As a former government truck, today’s Nice Price or No Dice GMC is set up to be pretty no-nonsense. Let’s see if there are any shenanigans to be found with its price.
While BMW has applied the venerable M badge across almost its entire lineup, even going so far as to extend the performance identifier to its crossovers and those weird hunchback X things, I think it’s arguable that the 3-Series M3 remains the company’s most iconic and beloved M model.
Unfortunately for the seller of last Friday’s 1999 E36 M3, most of you didn’t find it to be the most iconic edition of that most iconic model. The convertible body style and automatic gearbox were both called out as more bugs than features and combined, they made the car’s $23,750 asking price unpalatable for most. The end result was a 70 percent No Dice loss. Despite that loss, I still liked that car a lot.
Do you know what else I like? I like the idea of having the right tool for the job. That’s probably why I have, well…way too many tools. When it comes to any kind of work, having the right tool can mean the difference between getting a job done quickly and efficiently, and finishing the work with the exasperated exclamation, “Never again!”
When, Michael, the owner of today’s 1995 GMC Sierra 3500 emailed me about the truck what caught my attention was the note that it is a former government truck and that he is a former government man. Michael is the second owner, with I guess the government being the first. Now he’s ready for it to move on and Michael says he’d like it to “go to a working person’s stable for its next steward.” For a working truck, that’s a fair request.
Now, I don’t often post vehicles for sale recommended by their sellers since we’re not here to simply shill for anyone. Seriously, don’t flood my inbox. Still, this truck’s history tickled my interest, as did its cloth upholstery and rubber floor covering baseness. You can also always tell when one of these GMT400 trucks means business when they swap out the standard model’s flush headlamps for chonky sealed beam rectangular units.
Other work-oriented aspects of the truck include a capacious 8-foot fleetside bed and a solid if unexciting 5.7 liter V8 under the hood. That mill should be good for 180 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of twist. Those might not be great numbers in comparison with modern trucks, but as we’ll get to, that might be a reasonable trade-off when other factors are considered. Helping a good bit, the engine benefits from a slew of maintenance work supposedly using all OEM parts and fluids, and documented with the receipts.
The bodywork is straight saving for a sizable dent on the curbside of the bed. That doesn’t seem to have broken the paint or be bad enough to have damaged the frame to the point that the truck might crab-walk like the creepy new GMC Hummer. On the flip side of that, there’s a bed liner keeping things tidy.
The interior is very basic but also very clean. This is a standard cab which may prove a sticking point for some for its less lockable storage space. It’s remarkable to consider that for most of the pickup truck era — say 50 years or so — the standard cab was the only way to go.
There are a few upgrades and surprises in the truck. These are alluded to in the ad, but not called out specifically and include a Bluetooth add-on for the factory stereo and four-note Cadillac horns. A bunch of extra OEM parts as well as the factory service and TSB manuals also come with the truck. Finally, it comes with a clean title and no record of any shenanigans on the CarFax report. The cherry on top? It only has 65,500 miles under its belt.
Now, despite those low miles, this is far from a new truck. But that’s something that Micheal, the seller, says is actually a benefit of the truck, espousing:
why buy a $40000 to $60000 comparable “new” truck when you can service this one at home with inexpensive/quality parts and your own know-how. No need to worry about dings and dents when you own a classic GMT400 truck outright.
What would it take to make this old truck a significant attractor when compared to those pricy new trucks? How about an $8,950 asking? What do you think, is that a fair price for this simple-simon of a work truck? Or, does that price just not work for you?
You decide!
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Michael B. (the owner) for the hookup!
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