That's not a scam. That's just someone not wanting to buy your truck.

Yeah you will need to sell that truck private party. And to be honest, it isn't going to go for a lot of money unless you have super low miles (under 100k) and it is in excellent shape.

The hardest part of being in the car business is giving someone an offer for their car. They come to my shop and want to sell and they've had this car forever so they are sentimentally attached to it. And it has great stories. But unfortunately the fact that it made it through a blizzard, tornado, mudslide, and a hurricane all to deliver Christmas toys on time to the kids doesn't translate into any monetary value. I can't charge the next buyer extra for a good story, and I can't pay you extra for one either. It is just business. 

Carvana and Carmax would send that truck to the scrap yard. No point in sending it to auction as the seller's fees would likely be more than they could get for it. And they definitely can't sell it on their lots. 

Anytime you get an offer like that, what they are trying to say is, "Thank you but we aren't interested." They are hoping you don't take it so they don't have to deal with it.

Not being rude, just letting you know how things are seen from the other side of the table. I'm also not saying it isnt a good truck. But it is a 1998 and you have to be realistic with your expectations. I would suggest going to CarGurus and under Research, put in your vehicle info. They will tell you what the market value is for your truck in your area.

You were only trying to sell the vehicle to them?  How many miles on it?  Also, it was 22-23 years old.  I’ve heard others get decent money from them for selling their cars but their cars were newer too (less than 10 years old).  You usually don’t find older cars 20+ years old on Carvana (or Vroom, CarMax) 

Of course. They sell newer vehicles. In my area, the least expensive car they offered was a 2010 Focus going for 7 grand. They don't really sell 23 year old trucks, so they won't offer real money. If you were to come to them with a 5 year old Corolla then they actually do give pretty good offers.

They would probably take it and send it to the junk yard.  That's probably why it was so low.

If they buy something they can’t sell due to age from you it’s kind of a losing situation. That probably is a junkyard quote that probably about all they’ll get for it themselves 

Have you tried getting a quote from Carmax?

In general even if it's in the greatest condition no dealer is going to want a 23-year-old vehicle on their lot. (Except maybe bottom-feeding buy here/pay here lots.) Your best bet would be to sell it privately.

Sounds like they were pretty straight forward.  How much would you buy it for?  Find someone in the market who agrees.