Looking at a wrecked 1991 Ford Explorer (pics)

mhughes165 said:

so what about the junkyard which will give him a garunteed 300 for a running explorer 5spd
its not a useless vehicle, ur tellin him to offer WAY less then scrap, itd be different if he wouldnt get 50 bucks scrapping it, but we ALL know thats not the case no matter where u live

and the fact that u WAY overpaid for a navajo would make me think that the vehicle shopping skills are lacking, i wouldnt go to look at a navajo PERIOD listed for 3k lol, considering blue book the value a navajo no matter what part of the country ur in in PERFECT condition would be about what u paid for it

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Think what you want about what I paid for this truck, but it's in damn nice shape, and has all the right gear in it. I'm also a big fan of RBV's from that time period. I got a good deal on a rugged vehicle. People pay way more for newer vehicles that have less life in them, less capability, more rust, and little stuff wrong with them. I also have had this truck for a few years, that is what I paid back when I bought it. I got 30k miles of doing just oil changes out of it, just the way it sat when I bought it. I just recently rebuilt the suspension, got new 31's, and some other things.

That explorer a useless vehicle right now, as in, I can't get in that explorer and drive it away, now can I? That seriously detracts from a price when you are looking at it as a driver. Now, when looking at it for parts, and you need those parts, yes, that raises what it is worth to you. That is how bartering works - which it seems is a lost art. To me, no price is set in stone. I even haggle with people at many stores! If he were to buy that truck for $500, and pay someone else to fix it, he's going to have WAY more in it than I have in mine. Now, if he were to buy it for $500, and beat it out with a hammer, scrounge up parts at a junkyard, and fix it up - he's going to have a little less money in it than I have in mine, but every panel on mine is straight and I didn't have to do any work to it. What's his labor worth to him? You gotta ask these questions to yourself. He will also have to pay someone to have it flat-bedded, that's not cheap either - unless he has a flatbed or a friend does - but again, he had to originally buy the flatbed to have it to use...

Oh, and that tranny, if it's a real good one, is worth a little more than $300. I've been shopping around for one - mine now has 178k miles on it, ran the wrong fluid for 30k of those, and it's starting to vibrate in 5th.

gribly said:

Think what you want about what I paid for this truck, but it's in damn nice shape, and has all the right gear in it. I'm also a big fan of RBV's from that time period. I got a good deal on a rugged vehicle. People pay way more for newer vehicles that have less life in them, less capability, more rust, and little stuff wrong with them.

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cabability? how is ur navajo any more capable then any other, it appears bone stock to me


ive owned countless(really i dont remember) RBV's over the years, lots of times people want too much for them, this is not one of those cases, YES u can usually find one that doesnt need work for a little more then hes gonna pay for this one. ive bought 92 sports for 600 and drove them home from delaware before

mhughes165 said:

cabability? how is ur navajo any more capable then any other, it appears bone stock to me


ive owned countless(really i dont remember) RBV's over the years, lots of times people want too much for them, this is not one of those cases, YES u can usually find one that doesnt need work for a little more then hes gonna pay for this one. ive bought 92 sports for 600 and drove them home from delaware before

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I'm saying it's more capable that other vehicles, as my SUV is more suited for my needs than the escort I was driving between selling my ranger and buying my Navajo. I know you can find runners cheap, that is why I am saying lowball this non-runner.

Cosmetically it doesn't matter to me. It's going to get the hammer and dent puller treatment, and junkyard parts. I'm sure I can get it back on the road for under $300. And I know I can get access to a trailer, to have her towed home.

I'm not looking for a perfect show car. I'm looking for something that will get me off road, and something that will get me to school and work.

I've never been a low-baller. It makes me upset when people low ball me, so I wouldn't want to upset someone else.

Assuming you get it for $400 and it takes another $300 to get it driveable you are in it for $700.You are still taking a chance that the rest of the mechanicals are ok as you can't take it for a test drive so factor that in.It has no stereo,factor that in.So now you are up to about $8-900.If it has a salvage title then you probably still need to get it inspected before you can register it.I don't know what the inspections are like where you are but around here that means a full body and mechanical inspection and the vehicle won't pass unless everything bumper to bumper is tip-top shape and the vehicle is permanently branded as a total loss which effects the value if you ever try to sell it.Add the inspection costs and the necessary repairs and you have easily just spent over $1000 for a beat up Explorer.
Check out the Explorer on Craigslist in my other post, they are asking $900, it is in a lot better shape and you can drive it now.Explorers/Rangers that people are selling cheap due to minor mechanical problems are easy to find.
I have been down this road before,and when I was done I figured out it is almost always a lot cheaper and easier in the long run to start out with something with a clean title and good body.

I actually texted the guy and he said it was sold. [The explorer in the Craigslist ad]

They have a good title for it, and the stereo is no biggie, as I have a CD player I was going to put in it. It's also got a good sticker on it, till July '11

And here I was thinking that Explorer would be a perfect donor to upgrade someone's B2.

I just bought a really clean B2 for $500... To spend that much on a smashed-up truck needing body work, steering work, and whatever else it needs, seems a bit much.

Find out what scrap price is worth. Offer him a 6-pack of beer more than that.
It seems like you really like this truck, or else you wouldn't be thinking about buying something so smashed up... And I somehow really doubt many others have any interest in the truck, unless they are lowballing the guy in anticipation of trying to scrap it themselves.
$500 should get you an exploder that runs and drives, no looks exploded....

Bump. I should be getting it sometime this week, or next week. Definitly getting it, and if it doesn't work out, I'll get another one and consider this the parts-mobile.

Im picking up a similar explorer for my B2 swap for $300

It looks like it should be a good project. My S10 had that same kinda damage but I never fixed it... If all it needs is what's visably wrong with then I'd say ok, but if it's gonna need over $500 just to be able to drive it I'd say nooooo. My B2 was $600, and while it is rusted that included almost $600 in new parts me and my buddy put on it before he sold it to me.

My personal approach to this would be once you take it home if you can get it on the road for a few hundred do it if not wait for a body.Keep your ear to the ground for the RBV you like.I like b2s I would also love to have that drive train in a Gen1 Ranger reg cab short bed with 33s more fun to drive than the Explorer ever could be.