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Buying advice - Am I nuts?

zdb104

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
27
I have been dreaming of buying an early Bronco ever since I saw the BF Goodrich green Bronco ad when I was 15. Now 35 I am in a position where I can finally start saving for one. I want an uncut early Bronco that I can use as a daily driver. I will be honest and tell you I don’t know a lot/ anything about working on cars/trucks. I am not looking for a show quality Bronco in anyway. I have a color in mind (orange) but beggars can’t be choosers. Is a max budget of roughly $30,000 a doable price for a daily driver that isn’t a rust bucket? Don’t get me wrong I am willing to put some work in but don’t have the skills for a body redo.

Just started saving so can’t buy yet.

Thanks
Zach
 

sykanr0ng

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
5,363
Not knowing where you are located all I can say is that $30,000 buys more Bronco in some parts of the country than it does in other places.

California is high priced, the Rust Belt is hard to find a good one in, etc..

Wanting an uncut limits you even more, as many were cut - some by the dealers that sold them.
 

KBUCK1

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
979
Yes. 30,000 is more than you should need to get what you want. Good luck finding what you want. Just be patient
 

samamarshall

Full Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
216
For a long time I only watched Ebay and the 'deals' never were there and prices seemed inflated. Stick w/ classifieds here and craiglist/local ads
 

gnpenning

Contributor
Bronco Slave
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
2,187
Loc.
I have more questions than answers.
For a long time I only watched Ebay and the 'deals' never were there and prices seemed inflated. Stick w/ classifieds here and craiglist/local ads

^^^this. Stay away from the dealers.

If you find something you are interested in ask for someone on hear to look it over for you. Sadly to many have bought something that had lipstick on a pig. Many here will be glad to help you. Just ask. Good luck in your search.
 
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zdb104

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
27
Forgot to mention I live in Pennsylvania but am more than willing to have something shipped
 

Pops68

Contributor
Bronco Rookie
Joined
Oct 11, 2010
Messages
1,667
Loc.
Bazetta Township
Your budget should be fine. I got mine from Oregon in 2010 and had it shipped to NE Ohio. Doesn't see salt in the winters, so, still very minimal rust. Take your time in buying. I looked seriously for 9 months to a year before pulling the trigger and never knew this site existed till after the purchase.

You are definitely ahead in the game by being on here first. Lots of available advice here!!

Where at in Pa???
 

ep67bro

Contributor
Bronco Junky
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
3,639
Loc.
Easton, MD
Finding one with out rust is the biggest issue on the east coast. I have two big pieces of advise. #1 GO LOOK AT IT YOUR SELF!!!! yes I agree people on this sight can be a big help but before you pull the trigger put your eyes on it!!!! (I know from experience!)
#2 Take your time! don't rush into buying one, be ready with the funds but don't just buy the first one you see.

There are a lot of other things to consider, rust is the biggest, then the mechanical things. For daily driver keep in mind they are boxes with wheels they get crap mpg, they don't stop real well, they are not the fastest cars on the road. Yes a lot of those issues can be fixed with upgraded brakes, engines and transmissions. But they are still 50 year old cars. Good luck and have fun this sight is the best resource for info.
 

Eoth

Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 10, 2004
Messages
1,677
30K should get you what you want. You got sound advice from the above postings. I would just reinforce the fact that you need to touch it with your bare hands, crawl under the body and verify everything, then put the key into the ignition and DRIVE it the way you plan on driving it. This needs to happen BEFORE forking over money. I don't care how many pictures it has or how nice the video is. You can talk to the seller and "friend" him on facebook it doesn't matter...... There are stories after stories of people that were disappointed after the purchase because they trusted someone else.....
 

Bronco Junkie

So Cal Broncos
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
3,232
Your budget should be OK. You will need to be patient and don't think you will find what you want any time soon. Keep saving and keep looking. Good luck!!!
 
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zdb104

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
27
Last year I found one local on Craigslist. Pictures looked alright with some rust. I went and looked at it and the entire body was rotten. Crawled underneath and noticed the second gas tank had been cut off, floor boards were held together by carpet, put my hand through the rust on the side panels. Owner kept pointing out that it ran which it did but barely. The radiator looked like it had 6+ holes welded. I offered a few thousand and he wouldn’t budge so let it go.
 

gnpenning

Contributor
Bronco Slave
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
2,187
Loc.
I have more questions than answers.
Several years ago, someone local had one for sale. From the pictures it looked great. When I got there to look at it the new paint looked great. Every panel had large rust holes they just painted over. Waste of good paint. Saw no need to get under or even start it. The sad part is somebody bought it...

We recently had a member here from California have someone in Tennessee look at one for him. Apparently the pictures were great but reality was a bit different. As mentioned look at it yourself before writing a check. But before buying a plane ticket get someone else to check it out.
 

Tugross302

Sr. Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
785
Look at it in person. It’s wonderful if someone from this site can look at it enough to tell you to whether to make the trip but miscommunication can cause problems. Some guys can do anything on these trucks and a small job to them can be a big job for you. I drove a lot of miles and came home empty handed over a period of 5 years before I found one I couldn’t walk away from. Take your time
 

Golfball

Full Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
252
$30K should be plenty. My advice is reduce your budget to $29K and use the other $1K for travel to go and actually lay hands on it before you buy. If you can afford a $30,000 toy, you can afford the cost of an airline ticket. Just a part of the Bronco investment.
 
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zdb104

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
27
Anyone have experience with a dealer/reseller like Maxlider? Obviously you are going to pay a premium but hopefully the Bronco would be inspected better for trouble.
 

hyghlndr

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
5,020
Loc.
Hockessin, Delaware
Obviously you are going to pay a premium but hopefully the Bronco would be inspected better for trouble.

That would be a wrong assumption, unless they build it from scratch the quality depends simply on what they bought to flip. Even built can stink because their focus is simply profit. You're much better off finding one that somebody's had for years and it's well loved and taken care. Most of the unhappy people who come here bought from dealers.
 

KANE

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
489
Loc.
Pembroke, MA.
Hey Zach, I'm in Mass. and bought my truck in California and had it shipped in an enclosed trailer to Ma. I think shipping was $2200- back in 2007. That was 11 years ago and I'm still amazed that there is Zero rust. I bought mine sight un seen but I had the PO send a lot of pics and even a walk around video. I got a great truck that had a lot of $$ in parts but more than anything I wanted a Straight Rust Free truck.
This site is SO helpful and my advice is go to any events that come from this site....this will help but the right parts that you can see on other trucks. And most of all ask questions...lots of questions. This site has been an incredible source for finding out how to tackle little to large Bronco projects!!
Best of luck!
Mike
 
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