Overall, I’ve gotten used to the fact that most older cars and trucks up north are going to have some level of rust. Surface-only or more invasive, it’s a way of life for vehicles of a certain age. I’ve had to repair cars made in the last 20 years with blossoming rust issues – usually in the rockers – because I was foolish enough to drive a vehicle year-round. In any event, finding a truck like this low-mileage 1985 Ford Bronco 4×4 is hard to ignore given how rarely trucks like this pop up for sale north of the Mason-Dixon line. The listing here on craigslist in Maine notes it has just 50,000 original miles and is offered for $48,000.
That’s a ton of coin for a clean Bronco, even in the current market. But it also reflects how some examples as virgin as this one have been selling for big numbers at recent auctions. I suspect the seller is hoping some of that auction fever will spread to a local listing on craigslist, and I can’t say I blame them. Square body trucks of every make and model have been hot for some time, and if you live in New England, you likely haven’t found a truck this clean that hasn’t required forking over $1,500 – $2,500 for shipping one in from a dry, western state. The upholstery is in excellent condition and the carpets show no signs of major soiling. Big surprise: the seller confirms it was originally from California.
The chrome bumpers are in great shape, and the paint – while not particularly eye-catching – looks quite honest. The seller notes the paint is original and I wouldn’t be surprised if the factory hardtop has never been off the truck. The one risk with a truck from California is that the sun has wrecked the interior on a vehicle with a removable top, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. There’s no evidence of faded paint and of course, the interior condition suggests the California owner didn’t spend much time driving with the hard top removed. The seller confirms this Bronco has never been driven in the mud or snow, and I would have to agree there’s no evidence of off-road abuse.
I doubt the backseat has ever been sat in and seeing how the rear bench looks to have suffered no deflation or degradation of the material inside the cushion, this sure seems like a truck that spent most of its time with one occupant. The Bronco sports the XLT trim, with full power options and a generous center console. The truck has the familiar and tough-as-nails 302 engine paired to an automatic transmission. The seller claims “everything works,” so that presumably includes the air conditioning, too. Do you think the seller will see nearly $50K for this survivor-grade Bronco from California?
$48k? Not a chance.
Did anyone ever take the tops off of these things?
Heavy, stayed off a while if you did the chore.
$48k?! It’s nice finding a low mileage survivor, but I think it’ll sit for a while at this price.
If it was red or Black or even white it would sell in a flash.
The grandkids showed PopPop the video’s from Mecum, where the original customized Bronco’s are selling for $100k.
Sellers not just buyers need to start getting appraisals done.
48K ? one of two explanations. 1) they don’t really want to sell it. 2) they’re hoping a fool and his money soon part ways
I had an ’85 Bronco XLT. If I’d waited a few weeks, the Eddie Bauer Edition was coming out but the truck was on the lot and I was ready to buy. Mine was fairly loaded, with the 351 HO (which was anything but High Output). It was a good truck right from the start and cost to keep it on the road was very close to what it cost me to keep my ’79 GMC K-1500 on the road. Mine was equipped very similar to this one as far as interior was concerned.
Drove the wheels off it then made the mistake of letting the boys use it. Second boy was driving it one night when the block heater popped out. He tried to make it home but it locked up (I damn near took my #11s to his head). I was somewhat strapped for cash at the time (just built a new house and was tapped right out) so I did my best to keep it running. Installed a new block heater and filled it with water. Nothing leaked out or in so I tried to start it. A couple of tugs on the starter and it broke loose, and it STARTED. Ran like a toilet at first but it began to smooth out. Cooling system started to pressure up though so I knew it was either cracked/warped heads, cracked block or simply a bed head gasket. Opted for the latter. Carefully retorqued the heads, breaking the bolts loose slightly and torqueing them down. It held. Water pump went out shortly after that but that was all I had to do for just over a year before the head gaskets completely gave up. Oh, it had some piston slap when cold but it quieted right down when hot (my ’02 3/4 ton with 5.4 has similar piston slap). It turned out to be #5 piston but I rebuilt the engine (just over 200K miles). Amazed at the abuse it took and still came out OK.
Probably the worst thing I could’ve done was turn it over to my oldest boy who turned around and sold it for a song because he needed money to get out of a legal bind.
Good things never last…
48K? I guess what does the seller have to loose.It’s already been listed a month and there it sits.I bought an 86 XLT around five years ago on an ebay auction and paid 8k for it.Mine came outta southern California.