Members thoughts?

[Captainoversteer]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190782790595

I know I've been holding out for a manual,but I do want a silver or black 80. I know black is all but unobtainable and only available on really late ones so more than likely way outside my budget.
I'm not after a 'minter' as its gonna be essentially a workhorse and get a certain amount of abuse so would the above one be worth a punt? So long as it doesn't go silly on the money front!
220k is a fair few miles and it looks well used but ought to do what I want and I wouldn't be too upset about scratching it/making the inside dirty as someones already done it!
so,opinions please. Should I stop dreaming? Buy a lower mileage one? Say 'sod it' and have a go?
Pls

 

[OG.]

That looks to me to have had a hard life. I wouldn't touch it personally.

 

[joinerman]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What he says, it's a dog.

 

[Captainoversteer]

Lol! Thanks lads. Best take my rose tinted specs off then!?
Was thinking that if it didn't make too much I could chuck the rest of my budget putting it something like it? I suppose though,that that would swallow twice the amount of cash than buying a good un in the first place!
Need to wait a little longer methinks!

 

[Lorin]

I bought a truck that had a hard life......... I wouldn't do it again!

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

You need to see it and test drive it really, might be worse or better than it looks. 220k is only 40k more than mine, if they were done up and down the motorway no problem, if they were hard miles then that's more likely to cause you strife. If you are on a budget then buying a truck like that won't save you money overall but it may let you spread the expenditure out a bit if you're lucky. Doesn't look especially hard used to me, we see them much worse than that but the camera may be biased.

 

[Captainoversteer]

Jon's right, looking/driving would reveal all.Trouble is Im a few miles away from all that pop up for sale,which makes it tricky. If I'm going to travel I need to check out at minimum 3 trucks to make the trip worthwhile and up my chances of coming home with something?
The other thing is,I could really stretch the budget and buy a 'nice' one but it seems such a shame as although I look after my gear mechanically the body will probably get knocked about a little,and the interior will probably end up a mess with me clambering in and out with filthy clothes/dirty hands and carrying around dirty stuff inc. engines/wheels/dogs/kids!
Ive been using Discovery's for the last 14/15 years and Ive been getting on average 3-4 years out of each one. Surprisingly its not rot that kills them,although it is a factor.Its more general fatigue and needless to say by the time Im finished and robbed running gear for the next one there's not a lot left!
I have tried to contact the seller of this 80,once just after the listing went live with a few of the usual questions plus a request for a no.,and again this morning asking for a contact no. so I could have a bit of a chat,ask loads of questions,etc. as its easier than sending emails back and forth. I even left my no. so that they could call me if it was more convenient but have had no reply at all. Certainly makes you wonder?

 

[karl webster]

As Jon says. Yes the bodywork looks to have a few bits and bobs that need doing, Say 500 tops with paint ect. Hard life? maybe maybe not. Some of the trucks like these may have been owned by someone that has to have a good truck that is used for work and everytime its serviced any part thats needed gets replaced.

You defo CAN NOT judge a truck off photos. The drive and the engine is the main thing that needs to be right. The rest can be done as and when.

Get there and go over it and test drive it. or bid and win it and if theres a shed load of things that need doing and the seller hasnt mentioned them in the ad then you could walk away

 

[OG.]

The drive and the engine is the main thing that needs to be right. The rest can be done as and when.

Disagree. The bits that must be right from day one are structure and body. The chassis must be sound as do the panels. Water leaks into the body will cause no end of trouble. Personally I find that bodywork and structure are much more difficult to put right than mechanical things which can just be swapped out if necessary.

 

[Captainoversteer]

Im with Karl here,engine and drivetrain are what's important to me,yes I am plenty capable of putting it right but dont want the expense of it! I do agree that the body is more difficult to put right but I certainly wouldnt bother with paintwork,scratches/dents do not bother me although I dont want to spend the rest of my life welding!
The truck I buy will be a tow car and load lugger first and foremost and function is a lot more inportant than form.There will probably be some laneing thrown at it aswell.
I suppose be all and end all is that I do need to go and look,speculating here isnt gonna get anywhere really. Its only 3.5 hours(ish) from me in a car but if the seller cant even be bothered to talk to me Im probably wasting my time anyway?

