I need some help in selling a truck. A 1986 F250 XLT w/6.9 & 4spd. I put it on the FTE marketplace thread four days ago and have not received even one comment from this site. That tells me I'm asking to much for the truck and should adjust accordingly. I discovered yesterday, the thread was "locked down" the whole time??? How is that possible? I didn't think I set it that way?

I also listed it on Craigslist the same day and have received dozens of emails & interest, did not put my phone number in ad and no one has showed up yet. I live way out in the boonies, the map quest give a wrong direction and makes the one-way trip 30 minutes longer than necessary. An old country road with lots of confusing directions. I have suggested a closer place to meet and have set up appointments with three people and they were all no shows. I suggested the Sheriffs Dept substation parking lot...scared them off apparently. I know CL is full of flakes, I have sold things on there before but that was when I lived in the suburbs.

The truck is in extremely good condition for an unrestored rig and the milage is true. Less than 85K on a 6.9. This is a great driver, just not enough power for my three horse trailer. It will pull it, great for short trips to the vet or the feed store but just not fast enough to keep up with traffic on a long trip. Texas now has 85mph areas on the long stretches.

What is wrong here? Price...location...truck...or???

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks, JB

 

Put a turbo kit on it and keep it.

 

^^ what he said ^^
I did a Banks turbo kit on a 86 K5 Blazer 6.2 diesel @100K and it was like driving a gas motor truck.
My Blazer had the 700r4 (auto w/OD) so the RPM was not too high, no tach, and the truck had 4.10 gearing.


I used it to pull my race car & trailer about 5K+ and did it with no issues.
Sold the truck in 2002 w/230+K on it just tired of driving it after 16 years and body needing work.


There are bolt on over drive units or guys like to swap in ZF5 5sp w/OD


As for asking too much what are other trucks in your area of the same year/shape going for? If yours is a little better shape then asking a little more is not out of line.
If you find no one calls then you can lower the price.
Dave ----

 

Re: FTE Marketplace - most forum members and visitors already have a truck. This isn't the place most potential buyers go when shopping for a truck. The lack of response isn't surprising because of the venue. Most folks come here after buying a truck, not before.

Re: Craig's List - I've had excellent results there, both buying and selling. In my ads, I always list my phone number as my preferred contact to avoid playing email tag. Sure, there are some flakes out there, but conversing via phone generally weeds them out. Email is great for an initial contact, but a phone call is so much better for working out details.

As far as where to get together, meeting at a public location is a HUGE red flag for me. It may seem counterintuitive to avoid such transactions, but that's how curbstone sellers often work. That's a guy operating out of his house or repair shop as a small-time unlicensed dealer. He doesn't want you to see the other wrecks being rebuilt. Nor does he want you to have any place to find him if there's a problem. So anytime a seller suggests meeting at some parking lot, I politely decline and ask to meet at his house or workplace. If he declines, then I move on.

For the Mapquest problem with your address, just say so in your ad. Tell potential buyers not to follow the online map and that you're only X minutes from some well-known landmark or interchange.

 

I don't know, if someone lived out in BF and was hard to get to and said so when I talked to them I would not cancel seeing the truck, at of all places the police station.
With a good looking over of the truck you should be able to tell if it is put together using many other trucks to do so.
If so then you can move on to the next one.
Dave ----

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Nice looking truck, almost what I'm looking for. If it was 4WD I'd be emailing you.