Michael
I was certainly not critiquing your advice regarding a sound evaluation by one of many experts by no means. I was simply pointing out the obvious, in that many novice MV enthusiasts fall into the trap of, which is, "I'll buy it, it's cheap and I can fix it up..."
Spending a few more dollars on a solid vehicle can be the difference between a nightmare and a decent enjoyable vehicle.
I see this all the time when guys buy something because it runs while the body is ready to fall off. One has to be knowledgeable enough to decipher what matters and what doesn't when making a purchase. As an example, give me a Jeep with a pristine body and a crapped out drive line. I would take that all day long over something that runs with junk bodywork...Or, in the case of a ferret, excellent mechanicals and a rusty scally hull with a flaking paint job vs the fancy paintwork atop a crapped out drive line.
I think we have all fallen prey to this at one point or another.
