After being unable to sell my 1985 Jeep J10 in California — a place that requires emissions tests and that does not tolerate even minor rust — I decided to ship my truck to Michigan to find a buyer. “This truck is clean,” I told myself. “It will sell in the rustbelt in no time!” I was wrong. Very wrong. Months later, my truck still languishes in The Mitten, with buyer after buyer just kicking tires, my friend growing tired of storing the vehicle, and just when I thought it couldn’t get worse: A tree fell on the Jeep.
The idea was actually not a bad one. My Jeep J10, by California standards, is so rusty and so unlikely to pass emissions that people wanted to buy it as a parts car. The J10 isn’t quite a Bring a Trailer/Cars & Bids quality machine, but it certainly isn’t a parts car — it’s a mostly rust-free (in the eyes of a Midwesterner), low-mileage machine with a perfect powertrain and drivetrain that drove all the way from Michigan to California with no problems. It could be someone’s daily driver. A truck like this is rare in Michigan and tends to command a premium, which is why I paid $1,450 to ship the machine from LA to The Motor Suburb.
And at first, my idea seemed genius! I had loads of interest, with plenty of folks even looking at the Jeep in-person at my friend Jamie’s place in Ann Arbor. One gentleman named Todd seemed very interested; he showed up, took a look at the truck, and then sent me an offer via text. He and I negotiated a little from the $8800 I had the truck listed at, but ultimately I came more towards him than towards my list-price, and he agreed. “I will go the 7250,” he replied.
Hot damn. I had the truck sold! $7250 was a bit lower than I’d hoped for a rare, low-mileage truck. Hop on Auto Trader, and you’ll find a bunch of trucks in worse shape asking way more. But that’s OK; it’s one thing to ask and it’s another thing to sell. Plus, this basically pays for the Jeep Comanche I replaced my J10 with, so I’m happy.
Fast forward a few days, and Todd comes to purchase the Jeep.
“Your guy Todd just bailed,” my friend Jamie messaged me.
“And by bailed, you mean left or literally bailed?” I replied.
“Literal bail. Passed on the sale,” he said.
Apparently Todd had brought his son, who talked him out of buying the truck.
Months later, Todd continues to message me about the truck, but he wants to pay less than $5,000 for it. To a friend, maybe I’d give such a deal, but to someone who agreed to buy a vehicle only to bail? I’m just not feeling it.
Then things got worse. Jamie had sent me this photo with the caption “Bless my neighbor”:
Luckily, Jamie’s neighbor is able to store my Jeep without issue. This seemed great, as it allows me some time to find the right buyer for this niche vehicle without stressing out Jamie or his family. But then, a few days later:
“Carb fine. Slight squish of filter. Running perfectly,” Jamie messaged me. “Thankfully the roof and glass were spared. I’ll pop the hood damage up as best I can. I’m so sorry man.”
I assured Jamie that he isn’t accountable for an act of nature, and that I owe him big-time for storing my Jeep all this time.
Jamie, amazing man that he is, built a jig out of wood, set it onto my frame rails, and gently lowered the hood onto it to pop out the dent:
The results are actually quite impressive, all things considered!:
Anyway, shipping my Jeep from California to Michigan to find a buyer has proven to be been a disaster so far. It’s crazy to think that, had the prospective buyer, Todd, not brought his son to see the truck, I would have thought it was genius.
Alas, I took the risk, and it seems this one may go down in the L-column. You win some, you lose some.
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