After being unable to sell my 1985 Jeep J10 in California — a place that requires emissions tests and that does not tolerate even minor rust — I decided to ship my truck to Michigan to find a buyer. “This truck is clean,” I told myself. “It will sell in the rustbelt in no time!” I was wrong. Very wrong. Months later, my truck still languishes in The Mitten, with buyer after buyer just kicking tires, my friend growing tired of storing the vehicle, and just when I thought it couldn’t get worse: A tree fell on the Jeep.
The idea was actually not a bad one. My Jeep J10, by California standards, is so rusty and so unlikely to pass emissions that people wanted to buy it as a parts car. The J10 isn’t quite a Bring a Trailer/Cars & Bids quality machine, but it certainly isn’t a parts car — it’s a mostly rust-free (in the eyes of a Midwesterner), low-mileage machine with a perfect powertrain and drivetrain that drove all the way from Michigan to California with no problems. It could be someone’s daily driver. A truck like this is rare in Michigan and tends to command a premium, which is why I paid $1,450 to ship the machine from LA to The Motor Suburb.
And at first, my idea seemed genius! I had loads of interest, with plenty of folks even looking at the Jeep in-person at my friend Jamie’s place in Ann Arbor. One gentleman named Todd seemed very interested; he showed up, took a look at the truck, and then sent me an offer via text. He and I negotiated a little from the $8800 I had the truck listed at, but ultimately I came more towards him than towards my list-price, and he agreed. “I will go the 7250,” he replied.
Hot damn. I had the truck sold! $7250 was a bit lower than I’d hoped for a rare, low-mileage truck. Hop on Auto Trader, and you’ll find a bunch of trucks in worse shape asking way more. But that’s OK; it’s one thing to ask and it’s another thing to sell. Plus, this basically pays for the Jeep Comanche I replaced my J10 with, so I’m happy.
Fast forward a few days, and Todd comes to purchase the Jeep.
“Your guy Todd just bailed,” my friend Jamie messaged me.
“And by bailed, you mean left or literally bailed?” I replied.
“Literal bail. Passed on the sale,” he said.
Apparently Todd had brought his son, who talked him out of buying the truck.
Months later, Todd continues to message me about the truck, but he wants to pay less than $5,000 for it. To a friend, maybe I’d give such a deal, but to someone who agreed to buy a vehicle only to bail? I’m just not feeling it.
Then things got worse. Jamie had sent me this photo with the caption “Bless my neighbor”:
Luckily, Jamie’s neighbor is able to store my Jeep without issue. This seemed great, as it allows me some time to find the right buyer for this niche vehicle without stressing out Jamie or his family. But then, a few days later:
“Carb fine. Slight squish of filter. Running perfectly,” Jamie messaged me. “Thankfully the roof and glass were spared. I’ll pop the hood damage up as best I can. I’m so sorry man.”
I assured Jamie that he isn’t accountable for an act of nature, and that I owe him big-time for storing my Jeep all this time.
Jamie, amazing man that he is, built a jig out of wood, set it onto my frame rails, and gently lowered the hood onto it to pop out the dent:
The results are actually quite impressive, all things considered!:
Anyway, shipping my Jeep from California to Michigan to find a buyer has proven to be been a disaster so far. It’s crazy to think that, had the prospective buyer, Todd, not brought his son to see the truck, I would have thought it was genius.
Alas, I took the risk, and it seems this one may go down in the L-column. You win some, you lose some.
Jamie did a great job with the hood, all things considered. I love it when people can use their noggins and simple tools/techniques to accomplish something.
I know nothing about the market for old Jeeps, or about old Jeeps themselves for that matter. But if I were asked who DOES know those things, David Tracy would be my immediate answer.
So I assume the logic of paying to ship it back is sound. Patience probably will be rewarded. Even with used cars having come down slightly in price since the post-pandemic peak, they’re still high vs 5-6 years ago (I recently paid $6,500. for my 240 wagon, which would have cost HALF that had I bought it five years earlier) and recent goings-on with oil prices and consumer uncertainty are probably playing a role w/your pool of potential buyers.
Plus David, you have a new wife and a super-nice i3 in what’s got to be one of the rarest and most desirable color combos, so I can’t get too depressed about it taking longer to sell your Jeep than expected. 😉
I’m sure this comment will be in the ether:
The floor knocks $2k to $3k off the selling price. This brings the truck into project level with someone who can weld. That person is already looking for deals, hot rods, and muscle cars.
The cap is devaluing the truck.
The bronze graphics are peeling, the black rims are holding it back because it looks dirty (go retro or go with mags), and the paint needs to be cut and buffed big time.
It could have passed emissions, but that would require a new cat and a Howell Fuel Injection, which is $2k.
There is a buyer, but as others have pointed out. That buyer is at $3k-ish
Personally, I would see if one of the automotive YouTube creators would partner with you to restore it. I would watch an Autopian collabs with VGG, Puddin’s Fab Shop, or Pole Barn Garage, then do the “Poverty Tour”. That would be something I’m interested in.
Another option would be to build it for EJS 2027. It’s axles and manual would allow it to crush. The downside is that it would need to be shortened after the wheel wells.
Every option eats away at about $4k of your market price, which puts the value at $3k to $4k.
Good luck!
