Curious about new ICON-like Bronco for sale..

[ChickenBronco]

(Note: apologies if anyone has posted about this car before... I did my best to search and couldnt find anything!)

Hi guys, just registered because I'd love to get some input from you experts on whether this ICON-like Bronco I've seen for sale is really worth the price.

The Bronco is made by a company in Washington State called "Urban Gears" and their website can be found at http://rideug.com/. Everything looks to be brand new and custom on it, which is what I'm looking for in my future purchase. My only hesitation is the price point... the owner has quoted me on $39-45k depending on options. That seems like a HECK of a lot of money for a custom build, even if everything in the car is brand-spanking new.

Gallery of Bronco images
Gallery of Restore Process

Here's a list of what they say they've included:

NEW 302 ENGINE

• New Oil Pan, Chrome Valve Covers and Timing Cover
  
• New Carburetor
  
• New Distributor
  
• New Radiator

EQUIPPED WITH

• New High Quality Gun Metal Grey Paint
  
• New Dakota Digital Red Led Instrument Cluster
  
• New 3 1/2 Suspension Lift (Coils and Springs)
  
• New Front Disc Brakes (Rotors, Calipers, Spindles, Brake Lines)
  
• New Warn Hubs
  
• New Shocks
  
• New Set of Five Pro Comp 7089 Wheels
  
• New Set of Five Mickey Thompson Tires
  
• New Urban Gears Designed Front Bumper
  
• New Soft Top with Tinted Windows
  
• New High Back Front Seats
  
• New Dual Action Folding Rear Seat
  
• New Carpet Throughout
  
• New Custom Rubber Floor Mats
  
• New Locking Center Console
  
• New Steering Wheel
  
• New Water Pump
  
• New Fuel Pump
  
• New HID Headlights with LED Halos
  
• Power Steering Box
  
• Power Brake Booster
  
• New Stainless Steel Door Panels
  
• New Weather Stripping Throughout
  
• Complete Body Rust Seal
  
• Complete Undercoating
  
• New Interior Quarter Panel Inserts
  
• New Front and Rear Three Point Seat Belts
  
• New Inner Door Handles and Cups
  
• New Taillight Lenses
  
• New Front Signal Lenses with LED’s
  
• New Dash Knobs
  
• New Window Door Felts
  
• New Sun Visors and Wiper Covers
  
• New Windshield Wipers
  
• New Windshield Washer Bottle
  
• New Radiator Overflow Bottle

BOTTOM LINE QUESTION: What's the real retail value of a car like this? I expect $39-45k is ludicrous, but is $30k reasonable? $25k? I'd love to know what I should shoot for in discussing with owner.

Many thanks!

 

[Greg_B]

It looks nice but without seeing it in person I couldn't tell you if it is worth that kind of money or not. It certainly "could" be.... if everything was right. I like a lot of things about it and a few I don't care for but they are all like that...

Not to be smart or anything but my first impression of your post was that you are not really a buyer but the seller trying to get a feel for what it is worth and / or to promote your web site / Bronco. I am probably wrong on that but it kind of feels that way. Your post is almost too detailed....

Doesn't really matter though... you ask a legit question... It is just very hard to answer. I am sure in the next few hours you will get tons of responses....

Good luck and welcome to the site...

Greg

 

[BRONCOchild]

Plus, for that price...I would think it would be fuel injected. However, it's probably a $20,000 all day truck!

 

[Jeff76]

I agree with everything Greg B just said. Right down to the question. I was thinking the same thing as I read the post. Nice bronco.

Jeff

 

[EBE]

Deja Vu

Knew I had seen this before http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212104

 

[.94 OR]

How much for the mirror package?

 

[TwoDalesDad]

Thats a really nice bronco although, For the steep price tag that goes with it there seems to be a couple important pieces they seem to have missed....Really Good Lookin Ride thou...

