Almost bought a RRC Great Divide
I've been looking on and off for the last year for a Classic to compliment my Defender. Both as a possible tow vehicle and as a wheeling truck for the wife.
Yesterday I dropped by a dealership where I knew they had a RRC sitting in back. It looked from the outside like a GDE but I wasn't too sure. The poor truck had been relegated to the back of the lot under a tree. It was covered in sap and very dirty. God knows how long it had been sitting. It had a few dents and dings from years of service. There was no Great Divide sticker on the back but it did have what appeared to be an aluminum brush guard, no fog lights, etc. It was locked but I found the tailgate open and crawled in and unlocked the truck. I looked in the driver's door jamb. Sure enough Great Divide Edition #101. I asked what they wanted for it and the sales guy quoted $5K. I literally laughed at him and asked "Seriously, How much?" He showed me the sheet. I told him that's way high but I'll still look it over. Low-ish miles for a '91. 97K miles. Lived its whole life in Texas according to receipts in console. No rust, even on the tailgate becuase of that. Last emissions test was last July and it passed. So engine should be fine.
Interior was in very decent shape once you pulled the crappy floor mats. The original carpet was nearly spotless. No cuts in the leather. Found a couple Happy Meal toys under the seats. I offered $2K before I even test drove it. He came back with a $3K counter-offer. Ok, we should have some working room I thought. He said they were getting ready to send it off to auction. Not smart as I know they'll not get near my offer there.
I asked if they had the keys. They spent 1/2 hour locating them. It started right up in a cloud of blue smoke and I took it for a ride. Steering damper was shot which made for a fun cruise. ABS light went on and off. Bad sensor I assume. Electric seat motors were dead. Seat was all the way back making reaching pedals fun. All electric windows and sunroof were fine. It pulled up to 85MPH on the freeway without problem. Cruise control was dead. (Bad vacuum hose?) Shifted right into Low and crawled along happily in the parking lot. Missing rear lamp guards and a few other nitpicks. Not a perfect example but it was quite workable as a project.
I went in and talked to the 21 year old manager, told him all the problems I found, and re-iterated my $2K offer. I told him I know it's about to go to auction and you'll never get that there. I'll write you a check right now. He gave me the old sales standby "I've got a guy coming by in an hour to look at it." I said "Guy, I used to be in sales. I know as well as you that no one's coming in. That truck's been sitting for at least 6 months. You've got my number, call me if you change your mind." I then walked out. It was, of course, still sitting on the lot this morning.
I'm still hoping they call me back today. I'd hate to see a very restorable GDE go to the scrap yard.
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