I know this isn't exactly a technical question, but a lady in my neighborhood is trying to get rid of her "old" disco. Apparently, It's been sitting in her shed for 12 years... blown head gasket is what she is telling me. Odo says 45k. Now, I know the fluids have probably turned into solids by now and all rubber will turn into power the second I touch it, so there will be a lot of replacing, cleaning, etc., and of course the gasket job (+ who knows what else is broken - it's a disco..). The chassis seems to be non-rusted. The body and interior are in very good shape.

What would be a reasonable price I should offer her?

 

crap, somehow the title got messed up on this thread, how can i edit this?

 

Needing HG’s and having sat for 12 years would put it in the “scrap car” price range in my mind. It would be worth putting in a lot of work, and you would end up with a great vehicle. In my mind it’s probably worth more than $1k, maybe as high as $1500, but I think that’s generous.

 

Thank you for the advice. Surprisingly it's a bit more than what I expected!
Just to sort of compare (apples to pears) someone is selling on craigslist here, their sort-of-running Disco, slightly dinged up, somewhat more miles, for 1.5k https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/c...678971419.html)
I thought a $1000 would be a very good offer...

 

$1000 is probably fair. I think it might be worth $1000 as scrap as well.

 

Scrap value is $400. You are lucky I am not competing with you. Although it would probably not be necessary to go that high I would likely bid as high as $5000-6000.

 

Check the rear frame hammer and nail punch, and this one in particular check the interior for mouse damage and droppings. Those critters get everywhere.

 

I went and had a closer look at the car today. For starters i thought it's pale green, but it turns out it is combo of moss over BABY BLUE - what a random color for a Disco.
No critter action on the interior, but something is nesting in the engine bay.

The interior is literally like new, minus water damage on the roof liner from a leaky sunroof.

​​​​​​I checked the frame, but they don't use salt here, so it was more just of peace of mind thing.

Someone started the head gasket job, but didn't get beyond taking the upper intake off. The parts are all there, but the air runners were left open to outside air, (under closed hood) so I'm wondering what will I find the heads...

It for sure will be a lot of work...

 

You can try one other thing before purchase, pull the plugs put some thin oil in each cylinder, 1/8 to quarter of a cup. Put the plugs in let it set overnight, pull the plugs try and rotate the crank by hand. If it will not turn the engine is done.

 

Hmm, interesting trick. I kind of don't want to bother the seller too much - she's actually willing to part ways with it just for me covering the towing cost. I'll rebuild the engine, or at least take it all apart and give it a solid cleaning.