 

[ChickenBronco]

Appreciate your input Greg, Broncochild & Jeff... I'm simply trying to wrap my head around if this Bronco is what the company thinks its cracked up to be. I promise you I have no affiliation with the guys who make the truck. I actually figured me bluntly questioning the price of the truck was the best way to prove I'm not in some sort of cahoots, but I'd be happy to provide some other proof/verification if needed... I certainly don't want to start off on a bad foot here!

And as far as the detail goes, all of the technical stuff listed is copy/pasted from their ebay post (which I didn't link to), then I just inserted a few images from their website to not force you all to bounce around across sites. FYI I currently work in Product Management in Silicon Valley so optimizing the User Experience, even in a simple post, is always something I consider. Was just trying to make your lives easier, I promise!

EDIT: Here's proof I live/work in Silicon Valley, nowhere near this truck company

At the end of the day, money isn't an issue for me, so I'm trying to find the most intelligent way to spend my dollars on a Bronco that won't give me headaches and won't break down. Any advice on that in general would be appreciated!

 

[DirtDonk]

If it's a business trying to make money by building vehicles to sell or for existing customers, then that's actually what you'd expect to pay. And near what you'd pay to have your own rig done up by the same company.
It'd have to cost at least that much for them to make a decent profit and keep buying other vehicles to build.
If it was a private party, then no, it's not worth even half that, except at a lucky auction.

Around here, it was common (still happens, just less often) for a customer to bring in a brand new $30,000 Jeep and sink another 60-100k into it, or a $50k Suburban and sink another 40k in just bolt-ons, just in one shop. Very common.
BTB (if they're still around) has been building custom FJ40 series Land-Cruisers for 20 years for between $50k and $150k, and had lots of business.
If you brought a Bronco in to one of these shops and said, "build me a custom street/trail rig" it would probably cost at least an additional $25 grand for just bolt-on stuff and labor, or $30 grand to the sky's-the-limit if you have custom fab work done. All on top of your truck's purchase price.
So yeah, as high as that is, it's probably not out of line for someone doing it for a living.

If it's just someone in the general public who's selling the Bronco on Craigslist that they had done themselves with all the same parts, then no. Last year that would have put it in the $10 to $15k range on a good day. Now, that would probably put it more in the $25k range.
Again, unless you take it to an auction and let the interested parties fight over it.

It's not 150k like an Icon because it doesn't look to have had all the most expensive parts on it and details taken care of like they do. Everything from the less expensive headlights to the cheap battery lugs to leaving the wrinkles in the core support and body panels only decent (and no hard top?) says budget build. Or more appropriately, a "semi-budget" build.
Very nice bumpers, evidently built by them. Look beefy and would cost a fair amount just as parts in themselves.
But there's nothing exotic about the engine or drivetrain that I can see.
Is the A/C even hooked up? I see covered ports. Are there other ports on the bottom? Does look like the condenser is attached, but can't see all the hoses.

They could have used lots of the highest quality bolt-ons from any of the vendors, including us, and just started with a decently clean and straight Bronco and given it a paint job and put all the parts together.
But again, once they do that, as a shop they have to charge more to make a profit on the parts, and add labor on top, just to stay in business.
Is there a Warranty on anything? It's still an old vehicle. If it's all new and has a warranty, then it could be worth the extra dough for the peace of mind.

So it's up to you. For a pro-shop built truck, that price is not out of line. For a private party sale, around half of that.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[WheelHorse]

Plus, for that price...I would think it would be fuel injected. However, it's probably a $20,000 all day truck!

This...it should be fuel injected for 40K.

 

[Chicago71Bronco]

Hey there and welcome to the site.

First off, what you're asking is totally a matter of opinion and that's what you'll get- a lot of opinions. In the end you have to do what best suits you.

There are guys on here who have the knowledge and skills to create and build some amazing stuff and would never pay that kind of price because they can (and would rather) build their own rig. I wish I was one of them. Unfortunately I am not one of those people so my opinion will be based on the fact that I would be more likely to pay retail to get what I want rather than mess with it myself.

If, and I mean IF the truck was built with all NEW parts, I really don't think $35k is a bad deal if it's exactly what you want.

