My last M1009 I bought a couple of months ago was DOA, but fired right up once I put a charge on the batteries. It later turned out one of the batteries had a dead cell, so I bought a marine-starting battery from Sam's club for $60, and have been driving it without problems since. My final bid was $600 for that truck, and had I bought another M1009 a couple of years ago out of Alabama for a final bid of $410, but it needed major work to get it running. As most people on here will tell you, the truck is worth whatever it is worth to you. There is a danger of being accused of price fixing, or something like that, if bidders get together and decide before hand to stop bidding at a certain price, so I doubt anyone here is going to tell you an exact amount they would pay. As for me, I know I want to avoid getting into a bidding war with anyone, so I usually look real close at the pics, and decide what the vehicle in question is worth and what it needs to be complete, then set a max bid on it on the first day, and try not to re-bid on it until the auction is over. Whenever I have stuck to this plan, I have not over bid, but I have seen a few nice trucks slip away with only one bid over mine, which can make you wonder what if?
In looking at M1009s, keep in mind they are really only 1/2-tons with a nice TH400 transmission and a military-grade 6.2 diesel, which gives you about an extra 20 HP over the civi version, if I am not mistaken. The axles are GM 10-bolts, and the rear has a gov-loc in it, which will stand up to light 4-wheeling, but will not take any real abuse. All-in-all, they are not any more special than a standard Custom-Delux version of a civi Blazer, except they are a piece of Americana in a way. They also don't have A/C in the majority of them, although I have seen it in a forestry truck once, so if you are wanting something the wife or girlfriend will be comfortable in on a summer day, you might want to consider something else.
Just my
If it is on the truck you might have to fix it.
