To Buy, Or Not To Buy

[backwoodsboy]

Hey guys, been reading this forum for a few months, but haven't had any reason to post until now. Here it goes:
I'm relatively new to the diesel world. My uncle had a '96 F-350 with a 7.3 that I fell in love with driving but sold it before I had enough funds saved up to buy it so I've been searching for a 7.3 ever since.
I used the 'search' button, and found some good information, but figured I'd post up anyways and see what the most current opionions are.

Looking into buying a 2002 F250 4x4 EC/LB with a 7.3 and 90xxx on the clock. The only issue with the truck is that is has a salvage title (the only reason it's in my price range). The previous owner says that all of the damage was to the body, none to frame, and the truck has been restored to mint condition. I'm not worried at all about resale value, as I plan on driving this thing for years to come.
What would you guys pay for a truck like this? The owner is asking 8k, and is fairly firm on the price. I haven't been able to take a look at the truck personally yet (it's about an hour from my house), but from the pictures it looks like the real deal. Anything I should watch out for? I'll post up again when I have more information.

[slowridin03]

not sure where you are located, but I just recently bought my truck for close to that price with a clear title in Louisiana... granted more miles. I personally wouldn't buy a salvaged titled vehicle, but that's just a personal opinion.

If you must, I would at least want to see a lot of pictures, paper work of the rebuild from the bodyshop, etc.

[Zaairman]

Find out more info on the wreck... see if he has any pictures to see if he is telling the truth. If he isn't lying, $8K is a decent deal for that low of miles. Also, most banks won't let you take out a loan on salvage vehicles, and most insurance companies won't let you get full coverage.

[NCHornet]

If you aren't worried about resale and it was repaired properly it sounds like a great deal. But those are mighty big if's!!!

[backwoodsboy]

I'm up in the great state of Warshington right now going to school (hence my 7-9k price range). I'm not worried about the issue of a bank financing me, I recently sold my old truck and have cash in hand. Good deals on 7.3's are hard to come buy up here. They're either worn out, overpriced, or both. Most trucks in the 8-10k range have over 200,000 miles on them.
After talking (email) with the owner a little bit, it sounds like the truck was a roll-over. I'm going to see if he has pictures so I can tell if it was rolled into a ditch, or down a mountain pass (plenty of both around here). I'm also going to try and track down which shop did the work.
Anything I should keep my eyes open for when I look at the truck? I'm obviously going to take it somewhere and get them to do a front to back inspection, but are there any tell tale signs of a bush-league repair job?

[slowridin03]

If you can track down the body shop, they should be able to give you plenty of info on it... especially whether or not it was put on a machine to verify the frame was straight