Whats a fair price and am I crazy?

[LH Drive]

If $4,000 are burning a hole in your pocket then I'd say go ahead and buy it. After parked for 12 years and no verification to why it was parked I would also expect major engine or drivetrain problems to come with it. I've always heard, "It ran fine before we parked it" If it ran fine ,would'nt they still be driving it? Don't be a sucker to this. If they really want 4k for it then offer them another grand and tell them you expect to drive it home.
They also wanted 4K for my series 3 in the condition I described. Before the owner passed away he was asking 15K for it and it was not even worth 5. Thats why it did'nt sell for the last 3 years before he died. If I had not paid close to the premium price they wanted it would still be parked till it would only be worth the price of scrap metal. I would take some more pictures and walk away. Buy one in good running shape and 10 years from now you will have a good parts rig waiting for you parked in the same place you last saw it.

[ctrover]

I paid 1200 for mine and it runs and drives great.There are plently of deals out there if you search the online classifieds real hard such as craigslist.If you cant get it to run or drive around in the yard your asking for trouble.Id say its worth about 750 for the parts,but why bother?.If your wiling to spend $4000 there are a bunch on craigslist in that price range in better shape that you can hop in and drive away.

[scott]

i paid 5800 for mine. it had new paint (even on the freak'n galvanized trim) and it was running. badvibes and i (jack coudn't make it) drove it 700+ miles home. everything that i've had to repace so far has been due to my really using it. jeff wil tell you i'm stupid in the dirt. but a desert find, 12 years sitting, 500 to 700 woud be all i'd go.

[LH Drive]

I'm sorry about all the flame,,,It's not aimed at you. It upsets me when someone has a classic car parked for 20+ yrs outside under a tree in great shape and they are waiting for some rich guy to drop a ton of cash for it. Instead the car just sits till the weather takes a toll on it. They should relocate the car to a storage and take care of it if it's worth that much....
Most can tell you what not to pay for it so that in the end you don't drop 100K on a car that will only be worth 10K. and I don't know where you can pick one up for 500 bucks in the condition you described.

[yorker]

Even if it IS a rust free desert find I'd be really wary because of the 12 years of no usage. That just screams WHY?! 30,000 miles usually isn't too much usage but if it was used at a mine or by a surveying crew it could actually be a lot of hours. Plus I personally don't put any faith in odometer readings on these trucks- it isn't like it is difficult to change speedos or tamper with readings. You need to look at other things to determine the real usage the truck has withstood. 4k might not be too bad if this truck was someone's daily driver and rust free like you describe but for a derelict it still seems too much.

[scott]

i agree on the "no faith in odo readings". mine said 96000 and i assumed it was 196000 or even 296000.

[Jim-ME]

I paid $5K for mine and drove it 300+ mi. home. It sat on a galvanized frame, had 4 brand new tires and had a brand new parabolic suspension. Since it arrived in the driveway I have replaced the front bumper, the entire rear end, both drive shafts, rear brake shoes and drums, all 4 wheel cylinders, rear brake lines, all the brake flex lines, the speedo and cable, the canvas top, the distributor, the coil, the seats, the door bottoms and tops, the breakfast, the radiator and hoses, the mud shields just to name what I can remember off the top of my head. Do I ever expect to recoup what I have spent? NO!!!! I simply have always loved Series Rovers and still have a lot of stuff left that I want to do. Do I feel that I over paid? No, for I knew what I was getting into and I know how fussy I am. FWIW I will be replacing the rear tub, the bulkhead, both front fenders, adding a diesel engine, plus paint for all the body parts. For you see, Rovers get in your blood and except for a very few owners always stays there. Go ahead and pay the asking price if that is what you want to do but be prepared for what possibly lies ahead. It's a sickness and a blessing. At 52 years of age I have not regrets and feel it has been a blessing to have my Rover.
Jim E.

[xrover]

A fair price for a series rover??? I am of the opinion that it is something that you put a personal dollar figure on.

I am not saying that it is not worth what it's worth but, we dont buy these things from a strictly utilitarian position.

It sounds to me like you were not out looking for any deals on a series land rover, it just happened to be there.

I have this rule of thumb, Offer what you think would be a deal on it. Based on what you have said anywhere from 1000.00 to 1500.00 would be good. After that, if the seller is not willing to move from the 4000.00 mark, figure what you would want to spend maximum, and, if it fits into that then buy it. You can expect to spend anywhere from 200.00 to 4000.00 fixing one of these things depending on what you consider drivable. More if you use the ECR aproach to rebuilding one of these.

I spent 6500.00 on a 73 series III with 89999???????? miles that had a new galvanized frame, 2 engines, hard and soft top, uninstalled fairey OD, 15 boxes of spare parts, and a hydraulic plow set up. (the list goes on). I have spent 400.00 more on additional parts, aprox. 50 hours of quality time, and I cant even count how much more I have spent on beer while working on it but, I wanted it so I bought it.

It is currently sitting in my driveway registered, insured, and inspected. I drive it about 200 miles per week. People think I'm crazy...

GOOD LUCK AND WELCOME TO OUR NIGHTMARE!!!

[scott]

the wife thinks mine's a money pit, so what. my 16 y/o asked me once as she past me in the driveway where i was elbow deep in grease from a fairey hub refurbishing, "doesn't it get frustrating always have to work on that thing?" i turned, smiled and said "no dear, this is what i do to relax after getting frustrated with raising a teenager"

[badvibes]

runabout-

Wow, tough call. But for $4000 I think I'd look around some more. Is this the truck you have to have? Remember these things are money pits. I bought mine for $500, fairly complete, not running. Needed a motor right off. All the mechanicals had to be gone thru. Then you start on the things you want, new/nicer seats etc etc. It doesn't end. Mine's my daily driver currently. If you're going to drive it be ready to work on it. Frequently. Last thing is I'd be sure to pre-lube the motor before you try to fire it up. Just my 2 cents worth. I'm sure that's an over-valuation. (is that even a real word?) Bottom line is it's your choice to make. A lot of people look at me like I'm a loon for driving a 43 year old truck.

Jeff