It’s Terrible Idea Thursday: Show Us The Cars Currently Tempting You On Craigslist And Facebook Marketplace

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Oh man I’m excited to tell you all some news about a recent car-purchase I sorta-made recently. I say “sorta-made” because things are absurdly complicated right now, and I don’t know when I’ll actually be able to drive the vehicle. Anyway, while sorta-making that purchase, I felt that rush that I only get when buying a new car. It’s a drug; the days and hours leading up to it involve blood rushing through my veins, my pupils fully dilating, and frantically planning the logistics of the buy and my drop-dead purchase price — it’s all a fun hit of car-crack. If you’re currently jacked up on this mechanical goodness, tell us about it. We’re here to enabl—I mean help.

Right now, one car I’m looking at is this Volvo V70 turbo wagon with a five-speed manual. It’s being sold by a reader, and though it has 315,000 miles on the clock and is situated on the other side of the country, it appears to be in beautiful shape:

Screen Shot 2023 03 09 At 11.07.58 Am

 

Product photo of 1998 Volvo V70 · T-5 Wagon 4D

I’m not going to buy it, but part of me wants to. A big part of me.

I’m also curious about this old Isuzu Trooper for sale not too far from me. Boxy, four-wheel drive, stick shift — and check out the brown interior!:

Screen Shot 2023 03 09 At 11.15.27 Am

Product photo of 1986 Isuzu Trooper

I know for a fact that many of you sick, sick souls are under the trance of some car on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace as we speak. Tell us; we promise we won’t snipe anything from you.

 

Images from sellers

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Jason Torchinsky

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47 thoughts on “It’s Terrible Idea Thursday: Show Us The Cars Currently Tempting You On Craigslist And Facebook Marketplace”

  1. I’ve waited to post because I was hoping to have closed a deal on one of the project vehicles I’ve been looking at over the past few weeks. I left a couple of messages with the seller earlier today who has up till now been very quick to respond, but haven’t heard back. I know there’s plenty of reasons this could be, of course I worry he’s sold it and I’ve missed my chance.

    As for how terrible an idea this is, I won’t get into much detail. I was told it last ran in the early 70’s although I’m assured the motor still turns over, we all saw with Cactus how well such assurances can go! It’s a fairly limited production run vehicle with some unique missing parts and I’ve only seen in in pictures and video, what could go wrong?

  2. Up until a month ago I was seriously in the market for a nice MX5 Miata (would have been my 2nd).
    Then I had a stroke and lost my vision in my left eye. Damn! No longer looking for a Miata. ;>(

  3. After the Vega vs MustangII showdown the other day, I was evangelizing about this site to a fellow car nut and he told me of a Vega Kammback w/ a sbc on cl for under $3k. Forgot to ask if manual as I’m really trying to avoid even thinking about it. If I search it, I’d almost certainly buy it. I mean, I’ve been hampstering money for months now….

    {BUT that money is for new granddaughter’s 529. I can’t really look her in the eye tomorrow on her first birthday and say, “Good luck with college, kid; Grampa wanted a 50yo GM product”}.

    Damnit

  4. Not shopping, but working on selling my Mini. I’ve been the original owner for 16 years, and I already have its replacement. But letting go is hard…

  5. Apparently Wrenching Wednesday didn’t happen! I’m knee deep in a 1981 Jeep CJ-5 in Autumn Gold that is a holy grail project that I was chomping to talk about. It’s been a terrible idea…

  6. Sorry can’t provide what i am looking at as I just bought a 1978 Fiat 124 spider. Many original parts including the tires. Lost one while towing it home. I know they were original because the tire company sold out to Uniroyal and discontinued the name in 1979.

    1. No that Volvo wagon is a dangerous unreliable death trap that will kill you as soon as look at you. Trust that i have your best interest at heart here.

      On a totally different subject where is West Hartford?
      Kidding I used to live there. They have a great VFD club

  8. “If you’re currently jacked up on this mechanical goodness, tell us about it.”

    I like cars but get a pretty regular hit from finding interesting and/or unobtainium motorcycle parts on eBay.

    For example, I found a complete exhaust for one of my bikes for $60, in good condition and free shipping (which was a surprise – it’s kind of heavy). There is another one on ebay in the same shape with a buy-it-now price of over $500, shipped. :-O

    That same bike has an unusual airbox lid which is very difficult to find in any condition. I stumbled on a[n] NOS (!!!) lot containing the following: the airbox, the lid, the plastic frame that supports the air filter, and the metal mounting bracket. All of the parts were in their OEM bags with product tags. $65 + a bit for shipping, which I was happy to pay.

    Ooooooh, endorphins… La la la la la laaaaaa

  9. This Tesla is extremely intriguing. If you look at the VIN, it is from the first week of production. So it likely was owned by a Tesla employee. I even went to check it out in person, an other than some seatbelt fraying and detached trim in the trunk, it looks well cared for.

