# 1997 Chevy 2500 what to look for/what is worth



## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Hey guys,

Looking to buy a chevy truck. Mainly to replace my s10. I want a 2500 and I figure I want the ability to plow too.

Found this: a 1997 GMC, with 46000 thousand miles. Its the the plastic trim along the bottom, so I am assuming the rockers and cab corners are shot. It also has the 4l80e tranny. WHich is blown kid claims that a cooler line rotted off and it leaked coolant, now it shifts hard between 1st and 2nd.

It has a meyers plow on it, not sure what type it is though, can you tell from the pictures?

He is asking 4500 for it, I am thinking more like 3500, what would think about for price?


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

I can tell you its not worth $4500 with a bunch of rot and blown trans. I would offer him 3k max.


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Thanks Gold Pro, 

I have to see it during the day to see how it looks, i have only seen it at night. If the body is ok then I am thikning 3500. Tranny rebuilt will be about 1800. Running good it is a 5500 dollar truck not 6500. 

I like your chevy. what year is it?


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

$3000 and no more


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Thanks Superior,


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

For reference my Chevy is a 97 k3500 with 70k 454 big block, no rust or rot. real clean truck,full maintenance records. and i paid 4500 for it.


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## chevyman51 (Dec 16, 2009)

I would give no more than 3000 offer him 2500 cash to start and see what happens


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Really 2500!? I guess I am not trying to make a friend right.... LOL


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Figure a trans is 3000+ maybe? Then what about any other lines that need replacing? Make sure you look underneath it good!!


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Rebuilt is 1800


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

I am figuring about 1000 for new brake lines/fuel lines, tune up and brakes


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

Your best bet is to start low on the price and let him counter your offer, then you counter his offer. then he counters yours. then you counter his. Then you pay no more then $3k for the truck. Its pretty simple. 

When buying a used truck thats been plowed with and has a blown trans you need to expect the worst, and try and buy it for as little as you can so you have some money left to fix whatever other problems the truck might have.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

I was figuring high, if it a plow truck for life get like an ATS trans. Try and find out bout the rear brakes too. It should be a full floating axle, most people wont take it apart to check them


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## lawnmedic (Jan 9, 2004)

Crawl under it check the frame real good. I just sold a '98 GMC K3500 with 180,000 mi. Body looked good frame looked bad. Guy paid 3300.00 and was planning replacing cross members on the frame...


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Without knowing the condition of the body, or the age of the plow, it's just a guessing game. Is the rough 1-2 upshift the only problem with the trans? All other gears are fine?


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## woodchuck2 (Dec 4, 2010)

You guys are high on your offers IMO, i would offer the kid $2k and i would not go any higher than $2500. Even then it better have good brakes and new tires. IMO the plow is nothing to brag about, i am not a Meyers fan. The truck will need a tranny, a kid was plowing with it!!! The body i am sure is rotted, pull back the fender flares and have a look. Check the intake gaskets, if they have not been changed they most likely will need it in the future, typical for the Vortec 350 if that is what it has. If the body is rough so is the frame so plan on brake/fuel/tranny lines. Remember this truck is almost 15yrs old, i do not care about the miles, i would figure every mile of that truck was pushing snow.


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## chevyman83 (Nov 25, 2010)

I'm not sure what to tell you for a price. It sounds like a lot of headaches. Trans is bad how do you know the t-case and diffs are good? The price he wants is WAY too high IMO.


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## elecblu (Feb 20, 2010)

When he is asking 4500 to start with, I would walk away and not even negotiate.


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Thanks Guys, 

I saw it in the dark could not tell much. 

I am going back tomorrow morning, I will let you know what I find out. I am going to start out at 2500-3000 I am bringing my mechanic to take a peak at it for me. He knows what to look for. I do not know all the common trouble spots for these. 

I will let you know. thanks for all the help.


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## ACA L&L (Jan 5, 2007)

i would start at 2k cash, and go up to 2500-2700..........if the trany is no big deal why didnt he pay to fix it then sell it? he needs or wants the quick cash...I just bought a truck 2000 chevy 2500, they were asking like 5k -5500 i got it for 3 k.......I have to rebuild the front end, new tires, tune up, fluids, lights, brakes, still not sure what i else it needs, but when u buy a used truck with a blown anything you decrease the value by at least 30-40%. IMO. If it was runnning good you could run it threw its paces and find out whats what....When buying used trucks, i have found that waiting for the right truck is a good thing......i looked for my last used plow truck for almost 3 months.........i walked away from a deal over 500$ Im not gonna pay more than what i think its worth resale......if you want it then get it, your the one who has to fix it not us...


