New here, wanting opinions on a truck for sale.

[Scott336]

Hey guys, I'm new to Datsun trucks, but have been doing a lot of reading over the last week or so.
A guy in my area has what appears to be a super clean 83' 4x4 for sale and is asking 5k for it.
Asking price seems a bit high to me, but maybe not considering the condition it's in.
Was hoping to get some of your opinions on it.

Here is an album of photos:
http://imgur.com/a/1a7wd

And his description:

"Selling rare 1983 Datsun Pickup. Overall, good condition. Interior driver seat could use upholstery fix. Minor dings and dents to be expected for the age. Paint is the original. Decent gas mileage, shifts smooth. Runs great!

Recent work / Maintenance
-Plugs/Wires
-Tires/Wheels(Yokohama Geolander M/Ts with less than 3k miles)
-New Thermostat and Water Pump
- Just passed safety and emissions so it's ready to be registered. Clean title.
- Just had an oil change 
It is 4 wheel drive, original hubs, everything works well. (4 high and 4 low.)"


 

[datzenmike]

'83? Must have a build date before November '82 as it has the Z22 engine and the square gauge pods. Nothing wrong with this just an observation. Wow it's in great shape and $5 doesn't buy what it used to.

 

Rust spots to look for are along the bed seam just above the tail lights and traveling forward to the cab. Take for a drive. Transfer cases are noisy if abused. Coolant should be clean and full of antifreeze. Steer straight down the road, engine should restart easily when hot, all lights and signals work, wipers, heater/air con, shift gears and transfer case, brakes. Rubber CV joints on front wheels not torn. Oil leaks/wetness on transmission, trans case, differential ?

 

This good looking it was probably looked after but things do naturally wear out.

[MaxChlan]

The YouTuber Chris Fix has an awesome check-list for purchasing a used car on his website; he has a video as well on "How to Inspect a Used Car for Purchase". As for the truck, it seems to be in excellent shape. I'm sure a lot of the guys can attest to this, but it is much easier to prevent rust from starting than it is to remove it or stop it from spreading. Like datzenmike said, check the bed seam for rust (they changed this for the post 1983 facelift), and obviously get under the vehicle and check for frame damage and things like that. There is a great free Vin Checker that you can use as well. Five Grand seems pretty fair, depending on how many miles it has on it. If it's within the 80,000 to 100,000 range, I'd say you have yourself a fair price. But, I am from Minnesota and these trucks are about as "rare as Rocking Horse shit" as some of the guys on this forum say. 

[Scott336]

Thanks for the input, truck has ~153k on it. I'm in Utah and they are pretty rare out here as well due to rust.
He's had it up for sale for about 2 months now, which makes me think he doesn't actually want to sell it, he isn't budging on the price, or there is something wrong with it that he isn't letting on.
Going to check it out next week, I'll keep you guys posted if I grab it or not!
 

[Lockleaf]

Yeah... no. 720s aren't that rare here. Sure, they aren't d21s but there always a couple for sale. That 5k one would barely pull that much with California sunshine tax on it. That truck is a mid 3k truck here at best. Hell, I have a silver 86 king cab I might be willing to part with for 3k. Fuel injected, sunroof, power windows. I see one to two a year in the same shape as that copper one, for half the price. I wouldn't touch that truck at that price. That's more than Toyota's that age ask around here.

[Scott336]

Gotcha, I've been keeping my eye out for a few months and this is just the first one I've seen so figured they were somewhat rare. Maybe because I'm only looking at 4x4 trucks.
3.5k was what I was thinking when I first saw it, definitely wouldn't pay over 4.
I have a hard time beveling that in 2 months no one has offered him 3.5k yet, which makes me think he's just not budging on the price, guess I'll find out when I go to look at it.

[Lockleaf]

720s on ksl will show up as datsun before 1983 and as Nissan after 1983, just fyi.

[Dattokai]

Vinyl top? There's a chance there's some rust growing under there already. 

[Scott336]

Thanks. I've just been searching trucks with a manual trans, 4x4, 5k and under. 
Went and looked at this one the other day but the body and bed were in pretty bad shape, he's definitely got some old photos of it up.
https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3330751?ad_cid=14

[Scott336]

Yeah the black hood/top is a little suspicious as he claims the paint is original.