Hey guys, its been a while. So.. i want to purchase a bronco and ive found 2 that i really like what do you guys think?

Which One Would You Choose?

First One: 1990 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition
Mileage: 176k
Clean Interior (Missing radio and black bezel that goes around radio and air control, carpet and seats still need very clean, im really impressed.
It only needs a new power steering pump and paintjob and a/c to be recharged.
Priced at 2700 was able to drop the price to 2200

Second One: 1985 Ford Bronco XLT
Mileage: 126k
Owner says clean interior, and replacement the fuel pump, starter solenoid, and new battery. It also needs a/c ($600 to fix that). Although owner has been a bit shady considering that he thinks i'm going to buy the truck when i'm not since i still haven't test driven it yet and he hasn't sent me any other pictures of it since last week from the pictures he posted (Only 3) .
Priced at 4500 was able to drop the price to 3750

Both have 351 V8 Windsor engines and run good, but 85' bronco has 3 speed c6 transmission and I'm assuming that the 90' bronco has a 4 speed automatic.

What do you guys think? Which is a better deal, please be honest. I really need all the help

 

I believe the 90 has a C6 as well . The 85 should have a carb and the 90 will be EFI. Me personally, probably lean towards the 90

 

The 1990 is probably an E4OD. I think I see the OD button on the dash. But honestly, I would keep looking. Neither one of those is a good deal, with the second one being a downright rip-off.

For $2200 you should be able to get one that doesn't have any mechanical problems.

 

Here in Texas it's really hard to find something that's mechanically working under $5000. People over here are selling broncos from 5,000 and up and I don't have that kind of money:/. To be honest my budget right now is $3600. There was also a 1996 Bronco (actually 1993 bronco after I ran the VIN number on it) with 196k miles on it looked clean started up but needed a couple of things like the radio, and missing brackets to hold down the back seat.
Priced at 4,200 I was about to drop the price down to 3,300 but the guy wasn't organized. I made two trips over there which is a 2.5 hour drive and promised me there was gonna be a tank full of gas, a new battery, and a over the top carwash. Nope. We get there and bronco is still sitting over a month in the same place with no battery. Guy said he'll think about the price just give him a call when we are about to leave. I give him a call and doesn't answer. I called him twice. This is at 5pm. Next day he texted him 3,300 and it's yours just meet me in the outskirts of my city. I denied because I didn't want to make a 3rd trip and false advertising.

 

I flew to Texas, bought my truck and drove it back to California because it was cheaper than buying one here.

My advice is still to keep looking. What part of Texas are you in?

 

I somewhat like it too. I know many people don't like the model of the 87-91 but it's a bronco! E.B edition. I actually fell in love with the color scheme of E.B.

To be honest my budget is 3,600. so getting it for 2,200 leaves me with enough room for upgrades. A retouch of the paint over here is 500, Black bezel is 120 (new online, cheaper at junkyard), radios like 100, plates and registration is 350, a/c recharge is 300? Notice on the driver door that it looks likes it's rusting where the window is at so I can't make out of it maybe you can (new door is 189 a lot cheaper at junkyard), and power steering pump is 60.

Total is roughly 3500 ~ 3800.


But it I want all your opinions not mine.

 

South Texas! I'll be posting more pictures of 85 Bronco shortly!

 

 

Please don't tell me you're thinking about paying $3800 for that pile of ****.

 

Umm... I was considering it, but this is why I need your opinions!! To help me

 

What do you think about the 90' Bronco?
Im getting for 2200 and on Nada price guides the low retail value is like 2300 ~

 

I don't think it meets low retail condition with missing trim pieces, a broken power steering system, lousy paint, and A/C that "just needs recharging" (whose diagnosis is that? The seller's? Practically guaranteed to be wrong, probably needs a whole new AC system at ~$1500).

What's my advice? See my earlier two posts in this thread where I said to KEEP LOOKING

 

I am more partial to the 85, but I definitely agree that it is way over priced. It seems more like a $2200 truck. If you need one right now, I would go with the 90. Otherwise I would keep looking.

 

How much have you guys invested in your Broncos?
Like I said I only have a budget of roughly 3.6 to 4K

 

I bought my '86 Bronco about a year ago for $2600 in Oregon. Engine was mechanically sound. (Water pump needed replacing but not a hard job). A/C was said to need charging. It's practically toast. How long did the PO use it with low R-12/R-134a?? IDK. I couldn't even get an answer to my question of whether it was ever converted to 134a from the original R-12. So I'm looking at a whole new AC system.

Big things that makes an older vehicle worth it. Engine mechanically sound? Rust around engine compartment, wiring harness condition, fuse panel looks in good condition, rust on frame (and how much), rust on body (and how much), interior condition (not a deal breaker for me but a good indication of PO's care of the vehicle).

These vehicles may be within your budget but how much time are you going to spend fixing issues that you may or may not have been told about. Unless this was going to be a project restoration, in which case you'd be redoing everything anyway so who cares. These are high prices for the condition. If these were good deals, they'd be sold by now. I'm with previous opinions here of keep looking.