I'm no expert at all (seriously take everything I say with a grain of salt) but just think about the prices of some of the features of this truck. Hell here's 10k worth just in a few parts:

New turnkey motor: $4,000
Wheels and tires are $2,500
Dakota dash - around $800 shipped
Power disc's - $1,500
Bumpers with tire rack - $1500

Man that $10k went fast.

Add the cost of the actual truck, body work, wiring harness and labor, axles, trans, interior, suspension, paint job etc..... You get the picture. Well guess what - you just spent a boatload of money real quick.

Question is, is it exactly what you're looking for? If it were my dream bronco and everything was brand new and built properly with QUALITY workmanship I'd have no problem dropping $35k to get it.

In my mind you have a few options:

1. This rig is everything you want and is turn-key. Upon further inspection you find that it is indeed a QUALITY rig. Answer- Haggle the price if you can and buy it.

2. You want a like new custom rig and are willing to spend good money for a quality truck, but this isn't exactly what you want. Answer- go here http://www.nickstrix.com/ and have them build you one

3. You're on a budget and are willing to shop around for a descent rig and do some work yourself in order to save some $$. Answer - spend lots of time on this forum and let all of the experts help you out. It's a great group of people and they won't steer you wrong.

Ok just my $.02

 

[sstlaure]

For a custom build - you're not paying what it's worth (parts), you're paying what it costs to make it look like the picture (parts + labor)

I've got ~$20K in parts and hundreds of hours of labor in mine and it's still a LONG way from looking that nice or driving.

If you're not willing (or able) to build it yourself, expect to pay a hefty pricetag to have someone do the hard stuff for you.

Example: I can put a roof on my own house (my labor) for about $2500, it will cost me ~$6K to have someone do it for me. Is the roof worth $2500 or $6000? It's the exact same roof and materials.

 

[Dusty]

I could see it being worth that much if indeed everything is new. But I'm curious abuot that list. They note there are new taillight lenses and other trivialities, but they don't say anything about the rest of the drivetrain other than motor. Is it a new trans? Is it an automatic? Is it just a rebuilt C4, same as they opted not to do something more state of the art like they did with a carb'd 302? Is the T-case rebuilt? If so is it just to stock specs or does it have lower gears? Are the driveshafts new? Front and rear end new or rebuilt? And what about the tub? How much of it is new? If its a refurbished used tub, how much panel replacement had to be done to it/ Is there any bondo? What about the frame--surely its a re-used one with a valid VIN, but has it been stripped, dipped, coated? If ALL of this stuff is indeed brand new, or at least newly rebuilt with all new parts in a good used core such as the T-case, axles, etc., then it could easily be worth more than the asking price, in my opinion.

But I'd like to see some more modern technology used. At least EFI, if not a more modern motor altogether such as a mod or coyote. Electronic overdrive transmission too.

Bottom line is its more in what I would say is the correct price range when compared to the ICON or even the Legend Bronco from RR.

 

[DirtDonk]

...At the end of the day, money isn't an issue for me, so I'm trying to find the most intelligent way to spend my dollars on a Bronco that won't give me headaches and won't break down. Any advice on that in general would be appreciated!

I figured that was just assumed in what I said as well, but wanted to mention something I've seen happen way too often lately Chicken.
When all is said and done, this is still a 36 to 47 year old truck (depending on what year their core rig starts out as) and unless gone completely through 100% from bumper-to-bumper and nut to bolt, can still give you the same grief as someone who bought a 5k fixer upper.

So caveat emptor has never been more appropriate!

There should be a sticky-thread here titled "You have no idea what you just bought yourself into!" or something along those lines, to post up the horror stories of buying a "rust-free" EB that soon falls apart from the hidden demons and the new owner ends up putting way more than originally expected into it.

The good side of all those stories is that most of the owners end up enjoying the heck out of the projects anyway. It just takes WAY more time to get it to daily-driving weekend warrior status than they'd originally hoped for.

Not saying the one you linked to is not a very clean and very reliable package already. Just that "you just never know" with these things.

