1989: My dad bought a used 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL. In 1991, my parents brought me home for the first time in that car. I loved and adored it my whole life.


He gave me the keys when I turned 16 and I couldn't have been happier. He is a senior citizen with a handicap, so that's why I had the handicap placard on the license plate.





December 18th, 2007. Irresponsible as can be, I rammed it into a curb after losing control in rainy weather. The hit bent the right lower control arm and tie rod, broke a motor mount and bent the coil spring perch.



The new parts were very expensive, though after fixing the damage, I kept driving the car. A combination of a bent frame and wobbly spare tire meant that it could not exceed 50mph without extreme wobble. A few months later, insurance gave a payout and the car was totaled on March 11, 2008. I received $4,000.




I needed another vehicle that was reliable. While peering out of the upstairs window at home, a Realtor was across the street setting up Open House signs. Just a bit further down the curb was his silver 2002 Sport Edition. This sparked the interest, though the only nice ones in my price range were 2nd gens. Any 3rd gen in that range would have been a complete beater.

A family friend operates a smog station nearby. A gentleman stopped by to smog a 1999 4Runner base model 4 cylinder 2wd automatic, as he was planning to sell. Our family friend notified my dad, who borrowed it for a test drive.

My dad brought it by the house so I could take a look. I climbed out of bed with my old Olympus FE-230 digital camera in hand. It was a smoker vehicle and had been involved in 2 DUIs. The interior was especially dirty, with what seemed like gallons of makeup smeared all over the steering wheel, shifter, and buttons. The Alpine radio was partially functional, the most unfortunate part being the Volume down button. Most of the interior parts (bolt covers, roof console door, floor mats) were missing. There was a smashed cigarette in the glove box and beer bottle caps under the seats. The paint was messed up, all of the bumper plastic was faded, the tires were cupped, the antenna was broken, and the exhaust manifold had a huge crack right down the middle.

It happened to look way better than any of the 1996 models available at the time, in fact it was the only 1999 within my budget. March 30th, 2008, I bought my 4Runner for $5,500 (down from $6,000).

I needed something to daily drive, I didn't think I was gonna own it for very long. 2WD Auto 4 cylinder just meant good gas mileage.



These 4Runners, though... they get to you. This first photo was taken the first time I ever laid eyes on it, with the digital camera I'd mentioned before.







Finally, I didn't have a vehicle with more problems than miles! Thankfully, it came with basic SR5 options, such as power windows and locks, air conditioning, rear wiper, rear window defroster, aluminum wheels, etc.