Congrats on the new job. You'll find your truck. On the right track with the 4runner for your plans. When you do go check out used cars, Chris Fix has a great video (linked) with helpful tips and a list you can print out and bring with you. Even if you know cars, without a list it's too easy to forget stuff in the moment that you should check.

C'mon man, give it up... what IS it ???

Unfortunately that listing sold the day before I was going to go check it out. Currently looking at the only other decent 3rd gen in price my range in my area (but the rear bumper has rust in the middle which is a bad sign), two 03 4th gens, and if that fails I'll have to suck it up and get a highlander until a proper SUV comes along. I'm in need of an SUV for commuting to work + the side business transporting and hauling stuff. Thank you for the preventative maintenance list!

I definitely saw that listing and that is an incredible 5 speed with what appears to be no rust, unfortunately it's out of my price range. Need something I can buy for 5k tops, preferably around 3k that I can build progressively.

Thank you for the tips. Haha I didn't want to yelled at for advertising...but since you asked...I am a co-founder of Aitex. If you've been in the woods, just put on Aitex, wipe it off, and you can forget about a poison ivy/oak rash the next day. It's a lotion for you, your tools, clothes, and even pets to help get poison ivy/oak/sumac off before it causes a rash. Aitex

I always knew toyota's had good resale value, but when that 3rd gen sold I went to go look at tacomas from the same period and couldn't believe the prices haha.
On Monday I need to go check out a likely terrible 3rd gen, two 4th gens that look fine but suspiciously haven't sold for a long time, and if those don't work out, probably a highlander.

Don't do that. Kinda girly!

IMO I don't think there was anything fishy about it, it's just a truck that's worth $3500. I bought mine for $1000. You just have to expect it to be garbage and you won't be angry when it breaks down while you're taking it home...or you're swapping out the pink milkshake-filled transmission...or ripping out the whole interior because it was disgusting. There's other great trucks that can be had in decent condition for far less than a Toyota. You might lose a few points with people here but a Ford Ranger or Explorer with the old 4.0 OHV is a solid ride.

seems suspicious, wish they were that cheap in my area.

Wanted to give you guys an update,

all the 3rd gens I looked at fell through.
But I found this one, it doesn't have the multi-mode I wanted but I can live without it.
Wasted a 3 hour round trip on a 4th gen that was nowhere near the quality it was pictured as. It was v8 4th gen for only 5495 but it was just too high of a risk regardless of how cheap it was.

This 3rd gen tho...the dealer sent me pictures of the frame and it looks very promising considering it's time in the North. Driving 2 hours round trip tomorrow to take a look, getting a 3rd party mechanic to come by and take a look, and hopefully end up purchasing this this weekend.
https://www.newarkrides.com/details/...unner/52692109

According to toyota's vehicle history
Catalytic converter was stolen in 2010 and 1 of the 5 previous owners reported a rotten egg smell back in 2012. I know the rotten egg smell has come up before on the forums, so I'll find out during the test drive tomorrow if a previous owner addressed it. Carfax is clean.

Dealership claims all it needs is an alignment.

Looks pretty clean in those pics And the price is Very reasonable.

Let us know how she feels, luck.

Okay, I need everyone's help for one final update.

Saw the 98 4runner today and all it needs is an alignment and the e-brake gets stuck/doesn't work. I can live with that.

-Exterior condition is very good; couple rock chips, tiny amount of rust on rear bumper.
-Engine runs fine, brakes are fine. Was loud during cold start but as it warmed up became borderline silent at idle and responsive and proper sounding with gas.
-Trans fluid after my test drive and drive to 3rd party mechanic was maroon.
-Previous owner put their own wood trim on the inside, it's weird but I can live with it.
-3rd party mechanic cleared it of general inspection, all fluids looked fine.
-Goes into 4HI and 4LO properly.

All that's left is the frame, for a vehicle that spent 20 years between Indiana and Illinois, I don't think I can do much better. I want to believe this is removable rust and should last me awhile considering I don't do any offroading atm, just need this to drive right for a year minimum preferably several years tho.
frame
Imgur: The magic of the Internet


Assuming you guys give this frame the okay, I am signing for it at 10am and joining team 3rd gen. I can give the frame a good tap tomorrow to be sure, but just based on touch it felt like it was surface rust.

The rust doesn't look too bad. It'll look much healthier when you get that top layer off with a wire wheel.

Not good but not terrible. Definitely whack it. If the original bumper has only minor rust then the frame should be good. But there's a lot of rust so they may have replaced the bumper.

you need to check the rear of the frame where the trailing arm connects, between the frame and muffler.

The frames rot from the inside out, so I guarantee you there is piles of rust inside that frame.

The only way to slow it down is to clean the frame out....water, compressed air, vacuum. Wire wheel everything (means taking things apart, such as the rear control arms and springs and shocks) so you can get into every crevice. The tops of the rear spring cups are full of rust and dirt I bet. The gas tank needs to come out....I bet the metal fuel lines on top of the tank are rusty and very thin. Then wash it all down with degreaser/brake clean, prime and paint. Inside the frame too. Eastwood makes a piece of kit for that. Internal frame coating I think.

Then periodically spray the whole undercarriage with Fluid Film.

It's a solid week of work, but you'll be good to go from then on.

Ask me how I know.

Hey there guys, I have been reading the threads on this forum for over the past year. You all have helped me get through a couple of repairs that I had to do to mine when I first got it. I had to do the injectors the coil packs and most recently the valve cover gaskets. Which, I really wish I would have done when I did the injectors. That was a really lazy decision on my part.

So, in Jan 2019, I got a small chunk of unexpected money. I had been wanting a four-wheel drive pickup for quite some time. So I decided since I had some money that I didn't necessarily need that I was going to buy a pickup with 4 wheel drive. I learned very very quickly that for some odd reason people believe that if it has a truck bed it's worth twice the amount of money any other vehicle on the road is worth. Anyway, an auction nearby came up so I decided to go check it out being as I wasn't having any good luck finding anything looking around. I had my eye on a couple..so so pick ups. I decided I'd stay and bid on what I might want. Well before any of the pick ups came through, a Black 2000 T4R limited came up. (I'll mention that I'm NO pro mechanic. But, I know enough. I also know my dad who was a PRO mechanic always loved Toyota and always said they were the best on the road for reliability. Plus a good friend has a 2nd gen). Well, I noticed that no-one was really bidding much on it. So, I decided to try. One other person raised me by $100 putting it at $2200. I didn't jump any higher...until the auctioneer pointed to me for another $50. I nodded, then...it was mine. Again, no pro here but I had already looked it over. So I knew for that price I did ok. It had 222,000 miles on it. Few minor cracks in the driver's seat. Plus, I smelled the burning oil from the valve cover gaskets. Otherwise, very well maintained and kept. I believe the miles are mostly highway miles. I also believe it only had two owners before myself. I've never done any carfax or any other checks on it. I've only put 3000 more miles on it since I got it. So far, it seems very solid. Very little to NO rust. Nothing visible at least. I may be wrong, but I really believe I got a smoking deal on it. Based on what I'm seeing on this thread, they sell for much more if there's very little rust.

Any input would be appreciated. Sorry for the long story. I just wanted to tell how I came about getting it.
I don't have a lot of expendable funds but I plan on building it..slowly..into a nice off road beast. I am very happy I decided to get this instead of a pick up. I have a little trailer so I can still get the pick up perks with room for cargo/family. In hindsight, I feel like my dad was watching over me and pushed me into buying it. From up above, if you will.

Thanks in advance for any advice or input.