Buying a Fourtrak on EBay

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If you were thinking of buying a Fourtrak from Ebay - what questions would you need to ask? What are the main\usual or unusual faults or problems that a Fourtrak might have? Would I be completely barking to buy one unseen?

lou
x

i would be vary careful buyin

i would be vary careful buying a car off ebay, i really would advise veiwing the car first before bidding, and take it for a test drive.

the only way i personnaly would buy a car off ebay, is to presume it will need work, never mind how the owner describes it, by entering into it this way if the car dont need any work then its a bonus, but if it does you have allowed for that in the bid you place. there is that many horror stories about people who have bid every penny they can afford to buy the car, only to go pick it up and find a total shed! by which time they have entered a legally binding contract to buy it, and cant afford to get the work done to put it back on the road. please dont misunderstand me, there are honest sellers out there, but be vary carefull.

i am always in shit, its just the depth that varies

fourtrak on ebay

my advice would be , that any vehicle that age will want work and in the case of Japanese 4x4s , it is usually the floor pan . They are simply not proof against the British habit of salting the roads in winter , and the chassis / floorpan interface contains plenty of nooks and crannies to trap salty sludge .

most older 'jeep' type vehicles ( F50s , Suzukis and so on ) have rotten dashboards caused by water ponding behind the Land-Rover style vent flap . This isn't usually particularly serious but needs addressing sooner or later - put some Gaffa tape over the stupid flap !

older 4x4s have usually been driven with the transmission incorrectly set at one time or another , and this tends to produce premature UJ wear . Driving in 2wd with the hubs locked in does no harm , but driving in 4wd with them out is less good !

also look for exhausts from newer models grafted onto them , usually blowing around the manifold joint . If your fourtrak sounds like a dive-bomber , and the bulkhead is too hot to touch after driving 20 miles , this is probably why ... Don't waste time blobbing silicon everywhere as some people do ! Get some gun-gum bandage and spend a disgusting half-hour wrapping the joint thoroughly ( latex gloves for this trick ! ) and forget about it

worn glow-plugs ( pre-heaters ) produce smoky starts with lots of vibration .. this is a worthwhile fix for most older diesels ( although not particularly cheap )

spend the best £5 or so you will ever spend on the car and dump a tin of Diesel Magic or similar injector cleaner in the first fill-up

just a daft idea i have had,

just a daft idea i have had, but if the car is the other end of the country, why not get an aa inspection carried out on it before bidding, or if you cannot afford that expense, then why not post a comment on here to see if there are any members near to where the car is for sale who could possibly go and check it for you, steve

i am always in shit, its just the depth that varies

I got my 90 fourtrak off ebay

I got my 90 fourtrak off ebay no problems but i did not pay until i saw it, and what a moster it is!

Rob

Ebay

I have brought a fourtrak off Ebay with out viewing once but this baby had a FULL Diahatsu service history, so I felt more confident, it was a risk but it paid off. However, I would strongly advise viewing before bidding.

I asked a number of questions like:

Chassis rot, rust on the sills and doors. interior condition, service history, etc....normal stuff. But would still recommend viewing.

However, in our (your) favour, the lister on Ebay is fully responsible for their item description, so if you do win the bid, get there and there is something majorly wrong that you feel should have been in the listing, say so.......i.e a really smokey engine, or holes in the sills, excessive rust.....If you are not happy just walk away.......If they treaten neg feedback simple say that a fault like that should have been on the listing...It is their responsibility..get home and write imediatly to Eay about the situation...they will cancel on unfair feedback (this has never happend to me buy the way)

I think that most Fourtrak owners are a cool breed, and pretty honest.

Never the less, view before you buy...there are plenty of Traks around, and Ebay is not necessary the best place.

I live in Leicestshire...if you do find one local to me I will gladly go and view it for you if you trust a stanger....

Cheers

H

Cheers

H