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In another case of “I know what I have” madness, a Portland, Oregon Craigslist seller is trying to unload a 1993 Toyota pickup for nearly $25,000.
We’ll give to the owner—the truck does look immaculate (and the photos are pretty good, too), but the fact that it has done over 130,000 miles in its life changes things a little. It’s true that Toyota trucks are nearly impossible to kill, but some might see the price tag as being a little steep—us included.
The owner describes his treasure as having an all-original interior that has never been smoked in, saying that even the letters on the steering wheel buttons look new. The truck comes in Xtra Cab configuration with 4WD, an automatic transmission, air conditioning, AM/FM cassette, and even a factory moon roof. In true old school style, a camper top was installed the “right way” at some point with clamps instead of screws.
All fun aside, the seller’s price isn’t in a completely different universe from the numbers similar trucks are seeing. In his ad, the owner mentions a Barrett-Jackson auction that drew $55,000 for a 1983 Toyota pickup. Kelley Blue Book pegs these trucks at somewhere south of $10,000, even in mint condition, but several of the “for sale” listings on the valuation company’s own site have prices that far exceed that.
What makes the trucks so valuable? They were simply built and uncomplicated from an engineering standpoint. The bits that mattered were overbuilt, so the trucks just work. In many ways, they’re still reliable, even by new car standards.
Jeremy Clarkson famously tortured one on an old episode of Top Gear by sinking it in the English Channel and blowing it up in a building demolition explosion. With very little tinkering, the truck cranked to life after all of the antics and sat as a permanent ornament on the show’s set afterward.
