From: Stuart McGraw on
Hello,

Wonder if I can get some advice...

I have a chance to buy a 98 Toyota with relatively low
mileage for a reasonable price. The catch is that it
has been sitting for about a year, the battery is dead
and the tires flat. I know the former owner and he
always took good care of the vehicle so I am mainly
concerned about the length of time it has been sitting.
Assuming it starts and runs ok with a new battery, is
there anything special I should look for?
The tires have good tread -- are they likely to be
usable after refilling with air?

Thanks for any hints!
From: someone on
In article <72bd7$4ab24413$4e3c306$7099(a)DIALUPUSA.NET>, Stuart McGraw <smcg4191(a)frii.com> wrote:
>Hello,
>
>Wonder if I can get some advice...
>
>I have a chance to buy a 98 Toyota with relatively low
>mileage for a reasonable price. The catch is that it
>has been sitting for about a year, the battery is dead
>and the tires flat. I know the former owner and he
>always took good care of the vehicle so I am mainly
>concerned about the length of time it has been sitting.
>Assuming it starts and runs ok with a new battery, is
>there anything special I should look for?
>The tires have good tread -- are they likely to be
>usable after refilling with air?
>
>Thanks for any hints!
outside inside? can you clean the fuel system?
are the tires dry rotted? they will probably be bad just from rims sitting on
them. cheap needs to include how much to make it run. if it takes another
$1000, is it still cheap?
From: SMS on
Stuart McGraw wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Wonder if I can get some advice...
>
> I have a chance to buy a 98 Toyota with relatively low
> mileage for a reasonable price. The catch is that it
> has been sitting for about a year, the battery is dead
> and the tires flat. I know the former owner and he
> always took good care of the vehicle so I am mainly
> concerned about the length of time it has been sitting.
> Assuming it starts and runs ok with a new battery, is
> there anything special I should look for?
> The tires have good tread -- are they likely to be
> usable after refilling with air?
>
> Thanks for any hints!

Change the tires and pour in a bottle of Heet. Should be fine. I would
be wary about the tires being rotted even if there is still tread on
them. I had a blow out on my old, lightly used Land Cruiser because I
used it so rarely that the same tires were on it for like eight years.
From: clare on
On Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:13:38 -0600, Stuart McGraw <smcg4191(a)frii.com>
wrote:

>Hello,
>
>Wonder if I can get some advice...
>
>I have a chance to buy a 98 Toyota with relatively low
>mileage for a reasonable price. The catch is that it
>has been sitting for about a year, the battery is dead
>and the tires flat. I know the former owner and he
>always took good care of the vehicle so I am mainly
>concerned about the length of time it has been sitting.
>Assuming it starts and runs ok with a new battery, is
>there anything special I should look for?
>The tires have good tread -- are they likely to be
>usable after refilling with air?
>
>Thanks for any hints!
Count on a new battery and new tires.. If it runs when you put a new
battery in, also count on hetting the fuel injection system cleaned.
You might not need to, but consider it a strong likelihood.
Do you have emission testing in your area? You might want to make the
purchace contingent on passing the E-test (before you spend a lot of
money on it)
You may quite possibly need to do some brake work as well - rotors may
be pitted from sitting, and check the rubber hoses.
From: Jeff on
Only a year? Just air up the tires and jump start it!