woolfgo Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 https://monterey.craigslist.org/bpo/5297576871.html checked this thing out today super new to toyota motorhomes. brought a buddy with me who is a mechanic. he said the engine was sound. clutch needed work, needs a new deep cycle battery but everything seems to work when plugged in water stove hot water heater . i'm a total newbie. owner says only 52,xxxx miles on it but was wondering what happens when you break a 100k on these things because the odometer wouldn't go past 99,xxx. let me know what you guys think. guy told me he will take 3600 thinking about picking it up tomorrow. any help and advice would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Odometer just flips over and starts again so could easily be 152,000 miles. Check the axle. Very important that it have 6 lugs in back. The axles were recalled in 1992 but lots of them never got upgraded. Cost a thousand or more to get it fixed Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 That sounds like way too much money for a vehicle you can't even test drive. As Linda said, axle is very important. Easily a $2K fix to replace. How old are the tires? $800-1000 to replace. If it needs a clutch, 152K is a more realistic number for miles driven. I sense your excited about the purchase. You need to remove the rose colored glasses and start to think about actual cost to get it roadworthy. The vehicle is not going anywhere soon if not running. Take your time, read the archived posts on this forum, then go back and make an offer. I wouldn't pay more than $1500 for that rig. It's still there after 20 days on CL. Take your time and do your research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolfgo Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 thank you very much for your thoughts . got my mechenic friend to test drive it. he said everything was good to go and i could drive it home from santa cruz to san fran no worries. but clutch was either way out of allignment or it was time for a new clutch pretty soon. the axle has six lugs. is there any tricks to tell if it has 50 k miles or 150 k miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Look at the brake and clutch pedal pads. If they show alot of wear, the 154k is more realistic. Actually a 36 year old vehicle with only 54k original miles is kind of hard to believe. There should be no clutch problems with that low of mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolfgo Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 right on thanks for the info fred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 There should be no clutch problems with that low of mileage. Someone who doesn't know how to drive can burn a clutch in a lot less than 50k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Someone who doesn't know how to drive can burn a clutch in a lot less than 50k miles. Maybe if they used it to learn to shift a standard transmission.(and the lessons never took.)For the $$$ that rig cost in 1979 I find that is as likely as buying the winning lottery ticket. Is it possible? YES. Is it probable? NO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 With a 36 year old vehicle with who knows how many previous owners, anything is possible. Could even be a dried out low mileage but 36 year old rear main seal letting oil leak on the clutch disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 11, 17, 36, 49, 52. Your 649 #,s for this week. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 With only 5 numbers, it's hard to win any week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Someone who doesn't know how to drive can burn a clutch in a lot less than 50k miles. I bought a 2002 Subaru with 45K miles on it (verified original) and the clutch was completely worn out. But it had a very high first gear (numerically low) and was not easy to get going from a dead stop. Real hard if on a grade. I suspect vehicles with low-1st gears tend to have longer clutch lives on average. The VW bugs were known for that. The Toyota Chinook with the four speed is pretty low too. With the optional 5 speed it is pretty bad - almost as bad as that Subaru I had. But yeah, I guess anyone can screw up a clutch with the correct technique. I don't know any tricks to determine mileage. I had a 1987 Chevy diesel Suburban that looked and ran like new with 480,000 miles on it. I could of easily passed it off with only 80K. To the converse - I inherited my mom's 1970 Chevy Nova years back. She got it new and it had 28K original miles on it. I don't think it ever got driven more then 1 mile at a time. It was completely worn out. The 307 engine burnt oil. Even things like door hinges were worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 seen some people that think the clutch pedal is a foot rest. that will sure let it slip and burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 The purchaser asked if there was anyway to tell if the vehicle had 50K or 150K miles on it. Obviously having a maintenance record dating back to the original owner would be #1. Lacking that, you can only look at other indicators. Remember we're not talking 10-20K variance, we're talking 100K mile variance. In this case you can be an optimist and believe the vehicle has 52K original miles all driven by people who destroyed the clutch. Or a realist who's looking at a 36 year vehicle which most likely has 152K miles on it with the original