What is it really worth?

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I had suggested a while back that the dealers come up with some sort of "Kelly blue book", but apparently they didn't think that was a good idea.

I think the reason is it would hurt some of the dealers (not necessarily on this site) that charge an outrageous price like here in South Dakota. That's why I have bought all my trucks from a dealer in CA, then had them shipped here.

I'm sure it would also be very time consuming for the dealers as well to determine fair prices, but in the long run I think it would actually help them.

I definitely agree with you that it is very hard to compare trucks when the prices vary so wildly.

Good luck on your quest, based on your photo's, I would go tell that guy to go pound sand.

 

When i was looking around to buy... Several People were willing to sell them for about 500-2000$ more than the condition they would be in (fresh off the boat). Some of that value add was tires/rims/maintenence issues resolved/extensive paint jobs/apulstry/etc.

Which would be a great deal if i wanted a buy and drive unit w/ no hastles. I had a budget, and wanted to work on the thing myself so i went right to an importer rather than a dealer. I saved about 1000-2000 and I have spent about 800 on my getting it up to speed (not including all the extra time i put into it, but since i enjoy that, NBD).

Since they come off the boat w/ varying condidtion (miles, wear/tear, Model year, etc), its hard to know how much the dealer is profiting from the units, how much work they had to put in it, and what is a fair price. Go with a reputable dealer if you go that route. All the dealers i talked to, explained in detail, what they did to it to get it running good which was very helpful in doing this estimating.

I like turning a wrench every now and then so i bought mine for cheaper than any of the dealers offered me. But it needed a new muffler, a tune up, and several other nit noide things to get it up to speed. Not to mention the time i spent dorking w/ it so far. As you get further from port, the price goes up, no matter what you do, you can drive to the coast and get it yourself (costs money) or let the dealer do it, or have a container shipped (which costs money).

They seem to come out of the box (literally) for about 2500-5000USD more or less and all seem to need a little work. But i emphesise little, my 93 has held up beautifully considering its now 17 years old!

To really understand that pricing, you have to start quoting container prices shipped to your area and what comes in the box when it gets there. Many dealrs are importers&dealers, some are not. I would think when doing the importing there is more risk (proffit loss) and thus more reward (profit). Shipping one unit from Japan seems cost prohibative. The number i gave is just off the cuff and quite relative.



You can almost count on replacing common wear items... cap/rotor/timing belt/fuel filter/air filter/plugs/spark wires on the older models. Possibly clutch, brakes, etc, etc (normal wear items). The dealers seem to aproach thier price point with these items in mind as well.

There is certainly no standard price benchmark as of yet. I seem to gather from threads in this forum that the import process is in flux which drives risk for importers which affects stable benchmarks and make them less... ugh Benchmarky.

 

2nd note, I would not spend 7000+ bucks on a 17 year old vehicle no matter what was done to it! (That borders on the restoration people that do classic cars, which always seemed silly to me unless I was independently wealthy) But if I was a dealer, I would push the envelope to see what the market will bear. There is always that one guy that wants to buy the most expensive thing in the store no matter what value they get of it. Because PT Barnum’s philosophy "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute" is quite true.
Jeep Sells a Rubicon for like 15K more than the base model. Aftermarket upgrades on the order of about 5-6K can get you to and beyond a Rubicon hands down. Same thing applies =D


Overall what attracted me was the overalll price point of these is under 10K all things considered, a full-up 4x4 by any other standard is way more expensive.

 

Agreed KBB would be great, but i think you hit it, the driver is bank loans, which dont exist really. and personal loans arent usually considered secured like a car loan.

 

That truck is a S83P. Early 90's model. In my world that truck if less than 70000kms(40,000 miles) a good body, ran well would retail for 3800 to 4200 the way it is.
Fix the seats and interior and if it had rear diff. lock retail 4800 to 5200. Add 200 if it had air cond.
Today I sold a 92 S83P with H/L 4 speed, diff. lock, air cond. 23"6ply mud grips, lift kit, 40,000 miles for 5000.00. It was a clean truck all around. Would it have brought 5500, most likely. Why did I sell it for 5k, because I bought it right and did very little to it. I added the lift and tires and did a general service job.

 

I think I gave a little to much for my truck when purchased even though it had camo wrap, 3" lift, hercules bed liner, IPT Mud Lites, camo seats/head rests.
It was more suited for my price range and the bang for my buck compared to the 610 mule @ $7,100, 400 polaris @ $8,000, 450 Rhino @ $9,800 + $500 more for camo and none had a top, enclosed cab, heater. Nothing compared to the Hijet in price range with standard features for the same money.
My neighbor bought a 700 polaris with a enclosed cab, heater, winch, snowblade and he has $19,500 in it .. now that's rediculous.
With the info on this site and shopping around to compare prices with an overall average, that's all I could go on but I still think I made one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. Often times I day dream of the past in what if ? mode, Just to think all them hay bales I carried every winter evening when I got in from school to feed 45 head of cattle. Or carrying all them steel traps on the back of a 3 wheeler in the blistering cold running a trap line.

I think it would be a big help for every dealer to have one truck set aside for an offroad demo. Yes Mr. Customer, before you go asking many questions jump in lets go for a ride .... Sold !

 

One caution. They aren't very comfortable to drive in for long periods. But then again, I owned a motorcycle for years and that never stopped me. But ya do have to get your "riding muscles " in shape to drive a mini for long... I do anyways...

 

Gee, they aren't that bad for long trips, just a little bit slow op:! I drove down to Seattle from my house and it took me about 3½ hours each way on the I5 at 80-85km/hr. Now I have to admit it wasn't the plushest ride, but, way better than I expected. My ears where ringing after the trip though, need some more sound insulation!

 

i drive mine regularly on 2 - 3 hour trips to calgary red deer edmonton (90 subaru 6'2" no real comfort issues but look out for Japan repaired seats the town bought on it's seat was sewen up in japan and i think they pulled so of the cushion out it also is a 90 subaru and i would not drive it an hour with that seat real hard.