Inspection Report

[sawyerrm]

Last week I asked you guys a somewhat general question about an eBay seller showing a bed covered with a rubber mat. You all told me I was a knuckle head and the seller is honest and professional. Since I'm 2000 miles away, I ordered a third party inspection. Here's the report

http://www.carzinspection.com/viewin...ode=glsm66xmin

Use my name "Robert Sawyer" and "4762" to view the report.

Here's the eBay listing http://www.ebay.com/itm/272213153968...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Impressed again that the dealer put the truck on the rack for the inspector.

I think this truck is about as close to turn-key as you can get but thought I would run it by you guys before making an offer. I would drive this truck to work on Friday's, about 20 miles, and the occasional shopping trip.

Attention moderator, if I'm breaking the rules by posting two questions on the same vehicle, please delete this post.

[hemi43]

That's a great looking truck ! Just curious as to what it costs to have a 3rd party do an inspection like that? I didn't even know that service was available.

[Already Gone]

Are you buying it ?

[sawyerrm]

Originally Posted by hemi43

That's a great looking truck ! Just curious as to what it costs to have a 3rd party do an inspection like that? I didn't even know that service was available.

Anywhere from $100 to $250 depending on what you want.

http://www.carzinspection.com/

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Are you buying it ?

Fair question because I've been looking/asking for awhile. Yes.

[Grumpy old man]

No mention of lower doors bondo/ rust , car lot engine detail with paint on hoses and spark plug heat shields ,painted alternator wrong steering wheel , painted door latches , missing (72 vent screws) rusty pitted shifterpassenger side trailing arm repair oil pan drain leak front bumper looks worn ,no undercarriage detail ? etc, etc , 25K + taxes/shipping so about 30 K . I'd be looking for one closer to home and a better in detail inspection . I wouldn't buy it but that's just my opinion .

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

No mention of lower doors bondo/ rust , car lot engine detail with paint on hoses and spark plug heat shields ,painted alternator wrong steering wheel etc, etc , 25K + taxes/shipping so about 30 K . I'd be looking for one closer to home and a better in detail inspection .

Yeah, I had a closer look at the door bottoms, and the edge does not look crisp and the gap doesn't look right. It would be nice to get a picture of the lower pinch seam of both doors.

[KY_GMC]

Robert,

There are a couple of things that pop out to me when I looked at the pictures:

The cab supports are rusted and they did not replace them when the replaced the rockers and floor. Why?

It looks like there are some bolts missing from the cab support to rocker connection on the drivers front support.

They didn't undercoat the areas on the cab where they replaced the rocker and floor.

Does not look like they did anything to the underside of the bed.

It looks like the output shaft of the transmission has been leaking. There is oil around the tail shaft support of the transmission.

Can't tell from the pictures, but it looks like the VIN plate does not have the rosette rivets, which means that it may have a different cab than original.

Can't tell, but it looks like you have a combination of rubber and hard fuel lines to the carb, should be hard line all the way from pump to carb.

Looks like it still has original wiring.

From the issues mentioned in the report (engine vintage, transmission cooler lines, mysterious A/C comnponents,...) and from what I can tell from the photos, I don't think that this is a $24K truck. For that amount of money I would expect it to be like new, all over. Looks like it had some rust repair, a few things fixed up and a repaint. If I were going to buy this I would value it around $10K - $12K.

But, that is just my opinion. After spending close to three years on a restomod myself, and questioning myself when I want to take short cuts, I know what it takes to do it right. It takes longer and costs more, but it is best in the long run.

Happy Hunting!

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

No mention of lower doors bondo/ rust , car lot engine detail with paint on hoses and spark plug heat shields ,painted alternator wrong steering wheel , painted door latches , missing (72 vent screws) rusty pitted shifterpassenger side trailing arm repair oil pan drain leak front bumper looks worn ,no undercarriage detail ? etc, etc , 25K + taxes/shipping so about 30 K . I'd be looking for one closer to home and a better in detail inspection . I wouldn't buy it but that's just my opinion .

Originally Posted by hemi43

Yeah, I had a closer look at the door bottoms, and the edge does not look crisp and the gap doesn't look right. It would be nice to get a picture of the lower pinch seam of both doors.