It’s priced way lower than similar-conditioned J10s, so it’s just a matter of patience.
No offense to you David, as I saw your Ad and would love to buy it, but AMC Addict I think has it priced right if you need it gone. As the old adage goes, “You can list a car for any price, it’s what it sells for that matters”.
Plenty of folks who are listing J10’s in worse shape for a high price have the ability to sit on inventory and hopefully rake in a sucker who buys and helps bring up the market on the rest of their J10’s. I’m sure you’re not in that ballpark, but if you’re wanting the Albatross off you’re neck you could slash the price tomorrow and have it gone.
For instance, I’m looking for a fun project for $3 grand if I saw your J10 I’d be over to pick it up in less than 24 hours. Plenty of people would. You’ve got a lot of cost involved so I understand how you have it priced, I just hope your friends are willing to play the long game too (ask me how I know about that…)
I could be totally wrong, but it looks like there is rust in quite a few places:
-Top of cab, around the windshield frame
-Floors, as shown in the pictures but it goes up the side of the footwell, too?
-Is there a rust hole on the side of the hood?
-Primer on bedsides usually equals fixed rust… how does the buyer know the extent to which it penetrated, and how it was repaired?
Not to mention the puddle of fluid under the (leaking?) rear diff, and a muffler held up with some sort of shop wire.
And then we get to the hole in the driver floor patched with duct tape and dirt..
My man, take any amount of money someone will give you for this turd. Please.
Ouch. Spending $1500 to ship that thing to MI was where any upside got foreclosed. Actually, that already happened when it was first shipped to CA. Now you’re just hanging on for dignity scraps. GLWTS
Sorry, but that looks like a shit ton of rust. I’d pass too
Wow. A Crown Vic Yellow Cab. I haven’t seen one of those in a while…
Good luck!
I would paint the floor black, throw down some Dynamat, and get some cheap floor mats. Good as new.
David, real talk, I love FSJs and have 3 myself and I can never imagine a world where I’d pay more than $3k for that truck. It’s an 80’s 6 cylinder J10, it’s not special. It’s a rusty heap. Call that guy back and beg him to take it off your hands for $5k
This is the answer.
David, I have no doubt your unicorn buyer is out there somewhere and I hope they find you.
The issue with your logic about the floor rust is that you don’t price time into your comparison to a truly rust free J10. Even if you pay someone else to do the work, it still takes time to find that person, vet their work, transport the vehicle to them, etc. Your total out of pocket cost for the vehicle may be less but it’s a lot more work. People who can afford $8k for the truck and $2-3k for rust repair can also likely afford to pay $15k for a rust free truck that’s read to start building right away.
People who are price conscious over that extra 3 grand are going to go for the $2-4k truck with rusted out bedsides instead of your better (but still in need of rust repair) $7-8k truck.
Perhaps it was the wrong time of year. Isn’t the season of cruising yard sales to purchase unwanted rowing machines, hand me down shopsmiths, and old milk cans just about to commence? The time when some folks parade defenseless watercraft through the streets on a trailer over DRY LAND like ,well, a boat out of water? The time of year when glorious vent windows that redirect the wind like the wings of a bird as god intended drive all thoughts of working heaters like bats from a barn and dusk to gorge on insects. The time of year when one’s thoughts turn to picking stuff up? It’s just about here.
Who tries to sell an old pickup in the winter in Michigan? Without a plow? Other than you?
Should sell soon. Did you autograph the glove box? Collectors like that,
I’d be interested if it weren’t for the rust. I live in a rusty place, this thing would continue to disappear before my eyes.
At this point, just throw it on BaT instead of lowering the price again. Also agree with another commenter who pointed out the cap – take that off, get better photos, and sell it separately or post a separate photo of it.
Now that’s probably a good idea – remove it, take a pic with it off, and then put it back on.
Yeah, I truly want the best for David and hope he doesn’t take too much of a hit on this transaction….but this truck just doesn’t present well at all. The cap doesn’t add to the aesthetics, the stripe is all faded, cracked and brown, of all colors, and the paint is truly tired.
Besides the price, and the RUST, this is likely why it hasn’t resulted in a quick sale.
the real hassle, especially on FB Marketplace is the scammers, so many, and so few legit buyers.
Thanks to this article, now everyone knows a tree fell on it! You’ll have to lower the price even more now.
There is a literal puddle under the rear diff.
This is a $3500 truck my dude. I think there is a lot you could do to make it look better. Like lose the lame topper and slap a new set of matching shiny wheels and offroad tires.
Topper really doesn’t matter, everyone interested knows you can remove it. I’d rather negotiate some money off the price to buy my own tires/wheels over having the seller chose the tires for me, plus as a seller you don’t want to drop another couple of grand on a truck that already isn’t selling.
There is a reason people stage houses they are trying to sell.
I think there is probably a different price scale for Jeep enthusiasts.
When I sold my Silverado, I was about to pull the listing and keep it. Just remember that it doesn’t matter how many people look at the ad and keep browsing, just that your buyer sees it. I had lowered the price a little, but the kid that bought it was super excited. You’ll probably find a buyer.
I wouldn’t sell to the guy who walked away, either, but if someone else offered me the same money, I’d probably take it. I’d almost always rather be done with the whole thing than try to hold out for a little more money (but I also have no patience for being jerked around, so not that guy).