Possible new truck - Need opinions!

[oaaltone]

Looking for a new vehicle, my old one crapped out on me. A close friend owns a repair shop/used car dealership is offering the following to me:

1995 Chevrolet K 1500
Automatic
4x4
4.3L V6

(I'm not sure about the mileage, I forgot to look, but it's only highway miles. A local dealership used this truck to go back and forth to car auctions and such.)

Here are a few pictures (excuse the rain, it's pouring here):
here

$4500

I trust this guy and the dealership that's selling it, I just want to get a few opinions on whether this is a good deal.

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

Nice truck, and sounds like a fair deal.

Another nice truck I found. Some d00d on E-Bay is selling a really sweet blue 1998 Ranger XLT Flareside 4X4. Ya might wanna check into it. ~Nudge Nudge~

 

[toant103]

we have a chevy s10 at home. 1990 with 190k on it.

 

[punkrawket]

looks like a good deal to me

if anything goes wrong at first.. you know the guy and shouldn't have any problems

 

[Pliablemoose]

I bought a shop truck once, big mistake, lots of electrical problems, died the week after I sold it, made someone very unhappy. If the person is a good friend it might be a good purchase.

 

[Ladies Man]

looks good to me
only thing that i don't like is the v6 but if you aren't hauling anything it should be a good pickup for you

 

[Jzero]

I always balk at "it's only highway miles" as an excuse to sell an extremely high-mileage car for a high price. Miles are miles. If it was driven hard on the highway and not properly cared for, it's no better than being driven stop-and-go and not properly cared for. If it's got reasonable mileage and is mechanically sound, it MAY be worth it.
maybe.

 

[oaaltone]

The engine really doesn't concern me too much, I just need a vehicle to get around. I do move junk around from time to time, but not tons of it. Would this smaller engine get much better mileage than the bigger options?

As for the "highway miles": I know for a fact that this dealer is not trying to push this off as an excuse. I have many contacts in the local car dealer and repair field, having grown up around body shops and dealers. The guy that I may buy this from is a very, very close friend of mine and I trust him. Secondly, the dealership he got this from is a large one and they do take care of their work trucks. The only sign that this truck has been used since 1995 is the worn seat on the driver's side from getting in and out. (Which, by the way, would be replaced for free if I decide to buy the truck...)

Thanks for the feedback so far, keep it coming!

 

[johneetrash]

did u ever see that episode of i love lucy where ricky sells their old tv to fred?

 

[navyrn]

Not to crap on your good deal... just something to think about:
Fleet vehicles get the crap driven out of them by the employees. Think about it. No one cares because it is not their truck anyway. Did this company have a service contract that guaranteed oil changes or did they get done "when ever". I would hate to see you get something that turns into a problem 5K miles later. Good luck. It "looks" like a good truck

 

[GrumpyMan]

Before I buy a used truck I take it to a good friend of mine who is a great mechanic. He inspects it real good and puts it on his diagnostic equipment to check compression, etc. on it. It's worth the $35.00, I would recommend you do the same thing. Get it checked out real good first before you buy it. It's a great way to lose a friend if you don't and it screws up on you..............................

 

[N8Magic]

Watch out, that truck will be a pig on gas. The 4.3L gets only 20mpg in the S10, which weighs a LOT less. I imagine you would only get about 15mpg in a full size truck like that, seeing as it weighs way more.

If you can deal with the mileage, the GM trucks are bulletproof, and will last forever.

 

[Ladies Man]

gas milage from the small engine is about the same as a larger V8 engine.
V8 has a easier time moving it along so it uses less gas... V6 has a harder time so it uses more gas....

But if you are already moving and just crusing down the highway the v6 will do better than the v8

 

[oaaltone]

I'd be using it primarily for:

1) Driving back and forth to school (150 miles on the highway) once a month or less.
2) Driving around at school a couple times a week for errands around town and such...