basically driving for "free" outside of gas and cheap insurance. I think the most expensive truck I owned cost me $700 bucks, over two years. $30 bucks a month. The best I made out was $1200 in the black after a year. That's right. I got paid to drive my truck.

Obviously this only applies to cars you want to drive, but if you want to part it out? That's a whole nother story.
 
Pull a valve cover. Its the short,low speed trips that will absolutely kill an engine. Of course the oil is clean,they just changed it.
 
10 years ago I bought a 3/4 360 dodge ram, it had been a kc, mo. "city inspectors" vehicle. it had a lot of city driving, sitting around idling no doubt. it was a '91 I bought it in bout 2003 with like 75,000 mi . ran great everywhere, pulled the car trailer, pumper bull stock trailer etc. sold it 10 yrs later for a profit!
I say too give it a test drive. bet it has been well maintained too.
 
I had a 92 Suburban "almost the same thing" it had 275000 on the odometer when I sold it for 1500 ten years ago. 92 with 15k, even if you have to put a grand into it you are money ahead.
 
That thing will run forever. Or buy it and sell it to someone else for more, who understands its potential.
 
I would have already put 1500 miles on it plus(Highway miles)...from virginia.LOL
 
If it was a carbed engine with a lot of time at low RPM, have heard of the ring wear on the cyl wall could be a problem if you went high rpm with it , without cutting the ridge out because of the piston coming up the cyl higher than it was used to doing, causing ring bind/breakage. But with the newer fuel injected engines ring wear is not usually an issue.
 
People buy low mileage cars from city and county municipalities everyday that barely move. I have bought a few myself and they always end up being some of the best vehicles I've ever had.
 
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