Yeah agree with ya, the old owner saw bright eyed Losh coming since he was only concerned with lower price and all the aftermarket goodies fitted, probably didn’t even test drive the ute which would have told him heaps on any road.
Better buy would have been to purchase higher priced factory stock ute with lower kms that were available in tassie and cheaper still on the mainland states and then experience driving around for a while with no issues at all and plan/think/save what upgrades to do at a later date that he would like but we are talking dollars and not just getting the cheapest black 1 available.
Most times a blank canvas might cost more $$$ but end result in your time and budget, you have/get what you want in the end, not someone elses messed up used canvas which costs more to reinstate their misteakes.
Have you actually taken any time to read about Losh's search into a ute? Judging by these comments, definately not....For starters he did mention about interstate purchases but was faced with the prospect of being stuck interstate to quarantine both interstate and Tassie, if a covid outbreak occurred....So we could add that into the cost of a ute, which then adds a further $4,000+ to the purchase price.
He also mentioned other utes he saw advertised on the interweb and how difficult it was for him to get to them time and cost wise to see if they were the correct ones....It seems he is time poor, where as it appears you are the opposite. So if you had cared to read into his search, you would have seen this and this comment wouldn't have been made....
Could he have gotten a better ute value wise....Quite possibly....But when buying any car, you always take a risk whether you do choose the right one at the right time....But no one has a crystal ball, so you make the choice when you feel is the right time...Sometimes you score the right deal, other times you don't.....This includes buying brand new
So in future, do some research and make the call from that