 

[karl webster]

OG
If someone came to me wanting a complete shell in good con they may be looking at 1000£ ( no one quote me on that price in the future)
If someone wanted complete running gear ie engine box axels then the total would be far more than I KNOW this truck will sell for.
I sold one exactly the same couple of weeks ago as this colour milage etc etc. 2800 body not tidy 225 on the clock but the running gear was spot on.
As for the chaises. I have had alot of 80s through my hands and seen a hell of a lot of them and to this day I have NEVER seen a rotten Chasie.
We all have a opinion though.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

there are exceptions to the rule, but as a rule body and chassis rust is not a major problem on an 80 and is not what you need to worry about, not like you would on a LR, it's the drive train problems that will blow your budget. My old green (1994) 80 that I laned and bashed about a bit did plenty of swimming, washed in mud, windscreen had chronic leaks, not looked after at all cosmetically and after 8 years of me abusing it, when I broke it because it was worth more in bits and the custom body work put people off it, there was no sign of rust never mind rot, which I expected to see when I pulled up the carpets and scraped the mud and plants out, quite remarkable really.

 

[Captainoversteer]

You're cheering me up now!

 

[Captainoversteer]

Chaps,Would it be a fair assumption to make then,that a vehicle of that mileage has either A,has been maintained enough to have had a set of BEB or B,has at least had some sort of maintainance as far as regular oil changes to have lasted this long?
Theroretically speaking?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I wouldn't assume anything about the big ends or how it's been maintained, that mileage is easy for even a badly treated 80 to do especially in the UK / Europe, what you want to know is will it at the very least do the same again before it starts to show signs of needing a rebuild ... the engine condition is pretty easy to asses, the auto box would be what I paid special attention to, they are a bit more of a gamble if all you get is a quick test drive because they can have hidden intermittent problems whereas a manual box is clunky but easier to asses condition (imo)

 

[karl webster]

Put it this way. Mine has 250 on it. If it had 350 or 450 on it I'd have still brought it. If you try and test it and it all drives nice and runs well then all good.
As for the bebs. When milage gets up there and it's still running ok. I'd have thought that the bearings weren't the bad batch that got fitted. But, first thing I would do is put a set in along with new bolts. For the sake of the pei e of mind and the small cost compared to another engine theres no point not doing them. I learnt the hard way with one of the first cruisers I had.
Saying everything we have. The truck could be a well worked dog. All I'm saying is some of the trucks out there what look like this can be a very good truck underneath the visual side.

 

[OG.]

OG
If someone came to me wanting a complete shell in good con they may be looking at 1000£ ( no one quote me on that price in the future)
If someone wanted complete running gear ie engine box axels then the total would be far more than I KNOW this truck will sell for.
I sold one exactly the same couple of weeks ago as this colour milage etc etc. 2800 body not tidy 225 on the clock but the running gear was spot on.
As for the chaises. I have had alot of 80s through my hands and seen a hell of a lot of them and to this day I have NEVER seen a rotten Chasie.
We all have a opinion though.

Agreed a bodyshell is a lot cheaper than a full set of running gear but it would be very very unusual to replace all the running gear. Generally where a truck has been neglected it will be one major item requiring urgent attention and perhaps another needing some attention in the medium term.

Its also a lot cheaper if someone else is doing the work to replace running gear than body (or chassis). Labour costs for a body change would be horrendous.
Thats just my way of thinking.

In my experience its often the case that a truck that looks tatty will have been neglected in almost every area. The visual side of things is often (though not always) a very good indicator of how the rest of the vehicle has been maintained.

 

[oostsco]

Body - well bit of a sensitive topic for me. Bought a Shogun V6 in "immaculate" condition and only 65k on the clock. I trusted the guy, picked it up at night and noticed rust on some of the body panels (not that much). I got £200 back since it was not as advertised. Six months later the rust was so bad it failed the mot as a result of a rotten sill and trying to stop the rust was almost impossible and i basically gave it away just to get rid of it.

It seems however that Cruisers are less prone to rust...........