This sounds like a good deal, especially as you’ve dealt with him before.
What evidence does your friend have?
Would your friend like to make a better offer for the truck?!
My friend is the sort who distrusts nearly everyone, hangs onto things too long, and sometimes fails to close a deal because he wants to pinch more pennies out of it.
So… why do I listen to him?
For the past 10 years he’s helped me a great deal in keeping my vehicles running. Including some significant repairs. For the most part he’s been a good source of information, how to DIY, maintenance suggestions, and so on.
Which doesn’t mean his advice this time is the best. After all, it’s my truck not his and if I want to just plain give it away that’s my prerogative.
He could do the welding repair for me - he made one before and the mechanic interested in the truck said it was a well done repair - but it would be done on his schedule which could be months. Also, there’s some crap happening in his life which makes me think he just doesn’t have the time for it now, and in any case he can’t do the transmission repair.
I’ve appreciated his help over the years, but like I said the truck is now more a liability than an asset for me.
I’ll just note that while I have also asked this friend for advice in other matters his negativity can be aggravating. He’s a little on the paranoid side. Then a couple weeks down the line he expresses amazement at a deal I negotiated or how I navigated a bureaucracy or whatever. I listen to what he has to say but in the end the decision is very much mine.
It’s time for me to let go of the truck, it’s just a matter of how more than when.
About this, in my state at least (California) you might be able to file a certificate of non-operation, or better yet there might be a status where in essence you do not drive the vehicle but only for sales test drives. Is there such a status?
If there is such a status then your reg and insurance might drop considerably.
Added — apologies, I did not read the entire thread.
Sort of. I did look into it at one point.
But I’m really inclined towards wrapping this up fairly quickly.
I laugh when my ad very clearly says the price is FIRM and, even before they’ve looked at the item, they send an email asking if I’ll take $x less for it.
I don’t even reply, but maybe I should tell them Yes, and when they show up the first thing I tell them is, FIRM.
To get an idea of the private party sale price for your truck, look at similar listings on Craigslist in your general area. Look at the listings in several cities around you.
There are a number of sites to get estimates of selling prices such as KBB (Kelley Blue Book), Edmunds and NADA (J.D. Power) and the OP should definitely consult these. However a big problem is that the OP’s vehicle needs major repairs (welding and transmission, etc) and these are going to substantially reduce the truck’s value.
real good points here. Having a mechanic you can trust is absolutely one of the most important things to have in your life. This will help to cement that relationship.
The big used car pricing sites are good for pricing late model cars, but they aren’t all that accurate for old cars. They might be good for figuring out the auction cost since that’s where the dealers send old cars they get in trades. With a truck decades old, problems and necessary repairs should be expected and may not affect the price all that much. A truck like this may only get a few thousand in a private party sale. The buyer shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect at that age and price.