I’m looking into buying an 85 Isuzu Pup (https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/d/1985-isuzu-pickup-diesel/6744608907.html). It’s got 160,000 miles, says it’s in excellent condition, and it’s listed for $4750. Does that sound like a good deal? What sort of things should I check before deciding whether to go for it or not?
Of course they say it is excellent condition. Every vehicle on Craigslist is listed that way. I hope you don’t plan on this being a daily driver but pay a mechanic to look it over before you buy it. This is one of those what you will pay and what the seller will accept deals.
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The guy selling it has 5 cars for sale on craigslist, chances are the title is not even in his name.
https://miami.craigslist.org/search/sss?userid=48388875
This is definitely a car you need to have checked out by a mechanic before purchase. Also go to the license agency with the plate/vin number and make sure the car truly has a clean title.
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Run away!
Price is too high, parts are not available, car is far too old to be anything but a collector car and NO one wants an Isuzu Pickup as a collector car. Sorry to burst your bubble.
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It’s only 34 years old and has no dealer network, what could go wrong?
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No. Run away. These trucks were terrible when they were new.
Diesel with an automatic. It took many many hours to accumulate 160K.
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Crazy price. Run away.
Agree! Around here the going rate for an older vehicle in good running condition is $700 or so. An orphan vehicle like this basically had scrap value in my opinion.
Walk away and don’t look back. These were the worst pick-up you could buy.You could get a 2007-8 GMC Sierra 1500 at this price…a much better vehicule.
Without getting into the merits of whether or not an Isuzu is a good truck, or the diesel version is good/reliable, I would say the price is WAY too high. A truck this old, in perfect running condition with a decent body might be worth $2000, unless it’s some highly sought after model. Nowhere near the $4750 this guy is asking. You can buy a (vastly superior) 1990s S-10 or Ranger or Toyota pickup for that much money!
Another point which was raised here is that you should never buy a car being resold by a “car flipper” unless you are buying a non-running vehicle and paying close to scrap. Anytime the title isn’t in the name of the person selling it, or has only been in their name for a short time (less than a year) you should walk no matter how good the deal seems. Of course, they will have endless excuses for why they need to sell the car after owning it for only a short time, and most are B.S.
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Those peck marks on the sides are from 10 foot poles. Near sighted prospects sometimes get too close to such vehicles. But even at 10 feet without their glasses they turn and run after a quick view.
Why? Are you a masochist?
What? I can’t get that much for my 2002 Camry which is in great condition.
No way
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If you’re willing to spend 4700 dollars for an antiquated Isuzu then why not just look around and find a decent Ranger, S-10, or Sonoma?
That kind of money should get you a nice one and also a vehicle that will do 0 to 60 way faster than the Isuzu which would be clocked in minutes…
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Joe says it’s great!
Joe who???
Joe Isuzu.
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If you have some spare time look up some old Joe Isuzu commercials from the 80’s. They’re pretty funny.
When you think about it, it says a lot about a company that would poke fun at itself to sell cars. No American carmaker ever had the stones to do that.
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While I had a good opinion of Isuzu pickups’ quality when they were being sold here I felt that their local dealer was a pain to deal with for parts with no other source available and the prices were outrageous. The high pressure fuel pump for the little fast back sedan was over $500 and against my better judgement I found a salvage pump for ~$100 and installed it and strongly advised the owner, who was a regular commercial customer, to sell the car which luckily for me he did.
Before the 80’s version, Isuzu is the one that made the Chevy LUV, remember those?
They weren’t really that bad of a truck, though I recall the diesels being underpowered even with a 55mph speed limit. I’d call them borderline unsafe in this day and age of 70mph speed limits. With one of these you’d need an appointment to merge onto the freeway.
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