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## mule585 (Oct 24, 2010)

i bought my 98 2500 last February for $3200 from the original owner. had service records since new. truck had 225,000 miles on it. it now has 240k. a very well taken care of truck. deff. check rear breaks both my 2500 and 3500 like to stick and squeak for the first 15min of driving with moisture in the air. the cab corners and rockers are notorious for rot. would expect the same under the fender flares (lmc truck has patch panels). the trany lines do rot and one of them is not made any more so needs to be custom made (not to hard with the old one as a template) inside door handles like to break ive replace every one in all 3 of my chevys at least once. check tailgate hinge as they like to rot as well. check down the radiator on the driver side for any sign of a leak they like to crack at the top. ive replace the heater core in all 3 as well (another easy fix) these trucks do run on the hot side around 210. just dealt with both last week. these trucks will last if taken care of my 1500 has over 270k bought it 7yrs ago for $4000 had 127k on it. 2500 over 240k and 3500 over 170k bought that 3yrs ago with 130k for $3500. all still run real strong. if i can think of any thing else ill let you know. i wouldnt touch that truck for more than $3000 id start at $2000 and go from there. also install timberns hope this helps HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!:waving::waving::waving:http://www.plowsite.com/images/smilies/sport-smiley-018.gif


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## 70monte (Feb 5, 2008)

I bought my 98 K3500 reg cab long bed four years ago with 94,600 miles on it and had to pay $8,750 for it and it was the cheapest one I had looked at. Everything else was around $10,000 or more. Mine is a silverado, pretty much fully loaded with no rust. Around here, those kind of trucks were still bringing in big money. Mine has the 454 in it which was still popular then. Now with the gas prices like they are, I have seen the BB trucks sell a lot cheaper than what I payed.

It also depends on where you live on what you will pay. If it has a bunch of rust on it regardless of mileage, that will kill the value.

Wayne


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## gwhalen3 (Jan 15, 2010)

2 grand my man. You are basically buying scrap metal if it doesn't operate as it should ya know what I mean. That s just the used and don't work business. You are still taking a gamble at $2000.


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## adksnowo (Dec 14, 2005)

Seems like between $2500 & $3500 is the norm. This assumes all it needs is a tranny. Check out Kelly Blue Book, NADA and Edmonds. In truth b/c of the transmission I would start at the high end ($3500) and deduct the transmission rebuild ($1800) which is $1700. Start negotiating at 2G's.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

So did you buy this piece of junk or not?


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## Detroitdan (Aug 15, 2005)

Personally what I think you should do is walk up to him, and say "$4500?" then kick him hard in the groin. Then start looking for a similar truck without a plow on it. Find something decent for under $4500, then buy a good used plow. The cheaper truck you buy, the more money you'll have left for a plow, but IDK what you total budget is anyway. You mentioned having $5500 invested at one point.

I never buy trucks with plows on them already, as I know that most people plow like they're trying to kill the truck, plus I know some of the things I've done to plowtrucks, even though I try to be careful. Generally what I do is buy a parts truck with a plow, somebodys old yard truck, take the plow and a few other bits and pieces, then scrap the rest. Its a lot cheaper than buying a plow that someone is trying to make money off of. For example, I recently bought a 91 fullsize Blazer, never plowed, for $2200. Then found an 88 parts Blazer with a 7'6" Fisher for $900, which is way more than I usually pay, but I thought I could get a lot of parts from it. When I'm done I'll have the complete working conventional plow, 4 smaller tires and wheels ( the 35s are too big, hit the fenders turning without even a plow on), power window motors, vent window, heater box and blower motor, dashpad and doorpanels, steering wheel, putting the 88 grille and bezels on my 82, air intake system that was missing off mine, a bunch of other little stuff. Running 5.7 TBI with 94k is supposed to be coming out and going to the body guy in exchange for fixing the one rot hole on the 91. When I'm done I can either try to sell the 1/2 ton axles, manual trans and t-case for parts, but most likely I'll just ship it all to the scrapyard. With metal prices like they are, I'd guess it will get $300-$350 in scrap. I will then have a fully functioning, short wheelbase driveway plow rig for way under $4000. 

If that style pickup is what you got your heart set on, keep looking. Pretty sure that wasn't the only one they made. Sorry for the long post, just wanted to make my point about buying somebody elses plow truck. I think it's much better to start with a truck that hasnt plowed. And that guys truck sounds almost like something I'd buy cheap for parts and strip. Although I wouldn't buy anything with a Meyers plow.


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## mikelikesit (Feb 11, 2010)

Nope I didnt buy it, I need a truck to make money with, not dump.money into. Thanks for all your input.


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## chevyman1010 (Dec 9, 2009)

I wouldnt pay more then $1500 sorry. I bought my 1998 Chevy 2500 ext cab 8ft bed for $2500 167k and never plowed with.The truck runs great body is in great shape the frame has some rust issues but nothing too bad and will need some work on break lines. You can find a plow for that truck for around $1500 ether on plwsite or Craigslist. Also one big issue with the Myers plows is the e85 pumps FYI if you get a Myers plow have a extra pump on hand. Good luck on finding a truck


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