First thing I does is look for rust. Most of the time the outside fenders, top of wheel opening and behind the wheel, look good but if there is rust on the out side, it is bad. Next I check the front inner fender behind the front wheel , you can do this standing up and looking, there is a reinforcement plate about 3" by 6" on the out side of the inner fender behind the front wheel very easy to see. If it has a 2" by 3" hole rusted through them the truck has rust else where and worst. If it is just starting to brake through then the rear of the truck will have more of the same. If it has no rust at all (bingo look more) Then check the door sill with the door open and if it has no holes at the bottom. Then check the underneath of the bed at the cross member at the bottom of the end gate. Look up from the rear tire to underneath of the bed at the very back cross member and you might see holes or flaking, but if there no holes or flaking,,, (Major Bingo the truck has no rust). I get real excited at this point with no rust because this is very rare.
Then check for grease on the front drag link ends and steering joints. No grease showes no maintance, "bad". Then check the plugs in the front and rear diferencial to see if it is oily at the bottom of the plug for about an inch, no oil at all means no matainace "bad". check for wet oil at the bottom of the backing plate of the brakes for grease seal or brake cylinder leaks, this should be dry and free from oil.
Check under hood for leaks coolant bottoms hose for radiator and power steering leaks. And cut wires taped up. Then interior for normal.
Go for a test drive but make the owner drive.. And watch him, he will un knownly tell you what is wrong with the truck. By tring to avoid what ever the problem is because he knows what the problem is. Like if he stops by using the brakes real easy, or always steps on the gas hard or always light as to avoid a stumble or tune up. just watch him. Then try the old trick by leaning forward just a little and get a slightly puzzled look on your face and look at the tranfer case lever and then the steering wheel and then the hood and so on. and sometime the owner will just plain blurt out what ever is wrong with the truck because he thinks you figured it out. This works good for me. Then drive the truck your self if you still have questions about something.
After the test drive, and the truck is warmed up leave the truck run at an idle. If the owner shuts off the truck start it back up. But make sure it idles for about 5 or 6 minutes and use the time to look around the truck, by letting the truck idle. you are filling the top of the heads with oil and in the cylinders it is also biulding up with oil a little bit. Then after 6 minutes get in and rev it up to about 3000 rpm let drop and rev it to 2500 and one more time. By reving the engine after idling, it sucks oil from a lose valve guide, or oil past the rings, or unburnt gas.. If you see a lot of black smoke from the rear then that is unburnt gas and the truck needs a good tune up and maybe carb work, very little black smoke that disapears fast is OK with me. If you see very, very little light blue smoke and disapear fast (30 seconds) that is ok with me also, but if you see blue smoke and it stays in the air or alot of blue smoke hard to see through. then the engine is sucking oil past the valve giudes or past the piston. And could need a rebuild soon.
This if hard for a first timer. He wants to buy the first one he see. There are a lot of trucks out there and by looking at every one you can,, then you will start to see the normal stuf that is wrong and you will start to pick out a well maintaned truck for the money.
knowleadge of the truck will get you a very good truck you will be happy with.
My personal opinion is to buy in the fall. August to November. But there are a lot of trucks usually for sale all year round.
thank you
stano 87 K5
. I was wondering what i should look at when i go to look at/drive it.
.Now i didn't buy it sight unseen but when i removed the carpet 
I put $800 of sheet metal in this thing and now it is 95%
But seriously there are good deals to be had there.
What was the reasoning behind buying in the fall? It seems there are never trucks around in the fall, I always figured because winter is coming and they are all getting snatched up.
