iam thinking of purchasing a 97 with a bad motor it has 102000 on it what is it worth the owner said make a offer on it so what should i say i dont know what the price is on somthing like this i just want for a project toy

 

This may not help you but 2 months ago I traded in a 97 4x4 ext cab w/156k miles.They gave me $6500 in trade.It was in great shape and ran great,needed brakes and shocks.The next day the dealership wholesaled it off to a friend of a friend for $2800. If I weren't broke I would've bought it back for that price.So I would think one with a bad motor would be worth less than $2800.

 

Is the motor a 4.2V6? Are you going back with a new engine or used?

 

You're looking at 2500-3000 for a new engine plus install. Book on a 97 2wd regular cab/8' bed with that milage is 2800-3800. That price seems a little low for what I see in my area, but everying around here is 4x4. Either way, figure out your rebuild cost and the value of the truck in good running condition and you should have a starting point.

 

"Trade-in" price is mostly dependent on what you're buying, not what you're trading in. Consider that rule #1 of buying a new vehicle. Never believe that your trade-in is actually worth what they show on paper.

They just take the wholesale value of your trade-in and fluff it up with part of the margin of the new vehicle to make the buyer believe that they're getting a tremendous value for the old trade-in. The adage is something like "if the buyer feels good, it must be a great deal."

www.edmunds.com www.kbb.com and www.nada.com are all good tools in determining a resale price on a vehicle. You'll find that they will vary significantly on certain vehicles, so be cautious about believing the higher quotes.

If you have access to someone in the business, see if they'll look it up in their Black Book, although a 97 likely won't be listed due to age. The Black Book will list very recent wholesale values based on dealer-only auctions.

Steve

 

The posters above are hitting it on the head, also look at the "street value" of this truck in your area (book value is NOT street value, well some are but some aren't) street value for a 97 4x4 x-cab v8 with about 120k on the clock is about $7,500-9,500 around here, in very nice condition, now reduce that by $3,000-4,000 and you have a maximum price, (would you do all that work just to be at street value?) further reduce that by your "time/hassle value" if you can show the seller the "black book' value (that's auction price) then reduce that by engine replacement cost and you may have a good deal.
If it was me and this is a very well equiped truck, maybe $1,500-2,000
Remember, this won't be like swapping out an old 351 in a pre-80's truck.

 

Just remember, You can spend $2000 on buying this truck with no engine, or you can spend $4,000 and get one just like it that runs. I don't think it will be economical to do what you're saying, but if you just want to have some fun, I understand. Go for it.