Originally Posted by KY_GMC

Robert,

There are a couple of things that pop out to me when I looked at the pictures:

The cab supports are rusted and they did not replace them when the replaced the rockers and floor. Why?

It looks like there are some bolts missing from the cab support to rocker connection on the drivers front support.

They didn't undercoat the areas on the cab where they replaced the rocker and floor.

Does not look like they did anything to the underside of the bed.

It looks like the output shaft of the transmission has been leaking. There is oil around the tail shaft support of the transmission.

Can't tell from the pictures, but it looks like the VIN plate does not have the rosette rivets, which means that it may have a different cab than original.

Can't tell, but it looks like you have a combination of rubber and hard fuel lines to the carb, should be hard line all the way from pump to carb.

Looks like it still has original wiring.

From the issues mentioned in the report (engine vintage, transmission cooler lines, mysterious A/C comnponents,...) and from what I can tell from the photos, I don't think that this is a $24K truck. For that amount of money I would expect it to be like new, all over. Looks like it had some rust repair, a few things fixed up and a repaint. If I were going to buy this I would value it around $10K - $12K.

But, that is just my opinion. After spending close to three years on a restomod myself, and questioning myself when I want to take short cuts, I know what it takes to do it right. It takes longer and costs more, but it is best in the long run.

Happy Hunting!

I agree. Maybe 15-18k at the very upper end to the right person but I wouldn't pay more than 10-12k. could easily be a cab swap and/or a motor swap and it's weird about the a/c parts being partially there but it's a non ac cab. Also a possible sign of a cab swap or at minimum a pieced together truck.

[68bowtie]

excellent value for the report you got. good move! i agree with the others above that while it's a beautiful truck, too many red flags for hidden rust, bondo, and internal engine condition. at $15-18k i agree a good deal, but $25k i would keep looking locally. take advantage of being in California...

[Coley]

Yep...count me in within the excellent information already supplied.
That truck for me is worth down in the 'teens' somewhere.
If I was going to spend $25+ on a truck, its got to have quite a bit more 'finishing' put into its corner.
Horns that don't work, missing bolts, wrong steering wheel, no pic of the SPID (very important!)...stuff like that just leads me to believe that someone has rushed this together and marketed 'shiny paint'....and don't jump at that.
I need more detail, I need better finishing for that price. It seems like there are a lot of pics...but mostly they are pics of nearly all the same stuff....from new angles....so my suspicions always come up, particularly when a dealer is involved.
If it was priced at $13,500 to say....$15k....I'd say you can spend the extra few thousand to get everything else correct (.....because you will be spending this money) working or fixed on it and be doing all right.
Basically: Hold out for a better truck for that money and don't rush this....there are so many of these trucks still out there that 'rare' doesn't even come into it.
Regards,
Coley

[swamp rat]

I'm in the 15 range myself, but even at that price i donno if i could spring on it.

Aside form everything else mentioned, I believe looking at the doors the outer skin lowers have been replaced along with the inner bottoms, very difficult to get correct and they look off, the rockers needed to be curled up a bit at the bottom to match the cab corners.

[sawyerrm]

Originally Posted by Coley

.... no pic of the SPID (very important!)...

actually got this from the salesman, forgot to add it, probably a moot point now ...

[sawyerrm]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Are you buying it ?

No

Thanks everyone for taking the time to view both the eBay and inspection report. I know this takes a lot of time.

I believe you saved me from an expensive mistake.

Image paying 25k+ to bring this truck to CA and not getting the title and registration at the DMV b/c of an altered VIN plate. Try bring that story home to mama.

Will lay low for awhile but will probably be back with another later...

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by sawyerrm

No

Thanks everyone for taking the time to view both the eBay and inspection report. I know this takes a lot of time.

I believe you saved me from an expensive mistake.

Image paying 25k+ to bring this truck to CA and not getting the title and registration at the DMV b/c of an altered VIN plate. Try bring that story home to mama.

Will lay low for awhile but will probably be back with another later...

Sounds like you made a very smart decision. I've seen others burned on here by vin tags or swapped frames. Post the next candidate you find on here and I'm sure we will be happy to pick that one apart too