Worth it? $500 01 XLT V6 2WD *Bought/Sold*

[RandomNerd2000]

So, I've been offered a truck, a third one. It's a 2001 XLT, dark green, tan interior, had leather seats which are absolutely gone, a V6 2WD, has lean codes, runs rough at idle, easy fix, engine seems quiet, transmission was in the shop last year and the shop in question is a known good one here, very honest guy, and I've driven it, seems good enough. The bad is, it has atrocious paint, it was parked in the sun, underneath a pecan tree, and probably hasn't seen soap in years, the clear coat is awful, and the interior needs TLC. I'm giving it serious thought and thought I'd ask, what would you do? I'd be fixing it up semi decent, cloth seats and a good cleaning up, and then reselling it to make a couple hundred bucks on it.

 

[SupaSwope]

It all comes down to time and money. Is it worth the time and money to make a few hundred? If yes then do it.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I personally think it is, I could use the money made to also get my V8 a front end rebuild since it's just awful in terms of ball joints and tie rods.

*Edit* It has 236K miles on it.

 

[lobo411]

Isn't 240k pretty much end of life for a V6 of either variety (SOHC or OHV)? Sounds like a lot of work and not much profit-potential to me.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Well it's had the transmission redone and the engine is quiet so I'm assuming rebuilt or replaced? It doesn't need that much, seats would be most of it, and intake gaskets and I'd be pretty well golden. Around here, the EOL for the V6s seems to be around 260-280K judging from the others that have been junked I've seen. Around here, trucks in similar shape go for $1,100 to $1,500, depending on luck, I wouldn't do it but I know people who have, I gave $1,100 for my clean clean Eddie Bauer and $200 for my 2000 with the V8, both running and driving

 

[RandomNerd2000]

So when the guy gets time to get it loaded on a trailer, we're floating, took a look at it, appears to have been wrecked at some point, though a small wreck, since the bumper and grille are the obviously only affected parts. Front end components are good and tight, look like they've been redone recently, transmission was worked out in November of 2016, engine has roughly 150K on it, it's quiet, runs smooth, decent tires, pretty well a good truck other than looks. The plan? Drop seats in it, clean it up and try to get a tiny profit out of it, since the going price for one in that shape is roughly $1,100.

 

[Rhett]

Isn't 240k pretty much end of life for a V6 of either variety (SOHC or OHV)? Sounds like a lot of work and not much profit-potential to me.

No, 240k is just getting started for an OHV.

Regarding the truck, are you planning on repainting it? Or just fixing the lean issue and putting in seats?
I tend to agree with what lobo said -- around here I would have trouble selling one with bad clear/faded paint for anything over $500-$600. In other words I'd have to fix the mechanical issues plus the interior plus paint the darn thing. And THEN I may get $800 for it, maybe $1200 if I'm super lucky. 2WD just don't sell as high, people want the 4WD as a farm truck. Maybe South Carolina is different. It's further east, maybe you all have higher prices there.

 

[Rhett]

Front end components are good and tight, look like they've been redone recently, transmission was worked out in November of 2016, engine has roughly 150K on it, it's quiet, runs smooth, decent tires, pretty well a good truck other than looks..

Sounds like it is a truck worth saving, anyway.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Here a 2WD brings roughly $1200, I personally have 4x4 and AWD trucks, and don't really want a 2WD for a personal vehicle, but here we have for sale and trade groups on Facebook so I can see what sells and doesn't sell and for what.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

So happens so I have a friend who's expressed interest in a truck like mine, says he wants something similar but doesn't want to put much in, so the deal is done, I'll have photos when I get it home and the time to take the photos of it.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Well, it became the $300 or $400 truck, depending on work needed, and it's home now, first comment is, wow, 3.55 gearing is so different on a SOHC, it's great on the highway but I love the 4:10 gearing from a stop, the low RPMs driving around certainly helped economy, I got amazing fuel economy, second comment is wow, how people treat stuff is amazing, they put 44K miles on it since last March, or so the title says, transmission shifts on point, fluid is pretty and bright, engine needs an oil change, has been changed but been a good while, timing chains are quiet too, the paint needs some major TLC to be decent, and if it was mine I'd say paint the truck, but for the price bracket I'm aiming at, that's not in the budget, but I'm really happy so far.

 

[Rhett]

For $300 or $400 that's great, you can make some money. Of course, when I buy stuff and sell it to my friends, seems like I never make any money

 

[RandomNerd2000]

So I've worked on it today, it now has working gauge cluster, park lights and tail lights when you turn on the switch, parklight was full of water, it blew the fuse, PO had a wire run straight to the battery to clamp on the terminal, totally wasn't dangerous, door locks were also a blown fuse, they sorta work, not especially but sorta, windows were the same deal, fuse and we're back at it. In other news, I noticed the radio display wasn't working, and upon visual inspection it has a working Mach radio, so I've got two of those now, I stuck the stock radio from my 2000 in since I replaced that one with a aftermarket Pioneer, so now we're down to the intake gaskets, some paint work, mostly a good cleaning since the gone clear coat isn't gonna grow back, since the hood and roof are absolutely atrocious, but I'm super happy with it, great deal so far.

 

[3xowner]

you bought it for flipping, right? I would think you will only be happy when you sell it at a profit

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I will, and I am going to get a decent profit on it, I believe I might have it already sold. My reference to great deal is that I'm really on top of the whole situation, happy with the decision.

 

[Rhett]

It's also fun (at least to me) to fix things that most people just give up on. Sometimes it's amazingly simple stuff, like some fuses or relays.

Are you going to do anything about the clearcoat? Or sand it all down and re-paint/clear the hood and top?

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Well the hood seems to mostly buff out, not sure about anything else yet, I did the intake gaskets today, so much better, making great progress on it, also the engine has been replaced, has roughly 180K on it, judging by the math estimate and the date of install.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

So, I was checking out the codes on the truck, and there was a code for the airbag light not working, so I changed out the bulbs, and then the airbag light was steady on, no flashing codes, and since the truck has been in a minor accident, I checked everything pretty well, the crash sensors were replaced, the airbags too although one doesn't match the interior, so I figured that the module probably was bad, the one behind the passenger side kick panel, and as it turns out, there is no module, someone has removed it, so my question is, will any module work? My 99 was similarly equipped and I have the module from it, but I want to know before I go sticking random things in and deploy the airbags.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

So, the module from the 99 did work, and the light went out, so I'm not sure who took it out and LEFT it out or why, but that was easy.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Alright, to bump it up likely the last time, it's done, it cleaned up to be rather pretty other than the clear coat peel, got it all fixed up, it's actually really really decent, the 4.0 is quiet and butter smooth, runs amazing compared to mine, transmission is clearly good as new, needs only an alignment and two tires, they're not worn funny just bald, it drives nice too other than having a slight rightward drift, I'll put it like this, if I went to look at it at what I'm asking, I'd probably take it.