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79 f250 valuation

Tryloff

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
788
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186
I went to look at a truck yesterday. It fired up first turn and drove great. The owner told me he was asking 8500 but to throw out an offer. It's not listed anywhere so he's had no other offers. It has surface rust in various places. Rust holes over the rear wheels and in the bottom of the doors. Anyone have a rough guess what these are going for these days? It has a 400, c6? Auto trans, I think he said 208 t case. And a 60 rear with a 44 front. All the original stuff.

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You could find that truck for sub 3k in California and a very clean one with no rust for 6500-8500. Over that gets you new paint and interior. Ebay is actually a decent place to look at pricing on these if you ignore all of the 30-40k buy it now prices
 
That's like a $2k truck here. $8500 would get you a truck the average person would consider restored.
 
I hate posts like this. You're asking for an evaluation without giving geographic location on a vehicle. And on top of that expecting to find out what someone else would pay for it.

There are plenty of sites out there to check for pricing and two that I can think of off the top of my head that will deal with classic vehicles:


But the reality here is that it's worth what you are willing to pay for it. You can look high and low for the actual price, but in the end all that matters is what you're willing to pay for it.

Good luck... 😉
 
For a clean running 73-79 F250 4x4 here, minimal rust with a good platform to rebuild? 5-6k. Already done and in good to excellent shape? 12-18K pending on options/ originality.

For Ohio, that's a not so rusted out driver...actually decent shape for there. The 400 isn't anything to write home about, a bit better than a 351. How's the frame? How's the interior?
I would guess it's a 6500 dollar truck there... maybe a bit higher.
 
Shit, in Colorado people would be asking at least 10K for that...and that shouldn't have a 208 transfer case in it, 205 or 203
 
You could find that truck for sub 3k in California and a very clean one with no rust for 6500-8500. Over that gets you new paint and interior. Ebay is actually a decent place to look at pricing on these if you ignore all of the 30-40k buy it now prices
I kind of doubt that... the market price of these has crept up quite a bit. "Farm Fresh" trucks like these just aren't really common any more.

Exhibit A (not even 4wd) :

Guy is asking 7600 for an F250 2wd camper special. Looks to need work to make it right.

Exhibit B:

Another F250 that would need more work to make "good condition", right now I would call it fair. 8500.

Find a sub 3k one for me... not all roached out needing a ton of stuff.
 
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OP... see if the guy will haggle to maybe 6500-7200? That would be a decent deal for where you are and what it looks like it may need. By the time you're into it with what it would prolly take to get right, you'd prolly be into it for 9 to 9.5k. Just a guess.
 
Thanks all. Interior is all there. Drivers side of seat bottom is torn and the dash is cracked pretty bad, but it's all there and not falling apart. Frame is solid and floor pans looked solid. I was thinking the 5-6500 range, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't low balling too bad. I did look at the other ones for sale in those links though.

I'll post it up if I get it. It wont be an off road vehicle, just a maintained summer driver.
 
It’s got Ohio plates and not falling apart.

$4,000 would be a deal and give you a lot of room to resto it. $6,000 would be meh. $8,500 is way too much. That’s Fireball Motor prices, but Fireball trucks are from out west.
 
While I agree with you on the $3k rust free trucks being a thing of the past, I’d still not pay more than $5k for anything out of the rust belt.

The difference between a CA/AZ/TX truck with a little rust, and a rust belt truck with a little rust showing, is that the first one is going to need floor pans from wet carpet padding, a little work around the wheel wells, and some repair work to the windshield frame. The rust belt truck is going to have rust in every seam, and even though it might be minor now, it’s going to spread and get worse. The body mounts might be good when you buy it, but they are slowly rotting off the truck.

I paid $3k for my 79 that was in similar shape back in 2017, and in 4 years the little bit of rust on the front fenders has turned into needing full fenders, 2 body mounts are rough, and the cab corners started rotting out.

$8500 is a lot of money to me, and when you are talking dropping that kind of coin, doing the leg work to get a vehicle with minimal rust to start with is going to be worth it.

To the op, someone posted these guys on the last site. It seems like most of their business is importing older trucks from
outside of the rust belt. I see the Ohio tag on the truck in your post, but I have no idea how close they are to you.

I probably posted. Fireball is the go-to around here.

BIG SECRET FOR EAST COAST BUYERS...most of their trucks are $2,000 less in person than what’s posted on their site!
 
This truck was a new mexico truck until 15 years ago. Unfortunately, not washing or waxing it and stored outside has quickly ruined any benefits of that.
 
