There is a 78 F150 Custom 2WD for sale in my area. The asking price is $1995. The driver's side door has a rust hole at the bottom rear and the passenger door has rust holes all the way across the bottom of the door. I know these are common rust areas. The thing that bothers me is that there is rust and bubbling paint on the roof above the drip rails and around the drip rails.

The rest of the exterior looks good. I didn't notice any rust on the fenders or cab corners. There are three small holes in the bed floor.

It is an original owner truck with original miles (couldn't see how many). Paint looked decent - mint green and white. There is a large dent on the driver side rear fender, but the paint isn't chipped or anything. It had a green interior that looked good from what I could tell - the seat was a little worn.

I'm looking for a truck to haul stuff with, maybe take camping or to the beach. Something I can fix up while I'm driving it.

Do you guys think this truck is worth a closer look?

Thanks,
Rebecca

 

Pics would go a long way in assessing value but based off your description 2K seems a bit steep to me for a 2wd with rust issues.

 

X2 on what montana_highboy said, both about the pics and the rust. I'd much rather have rust in the doors and the floors and the bed than in the roof. There may, in fact, be extensive rust in the floor pans...but since you said "as far as I could tell," I'll assume that you just looked through the window.

A couple of things to consider if you do go back and look at it closer, then you can tell us more and we might be able to help you more effectively:

What drivetrain does it have? 302, 351M, 400, or 460?

Is it a manual or an automatic?

If it is a manual, what shape is the clutch in?

How many miles are on it?

What extras or accessories does it have? A/C, PS, PB, cruise, etc.

Is there anything you would have to fix in order to feel comfortable driving it to the beach, or do you think it would be OK as-is?

You have to factor all that in, too. You might be able to get it for $1995, but anything...and I mean anything...that you have to do to it is just going to make that price look worse and worse. It might give you some wiggle room on the price, but then you'd have to ask yourself if you'd want to buy a truck that you'd start out having to fix. It sounds like you would be expecting to use it from the first day.

 

This I believe falls in the catagory not with a ten foot pole but more information is a must to make a real decision. THe fact that you are asking about overpaying for it should give you an idea though that you already think it's overpriced without giving more info

 

Here are a few pics I took. Transmission is an automatic. I don't think that anything needs to be done in order to drive it comfortably - assuming it runs OK. Inspection sticker shows June 2006 and the license plate shows June 2009, so it's probably been at least a year since it's been driven regularly.







Rust on the bottom of the pass. side door

 

Is there holes in the roof or just some nasty surface rust?

I would take a small screw driver with me and poke around a little bit. May end up finding something major. I also take a magnet with me and go over certain areas.

If the person gets mad at you for doing that I would just move on and forget it. No reason for the person to try and hide something from you.
Im gonna go ahead and say no to the 1995 price.

 

Without knowing ALL the specifics it looks to be about an 800-1,200 dollar truck to me and that's being generous, that roof rust is pretty nasty stuff and could be indicative of deeper issues e.g. floor pan and/or cab mount rot.

 

These trucks are a dime a dozen here in Arizona, a truck with that much cancer would go for about $400.00 to $600.00 dollars. The majority of the trucks here are rust free and in the Phoenix area alone their are many. (try craigslist Phoenix) I just picked up a 79 f150 xlt with auto,A/C,tilt wheel and a swapped in 460 for $800.00 .........(pics on request)

 

Am i correct to assume by the window numbers this is on a dealers lot? if so i'd just move on unless he's willing to do some major negotions, you're far better off searching private owners on Craigslist/Ebay/Newspaper....dealers will ALWAYS rip you, be patient and find the truck you really want, it will eventually show.

 

I paid $850 for my '77 F250 supercab 2wd, only rust is on the door corners, I wouldn't even consider what you are looking at for at least $900-$1000 (without the rust) $1995 is way too much, just walk away and find something else, especially since it looks like it's at a dealer, they know they can mark them up that high because most people want to be financed, and even if you walked in with the cash they would just say that is their "cash price"

 

The rust that I saw there is pretty nasty while probably repairable it would be a fair amount of work or dime to fix. Also with that much rust I would have my suspicisions about pounds of bondo Blake said it when he said take a small screw driver and magnet the magnet most people won't complain about but be careful about the screw driver poking I would get angry about it not because I am trying to hide something but your poking holes in my stuff.

I am sure you know to use a small fridge magnet and check points in the body the thicker the bondo the less it will stick.

 

You can ask first before you use a screw driver. I always use a very small one or a pick so I don't really make any damage. I know there are some people out there selling these trucks and their thinking in the back of their mind "this person has no idea how bad the rust is on the truck" and that just aint right.

Ive told an owner before to his face if he wanted me to buy the truck I was going to take a look around the hole thing top, bottom, crawl under it, etc, and that I would have something with me to probe the metal.

In some areas good trucks are getting hard to find and sellers are ripping people off with junk trucks.

 

I hear ya it is too bad too it was nice when people could be taken at their word

 

Yeah $1995 is a little too much. We paid $2000 for mine from the owner (not a dealer) and it has very little rust. Also the one you are looking at, is a very basic truck and is a lwb right? For the $2000 we paid, we got a swb and it's a Ranger, pretty much a fully loaded truck of it's day. I say keep looking.

 

Would you be paying cash, or financing it? I'd say if you have the dime to drop paying that much cash, find a nice truck out west, fly to wherever it is, then drive it back to where you're from. You'd probably come out ahead if you were to do that when factoring in how much body work it's going to require for this particular truck. I'm sure you could find a decently priced truck out west with less rust that would make the long trip without any problem, and still have money left before you passed that $1995 mark, and you'd have a better platform to start with.