clutch. Lacking maintenance records, your next best shot is to look at common wear surfaces. Since the clutch is off the table, we can't use that. Tires and brakes can be changed. We can't pull the cylinder to check ring gap. The one area that may yield a clue are the soft rubber pads that sit on the clutch and brake pedals. Much like a tire, they wear down with use. A vehicle with high mileage will show noticeable wear on these items. What shape is the drivers seat in? Do the springs sag down when you sit on it? Is there deep depression in the carpet by the accelerator pedal caused by many miles of heal resting. With older vehicles this is pretty much the only way to make an educated guess as to the accuracy of the odometer. Again its only a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hey did you see this one? same location as the other one you posted but much newer, cheaper and newly rebuilt engine http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/rvs/5327875662.html Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I've seen many complaint letters written by Toyota RV owners about early clutch failures. Here's one about an Odyssey written to the "letters to the editor" in a 1984 Trailer Life magazine. Might have something to do with 1st gear not being low enough in a heavy RV. Feels about right in my little Toyota Chinook but I can see where it can be an issue in a heavier Toyota rig. With the owner in this letter? Who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdfrost64 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 do what the dealers do when they think mileage isn't right . they look at the steering wheel ,foot pedals ,gear shift knob. if it has high miles they will be worn down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 A vehicle just driven short trips for it's entire life can show more wear at 30K miles (door hinges, pedals, etc.) then some rigs with mostly highway miles with 200K miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I always say "caveat emptor" when looking at a used vehicle. Personally, if someone is showing me a 36 year old vehicle with the old 5 digit speedometer and 52K original miles, I would want to see documentation (verifiable) which would allow me to backtrack and verify the mileage is accurate. Without that, I will automatically add 100K to what the odometer says. As far as body condition goes, the general check area's are your best indicators as to condition. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between. My 1979 Galavan had 95K original miles on it when I bought it. I'm the 3rd owner and have all maintenance records since day 1. Without those, I would have added the 100K to the mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 One would have to be in and out a lot of times to ware parts in less than 1,500 miles a year. Only driven to church on Sundays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I parted out my mother's 1970 Chevy Nova about 10 years ago. So - at 2005 when it was 35 years old and it had around 32K on the odometer. I was with her when she bought it brand new. It was worn out by the time I got it. Driver's seat, door hinges on the driver's side, pedals, dents everywhere,etc. Engine also had a bad camshaft and lifters. 307 V8 and 2-speed Powerglide trans. A few years before I inherited my dad's 1967 Buick Skylark with 59K miles on it and pretty much, the same sort of shape. And note - my mom did not go to church. Just lived in a suburban neighborhood in New Jersey where a long trip was 1/2 mile and many trips shorter. Also a traffic light about every two blocks so an awful lot of stop and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Mileage only becomes a consideration if your paying a premium price based on the low mileage. I wouldn't care if it had 300K miles on it. But I would make my purchase price reflect the cost of a rebuilt engine and whatever systems need to be fixed. 300K highway miles is more desirable than 100K of stop and go. Body condition is also important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I bought my '88 Escaper 3 1/2 years ago with 33,000 miles. I am the third owner. The woman that I bought it from said that she bought it from the dealer that sold it to the original owner. When I went to look at the RV, I doubted most of this. However, the vinyl floor mat showed no wear, the seats looked new, the brake and gas pedal looked new, and the interior of the coach was in excellent shape. With all of this taken into consideration, think that she was telling the truth. The woman had all receipts from when she bought the RV from a dealer. I contacted the dealer and found that he had sold the RV new and had done preventive maintenance on it until the original owner traded it in. With this information, I determined that this was indeed a 24 year old vehicle with 33,000 miles. Fred if right, there are many indicators of very low miles with easy miles. The PO only drove it to a campground (Indian Shores) about 250 miles away (mostly interstate) 4 or 5 times a year, where they stayed for 2 or 3 weeks. No short trips. I stopped at the same campground shortly after buying the RV and the owner even knew the RV by sight and knew who I had bought it from. The RV now has almost 50,000 miles on it and it will get close to 10,000 miles added in 2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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