I'm with you on that. I paid $700 for my '83 and it's in better shape than that. And it came with 60 gallons of fuel! 4x4 too. OK, it is missing the tailgate. But I've seen several more for under a grand, and, in fact, I plan on buying at least two more to keep as running spares at that price. There is another one I like on CL for $800 but it's just a bit farther than I want to go to get it...
As far as work goes, I don't consider anything new/upgraded/fixed unless I did it myself, or I see a receipt from a professional with a very high price tag. Otherwise it's the same as any other used vehicle, and the extra work adds no value. I've learned the hard way buying used vehicles it's better to start cheap and fix them up yourself. The only way to get something done right is to do it yourself!!
If you're not afraid to change the glow plugs, it seems like a lot of people like to sell these for almost nothing when they become hard to start cold. They don't realize how simple and cheap it can be to fix that problem.
