1985 F150 4x4 in FLA (Ebay) with 28K miles

[Rembrant]

Boy are they asking some big money for this truck...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163814553344

I don't like to pick on people selling a vehicle...we all do put different values on things...but with an asking price of $20,000 there are a couple things a little too hard to look past on this truck...

Like the large visible patch on the frame on the outside of the right rear shock mount...



And the fact that the left hand rear shock mount appears to be missing...



I get starting with a high price, but even in showroom condition, it's still hard to hit half of $20k with a Bullnose.

[salans7]

The frame looks absolutely awful on that truck. It's hard to tell what is undercoating/paint and what is corrosion.

[Rembrant]

salans7 wrote

The frame looks absolutely awful on that truck. It's hard to tell what is undercoating/paint and what is corrosion.

I know. It's so common to see trucks like that here, it sticks out like a sore thumb for me. It's very common here to spray black crap (whatever, asphalt spray, black paint, etc) all over a rusty frame to make it look better for sale...

[salans7]

That's exactly what it looks like they did.

That Canadian vin number doesn't lie. You guys would be surprised at how many Canadian trucks end up in Florida. I test drove a 2011 Ranger at a Ford dealer a few years ago, imagine my surprise when I looked down at the speedometer and saw Kilometers on the outer ring. I ended up passing on it because the frame obviously had fresh undercoating on it since the front differential bracket and driveshafts were rusty but everything else wasn't.

[Rembrant]

salans7 wrote

That's exactly what it looks like they did.

That Canadian vin number doesn't lie. You guys would be surprised at how many Canadian trucks end up in Florida.

Well there are a lot of Canadians that end up in Florida!

My grandmother bought a place in St. Pete's back in the early 80's, and it was kept in the family right up until just a few years ago. The "kids" (My mom and her brothers and sisters) weren't using it, so they sold it.

I bought a '97 Tacoma 4x4 in Florida back in about 2005-2006, and that thing was so nice underneath...the frame was all still black and the little stickers were still there and on the coil springs, etc. At the same time, the frames on those same trucks were breaking up here.

Anyway, back to the old rusty F150...

I missed the Canadian VIN. Good catch. May very well have been a "snow bird" truck dragged down from the north.

The used dealers here used to be (and maybe still are) ruthless. They'd spray a rusty frame in just about anything to make it look good from a distance (and to keep you from looking to close at it). Other little tricks were new rubber pedal pads, a new bed liner to hide all the dents in the bed floor, a new set of cheap tires and a gallon of Armor-All, and on to the lot they'd go!!