I completely understand what it takes to g through one of these and make it right... like most the other guys here do. I'm in the middle of one right now. It's a painstaking endeavor, and my time is money. That said, if you can work a price good for you and a real world assessment of what it's going to take to make it right, do it. If your upside down (sale or not) then reconsider. I don't get emotionally attached to any vehicle. It's labor intensive and I had better make back what I put in and then some. 5k would be really fair for you. 6k would be about right... 8.5k is to much. It's gonna hinge on what the guy is willing to settle for. I personally love to see old stuff get a new life, for the right price... I walk on a great number of deals because the guys are A. hoarders. B. unrealistic on value or C. smokin crack. :laughing:

Your call... but for a fairly straight truck in Ohio, you will pay X, plus shipping for one out west. OR, hop on a plane and drive one home. Location, location, location...
 
They are even getting picked over in the desert. I've been spoiled, and really prefer never painted never molested trucks, I had to go with a 2wd long bed to get one in budget. I refuse to pay the 4wd premium on a hacked up truck.
 
Theres a yard up here not to far from me with about 10 of them... what's left of them anyways... They are getting harder to come by. The town the Yard is in I must have counted proly 25 or 30 of them. still on the road. I can most certainly assume those are the "vultures" picking that yard clean. I'm now a fellow vulture... they see me rollin, they be hatin. :laughing: :dustin:
 
Theres a yard up here not to far from me with about 10 of them... what's left of them anyways... They are getting harder to come by. The town the Yard is in I must have counted proly 25 or 30 of them. still on the road. I can most certainly assume those are the "vultures" picking that yard clean. I'm now a fellow vulture... they see me rollin, they be hatin. :laughing: :dustin:
Last week I sold a tractor and delivered it to a border town, old school Mexicans, 40s, 50s 60s 70s cars and trucks everywhere, I had an empty trailer and cash, I inquired about 3 very clean unmolested Ford's, none for sale, one old man told me in Spanish "nobody sells old cars here, you have to go to California for cars"
Prices not even discussed, just flat out not for sale. Killed me driving home empty :laughing:

I really do think I need to find a half dozen barn finds to save for my kids and grandkids
 
Last week I sold a tractor and delivered it to a border town, old school Mexicans, 40s, 50s 60s 70s cars and trucks everywhere, I had an empty trailer and cash, I inquired about 3 very clean unmolested Ford's, none for sale, one old man told me in Spanish "nobody sells old cars here, you have to go to California for cars"
Prices not even discussed, just flat out not for sale. Killed me driving home empty :laughing:

I really do think I need to find a half dozen barn finds to save for my kids and grandkids

I’m collecting cars now, older cars. If it’s a deal I buy it with no plans of selling unless I would come close to losing my house or land. These old cars are going to be worth a lot when there’s nothing but shitastic computer controlled cars out there and the used market doesn’t exist, because after fifteen years a 2021 costs $15,000 to get driving again.
 
$8500 is a more appropriate ask for the clubcab with the D60 front.

I do like a good dentside, but damn... there's 15-20yr newer trucks with better powertrain at half the price.
 
$8500 is a more appropriate ask for the clubcab with the D60 front.

I do like a good dentside, but damn... there's 15-20yr newer trucks with better powertrain at half the price.
People aren't buying these trucks for their value as a tow rig/work truck, or because the powertrain is a good combo for anything aside from turning gas into noise. They're a collectible item/weekend driver that you buy because you like it or your dad or grandpa drove one etc... Market is going up right with everything else, I see tons of 90's Fords selling for damn near what they cost new.
 
rust free 1974 stepside with a 44 front end for $8500
 
A long bed flareside, wow. Didn't know those existed. Looks cool but seems silly to limit bed space with a flareside and then try to resolve the issue by making it a long bed. Although, I guess having the side steps is nice for some niche use(s).
 
8500 plus 1000 shipping. I'm headed back to this one here in a few days. We'll see how much wiggle room there is.
 
People aren't buying these trucks for their value as a tow rig/work truck, or because the powertrain is a good combo for anything aside from turning gas into noise. They're a collectible item/weekend driver that you buy because you like it or your dad or grandpa drove one etc... Market is going up right with everything else, I see tons of 90's Fords selling for damn near what they cost new.
They are also priced where Chevy stuff was 10 years ago.

Cant afford a Chevrolet so ford is next up. Prices will shortly be out of reach until I've had a few years to normalize the drop in the dollar
 
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