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'89 K5 Blazer value?

trbon8r

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I've found a local '89 K5 Blazer, white with blue interior. I haven't seen it in person yet but the pictures look promising. The owner claims the truck is pristine and has no rust. There are 108,000 miles on the clock. The owner claims to be "firm" at $7500. Does this price sound about right? Thanks!

EDIT:

Hopefully this link will work for some pictures:

http://s771.photobucket.com/user/trbon8r/library/Blazer?sort=3&page=1
 
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That is way to vague of a description. That price is high.

What trim level? What options? Engine? Transmission? Gears? Tires? Does it have nice stock wheels, or tacky aftermarket? Lifted?

Post the pics.

Martin
 
Silverado trim, automatic, 350 engine, power windows and locks. Gear ratio is unknown. The wheels are factory stock and there is no lift on the truck. I will try and get some pictures up when I get home.
 
Sounds like it's a survivor. If it is truly pristine, then the price is still high.

If it's a full resto with new everything, then maybe.

BTW, they should be 10bolt fr/rr axles with probably 3.08 gears.
 
Sounds pretty high to me. Few years back I bought an '87 with all GM work/parts on it, for about $3000. Nothing really changed but the grille vs. what you are looking at, and mine only had two tiny dents in the drivers door, and typical GM paint. Bone stock, PW, PDL, etc. Paint isn't worth $4000 on one of these trucks.

If it was showroom new, maybe, but why pay for showroom new and use it? Might as well buy one for a lot less and spend the money on decent parts. I'm sure you could easily spend $7500 in "new" parts to put on one of these things, the sum of the parts never equals the part prices. At 108,000, there is no way it looks like it just rolled off the assembly line no matter how hard they tried.
 
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Thanks for the replies. I would post pictures, but the forum won't let me since I'm not a member. I will try and get some more details on the truck. Thanks.
 
Post a picture or a link.
If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's been for sale for MONTHS.
$7500…kinda high for bone stock.
Rust would be the least of your problems. My experience tells me advertised with low miles just means it's never been repaired. At 100k and 25 yrs old, everything is on it's last legs.
Ball joints, u-joints, shocks, tires etc…
Start adding it up and it starts to look not so good.
 
If the truck is truly a beautiful survivor and you are happy with it then I don't think the price is terribly out of line, at least for around these parts. I see Blazers that are advertised all the time for close to $10K I wouldn't give 5K for but I would really be tempted by a super clean original at that price you mentioned. I bought a 1994 GMC 1500 2wd extended cab a few months ago with 76K miles on it, nary a scratch and a super clean leather interior, I paid $6900 for it but that is what these bring in that kind of condition in our part of the world. Some might think that is crazy but I have a list of people who would give me more than I paid tomorrow.
 
I have seen very few of the late model (EFI) rigs with 3.08's. mostly 3.42's and 3.73's.

Martin
 
I'm not real computer savvy, but I uploaded some pictures into photo bucket. See if this link works. Thanks!

http://s771.photobucket.com/user/trbon8r/library/Blazer?sort=3&page=1

The one thing I did find out is that the truck is a repaint. I suspected it was a repaint since the side moldings have been removed. The fact it has been repainted might be good or bad depending on whether the paint was done just to freshen the truck up, or if it was done to hide damage. Also the quality of the repaint is unknown until I get to actually inspect the vehicle. Then again given GM's paint quality of the 1980's even a so so repaint might be better than factory.
 
I just bought a 90 GMC Jimmy with a few more miles and zero rust for $2700. It's a cheap paint job and a few maintenance items away from being in similar shape to this Blazer assuming all the maintenance is up to date on this one. I think 7500 is pretty high there are definitely better deals out there. I looked at a bunch and agree most of them are way overpriced in my area as well.
 
I have seen very few of the late model (EFI) rigs with 3.08's. mostly 3.42's and 3.73's.

Martin


I have two buddies with Blazers plus mine. All 3 are 87-91s. All three had 3.08s. I was basing it on that. But I know you've gone through a lot. So I believe it if you say so.
 
The truck looks good. I agree that it looks like a repaint. It should have the 'Deluxe' molding (removed). Based on the pics, and assuming everything is in good shape mechanically, I'd say 5-6K in my area.
 
My long-distance critique based on not-so-great-quality zoomed in images:

Dash pad is shot.
Windshield sash was either put in wrong, painted, or is broken.
Drivers side marker is broken.
Bumper trim piece is screwed up on passenger side front bumper.
Serpentine belt routing sticker is not all there.
Something is up with the core support paint.
Tailgate panel appears to be ruined from improper cleaning?
Top (from all I've seen) appears to be too glossy, and the seams somewhat filled with paint, meaning it's been re-painted.
Rear bumper has obviously been hit or hit something, as it's wavy on the drivers side all the way to about the license plate frame. I'd be looking on the inside of the rear quarters for dents/bondo.
Drivers side taillight is not aligned with body right.