Hmmm, sounds like a good excuse for a Road-Trip with the family to Oregon and Washington, eh? ;D
If you find it a good one, great. If you don't, well, you had a nice trip to Crater Lake and Portland!

By the way, as part of the group now, have you happened upon the threads here by NYBronco and his epic adventure when he bought his and drove it home?
It's worth spending a little time (like an hour or so!) to check out his experience. Which by the way was almost all good. Very little bad stuff reared it's ugly head, and when it did it was dealt with very well too.

Good reading, along with a couple of other similar adventures by new EB owners.
Hope you end up in the family too. Quite a few of us on the Peninsula and hereabouts.

Paul

 

[ChickenBronco]

Thanks Paul, I really appreciate your input. I've only emailed with the guy who runs RideUG once so far, and it seems like a small operation. I did a little dirt-digging on the company (whois query their domain name) to just see how legit it is, and from their address and google maps it looks like they're working out of a garage behind a house.

Judging from what the owner said RE inventory, it sounds like they're putting one of these broncos out every 2-3 weeks. My best guess it is looks like a small team of guys are trying to ride the hype of the ICON bronco and pump out 20-30 of these style trucks a year @ 35-40k apiece. Even conservatively @ 20 trucks x $35k, it means they're doing $700k/year in business... which is why I found it really strange that there was NOTHING online about these guys, especially on Bronco-centric sites like here.

 

[JSmall]

Urban Gears is in the Portland, OR area. I've stopped by their shop and I was very impressed with his builds. He bought an uncut from a friend of mine. It is now finished and for sale.

UG has been selling his Bronco's on EBay when he finishes them so someone out there thinks they are worth it.

 

[ChickenBronco]

By the way, as part of the group now, have you happened upon the threads here by NYBronco and his epic adventure when he bought his and drove it home?
It's worth spending a little time (like an hour or so!) to check out his experience. Which by the way was almost all good. Very little bad stuff reared it's ugly head, and when it did it was dealt with very well too.

I literally just joined, so no, I havent had a chance to read much but I'm absolutely willing to deep-dive into things! Do you have a link? I found his profile but can't easily find the post you're referencing.

Hope you end up in the family too. Quite a few of us on the Peninsula and hereabouts.

Didn't even notice you're in SJ... Glad to know you're in the area! I'm actually moving cross-country to Delaware in a few weeks, so the whole reason I brought this thread up is *IF* I need to go up to Washington to see the car, I'd love to do it now before I move

 

[PlaneDrvr99]

You might try buildabronco.com

I have been pretty amazed with those guys work. Check out their facebook page and look at some of the Broncos they have put out....

 

[Greg_B]

OK... sorry... You are more tech savy than most so it appeared as "too" clean of a post. All is good....

I told you there would be a lot of replies...

Someone always knows someone in every part of this country on here. I bet someone is close to them and could go look at it for you....

Greg

Appreciate your input Greg, Broncochild & Jeff... I'm simply trying to wrap my head around if this Bronco is what the company thinks its cracked up to be. I promise you I have no affiliation with the guys who make the truck. I actually figured me bluntly questioning the price of the truck was the best way to prove I'm not in some sort of cahoots, but I'd be happy to provide some other proof/verification if needed... I certainly don't want to start off on a bad foot here!

And as far as the detail goes, all of the technical stuff listed is copy/pasted from their ebay post (which I didn't link to), then I just inserted a few images from their website to not force you all to bounce around across sites. FYI I currently work in Product Management in Silicon Valley so optimizing the User Experience, even in a simple post, is always something I consider. Was just trying to make your lives easier, I promise!

EDIT: Here's proof I live/work in Silicon Valley, nowhere near this truck company

At the end of the day, money isn't an issue for me, so I'm trying to find the most intelligent way to spend my dollars on a Bronco that won't give me headaches and won't break down. Any advice on that in general would be appreciated!

 

[ChickenBronco]

No to worry Greg, your points were valid. I simply figured it would be better to have too much information than too little