I needed an s10 donor. regular followers will know I like the 98+ s10s with all their electronic doodads and geegaws. I especially like the 03s with their one-year only LU3 engine. I answered a marketplace ad for a nice (to me anyway, body was beat up from collision damage but otherwise clean) looking 03 sonoma with only 115k miles, it had two flats in the picture but the price was great, $1100.
but when I got there, it turned over very slowly, did not start, and did not sound overly healthy. I told him my donors have to drive home, and I have driven some sketchy trucks a lot of miles but a non starter was a non starter.
and that was it. but that truck kept beckoning me from my feed, taunting me. I found a pair of smoothies with tires for $40 about a month later and figured that was a bellweather moment to try again because here were the two rollers for the two flats.
I called him up and said give me your get-it-out-of-my-back-yard-today price. he did, very very fair considering I may need a motor and maybe a trans too. so I jumped and called a tow.
it turns out the battery cable was junked from battery acid, and it was out of gas. literally the smoothest running truck I ever bought.
then my new friend the big time local pro tuner builder guy called and said he found a pair of steel wheels for me, did I want them? yes! I went to the local used tire place again and got some good tires.
still more coming!