Yes, I picked the truck apart based on 4 pretty grainy photos, and for some issues that are extremely minor. No, the truck is not "pristine", and if the seller told you that, is a liar and there is no way in hell I'd give him the money if I couldn't SEE $7500 of value in the truck (like a professionally installed LS-whatever 6L and one ton running gear, that was setup exactly as if I had it built on a hit tv reality show). If I can see that many problems with a "pristine" truck from four photos, imagine what a trained eye will see in person?

As a matter of fact, on principle alone I wouldn't do business with him at all if he indeed said it's pristine. Maybe I'm getting cantankerous, but I'm tired of dealing with people who are outright liars, fraudsters, or just plain jerks. I'm tired of people selling stuff under false pretenses, assuming buyers are A) too stupid to know better, or B) hoping that once there you will just buy it because you took the time out of your life to go check it out and might have the money in your pocket. I no longer have the inclination to find later what the seller knew to be true when they misrepresented it to me, unless of course I know it's a great buy, and I'm willing to accept the risks. It's your money, perhaps your definition of pristine is different than mine, and if so, that's perfectly acceptable.

$7500 might be acceptable where rust claims these vehicles back east in short periods of time, and clean examples are indeed rare. But everywhere else? Slapping a coat of paint on a 23 year old truck that has obvious issues doesn't make it suddenly worth $4000 more than it's competitors.

But without dragging out the dictionary, I'm sure that doesn't fit the definition of pristine, at all.
 
I have two buddies with Blazers plus mine. All 3 are 87-91s. All three had 3.08s. I was basing it on that. But I know you've gone through a lot. So I believe it if you say so.

My 1987 V10 pickup - 3.42's factory
A 1987 parts Blazer I have - 3.73's factory
My 1988 V10 Suburban - 3.73's factory
My 1989 V1500 Suburban - 3.42's factory
My buddy's 1989 Blazer I've worked on - 3.73's factory
My 1990 Blazer - not sure, I'll have to check.
Another buddy's 1991 Blazer - 3.73's factory

Maybe I'm wrong, but that has just been my experience.

Martin
 
i just sold my 90 last fall for 7300 with 137000 miles on it but that was with a 14bff 4.88 gears and half worn 35s
 
My long-distance critique based on not-so-great-quality zoomed in images:

Dash pad is shot.
Windshield sash was either put in wrong, painted, or is broken.
Drivers side marker is broken.
Bumper trim piece is screwed up on passenger side front bumper.
Serpentine belt routing sticker is not all there.
Something is up with the core support paint.
Tailgate panel appears to be ruined from improper cleaning?
Top (from all I've seen) appears to be too glossy, and the seams somewhat filled with paint, meaning it's been re-painted.
Rear bumper has obviously been hit or hit something, as it's wavy on the drivers side all the way to about the license plate frame. I'd be looking on the inside of the rear quarters for dents/bondo.
Drivers side taillight is not aligned with body right.


Yes, I picked the truck apart based on 4 pretty grainy photos, and for some issues that are extremely minor. No, the truck is not "pristine", and if the seller told you that, is a liar and there is no way in hell I'd give him the money if I couldn't SEE $7500 of value in the truck (like a professionally installed LS-whatever 6L and one ton running gear, that was setup exactly as if I had it built on a hit tv reality show). If I can see that many problems with a "pristine" truck from four photos, imagine what a trained eye will see in person?

As a matter of fact, on principle alone I wouldn't do business with him at all if he indeed said it's pristine. Maybe I'm getting cantankerous, but I'm tired of dealing with people who are outright liars, fraudsters, or just plain jerks. I'm tired of people selling stuff under false pretenses, assuming buyers are A) too stupid to know better, or B) hoping that once there you will just buy it because you took the time out of your life to go check it out and might have the money in your pocket. I no longer have the inclination to find later what the seller knew to be true when they misrepresented it to me, unless of course I know it's a great buy, and I'm willing to accept the risks. It's your money, perhaps your definition of pristine is different than mine, and if so, that's perfectly acceptable.

$7500 might be acceptable where rust claims these vehicles back east in short periods of time, and clean examples are indeed rare. But everywhere else? Slapping a coat of paint on a 23 year old truck that has obvious issues doesn't make it suddenly worth $4000 more than it's competitors.

But without dragging out the dictionary, I'm sure that doesn't fit the definition of pristine, at all.

Thanks for the objective look at the truck. I think I will pass on this one. That was quite a list of things that I truthfully didn't notice. I am inclined to agree with you that the truck is priced too high for what it is. Thanks for saving me a long drive and a wasted Saturday, not to mention saved $$$$.
 
For the price difference, you could probably find a similar/same condition truck elsewhere for less, fly out and drive it back.

Or, spend $2500 up front on a decent truck that has some obvious (but fairly easy/cheap to fix) problems, and spend the money on building it/fixing it the way you want.
 
For that kind of money it should be a pristine truck and need nothing, with some recent restorative work. It appears this truck isn't bad, but does need some work. Maybe a 3500 dollar truck, assuming it runs well.

I picked up my 85 in solid running condition with a good body (peeling paint though) with a parts Burban for $1500. Yeah, I have to put in a lot of sweat equity, but even after buying axles, wheels, tires, interior parts, etc, it's still a lot cheaper than buying a finished truck, and it's getting built the way I want.
 

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