    Still, an early Tesla build with over 100k miles, from a generic used car lot sounds scary…

    https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/vdp.action?listingId=346652844#listing=346652844

    1. If you go for it, be sure to check the health of the battery. That doesn’t seem like a good price on a standard-range 3 to me, but the long range 3s go for S money or more around here and some of the S options go super cheap, so none of that market makes any sense to me.

      1. Fun fact… it is a long range! The listing is incorrect. The standard range Model 3 did not come out until much later.

        Battery seems to give around 280 miles or range, which is within the expected degradation range.

        Might stop by again this weekend for a test drive…

        1. For a LR, I think that is probably worth it. Especially since it’s also an upgraded color. The listing as a standard range probably gives you the advantage, since most people would assume they would err in their own favor instead. Good research!

        2. And I just realized that it’s under $25k and at a dealer, so you should be able to get the tax credit if you qualify. Probably a great deal if you can cut your taxes with it.

    1. Indeed. But they are still out there! I bought a ’63 International Travelall for a fraction of that price a couple of weeks ago; it’s in the driveway while I collect parts.

      Go get your truck, young man

      1. If this Travelall was a stick and located in eastern Upstate NY, I saw that ad and considered. He had a late 60s IH pickup last year that I drove and should have bought.

  12. Was looking at BMW i3s for a while after David’s article about them, as an occasional use second car. Even found a 2014 ReX with 62k miles that’s been sitting very out of place at a local dealer since probably July. They are asking $14k, but I’m betting they’d take a lot less.

    My wife rightly vetoed that idea, on multiple grounds. I was kind of relieved, based on owning aging BMWs in past and all the problems that go with them.

    I’ve now moved on to something much less interesting, but probably a lot more practical and reliable. A different local dealer has a 2012 Prius v Three. Carfax has all the service records, it seems to have been a company car and maintained like clockwork at a dealer. 130k miles, asking $9500. Only issues I could find (other than being a goofy Prius wagon) are extremely clouded headlights, and two mismatched off-brand tires I suspect the dealer put on.

    It’s a high-volume dealer and they’ve had the car a few months, with the price steadily decreasing. I’m tempted to offer $8000 and see what happens.

  13. This is the one that’s got my full attention at this time – https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1394244518070134/

    My grandparents had a 1970 Monaco Brougham in 1970 – butter cream with a dark green vinyl top and dark green brocade. Can’t remember why they traded it on a 1972 Monaco, but I think it had to do with the air conditioning.

    Still waiting to hear back on the “slight attention needed on the frame” and attendant photos.

  14. Damn, are people really willing to pay $4,500 for a 25-year-old Volvo wagon with 315K miles? Or $7,500 for a beat to hell 40-year-old Isuzu 4×4 with 250,000 miles? The used car market is dumber than I thought. As a result, nothing is tempting me and I’m sticking to the same trusty daily and two fun cars I’ve had for a while now.

    1. Same.
      I have many ideas, many plans, many stupid ass vehicles I want to build. Unfortunately they need to wait for a divorce to shake out, and then they need to wait for the used car market to settle.

  15. There’s a ’70s model Caddy Hearse over in Daytona Fl area that has dropped from $1500 to about $700 over the past few months. Its rusty and crusty and brown and horrible.
    I wants it.
    I want to get it, I want to eBay twin turbo that monstrous 472 in it. I want to take it to the GRM $2000 Challenge and body-roll all over the auto-x course, whipping hubcaps at corner workers. Then I want to take it to the drag event and fry the tires off it.

  16. There are 3 or 4 local Explorer Sport-Tracs I have been watching (it was like you read my mind with the article today), but the worst idea I keep looking at is a BMW 430i convertible. I know it’s going to have a bunch of issues. I know it’s going to be expensive to repair/maintain. But a retractable hardtop BMW still seems like a fun car to cruise around in. It’s sold by a dealer I think is shady, so I probably won’t go for it.

    1. Or is the plural “Explorers Sport-Trac?” “Explorer Sports-Trac” is clearly just a competitive athletics trim, but I could also split the difference and go with “Explorers Sport-Tracs.”

      1. Explorers Sports-Tracs I believe is correct. Why are you looking at those? I always kinda liked them, but I rarely see them in the wild these days.

        1. I always thought they were neat and one popped up on FB Marketplace. I looked at it, decided it was too much for a 200k mile Ford of that era, and didn’t think much of it. Then one came up with 110k miles. And another one with 150k.

          I probably won’t buy one, but seeing three (or maybe 4, but I think one just got relisted) locally piqued my interest. And it would be a little smaller than my Silverado, which would be a nice change. But I don’t daily my pickup, so it’s probably not worth the effort to sell it and buy one of those.

      1. I need the two-stroke parts but not really the V4 parts or the V4 parts car but it sounds like it may have to be a package deal. Depending on what’s left on it, some of the stuff on the parts car will be interchangeable anyway.

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