I'm going to buy a 2002 SR5. I could use some of your wisdom.

So everyone my name is Grayson, I am 21, and I live in Los Angeles. I currently go to USC where I am double majoring in accounting and entrepreneurship. I am working at Deloitte and Touche over the summer as an Auditor and I recently crashed my car. I had a 2002 BMW 325i that I modded extensively. I used to be on a forum called e46fanatics. I was on it all the time for a while. It was how I got into modding and how I learned to mod my BMW. I couldn't have done it without the help of the fanatics on the website. So now I am turning my attention towards a new breed of fanatics and a new breed of car owners. I hope you all can reach out and give me a helping hand in my new car purchase. I have narrowed my criteria down to a black 2002 SR5 (the one with the hoodscoop and limited body kit...I don't know what is called) with under 45,000 miles. I have found one option available to me. I was hoping you guys could check it out and give me some feedback as to the reasonableness of the price of the rig.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=227225804&dealer_id=57784800&car_year=2002&model=4RUN&num_records=25&make2=&start_year=2001&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=0&marketZipError=false&color2=&search_lang=en&make=TOYOTA&color=BLACK&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=45000&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=90007&advanced=y&end_year=2002&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=838

That is the link to the 4runner I am considering buying. Another option would be to go through my friend who's dad owns a used car lot. He buys his cars via auctions and he said he could get me one for a lot better deal than the one on autotrader. I am skeptical of the dad because the car I want is the one pictured above, and they don't seem to be to prolific in amount. So that is the first question I hoped you could all help me out with: Is the 4runner on Autotrader a good buy?

The second question I have is about modding the 4runner. I was hoping you guys/girls could point me in the right direction as to common mods people get on the car, and where I could go to purchase them. I don't want to go crazy like I did with my BMW but I would like to personalize my car a bit. If you could post pictures of your rides and say what you did to them it would be really helpful to me. Thanks in advance for your help. I hope to buy one of these suckers soon, and frequent these forums much more often.

I am in downtown Los Angeles and I don't plan on taking it off roading anytime in the near future. That said, I still like the look of a raised truck, so I would still be interested in getting a little bit of a lift. It would be for purely asthetic reasons. I would also like to get some modifications to the tires/wheels for a little bit more burlier look. And engine modifications to give me some extra power would be nice. If you could point me in the right direction for those mods I would appreciate it. Thankssssssss.

Here are some pictures of my car back in its glory days.

Man that BMW is awesome, same as the 4Runner, it looks exactly like mine.

And that's definitely a good deal, I'd get it ASAP if I were you.

New 4Runners

Hi, a good place to look at what others had done to their rigs:

http://www.top4runners.com/topsites/index.php

Also, are you planning to drive all the way to Colorado to buy the car?

lol that website is horrible, well to me it is. If I were you I would look at the gallery on this website, cardomain, or http://www.hboss.net/cgi-bin/readers.cgi?action=searchsubmit&searchcategory=&type=standard

NAB IT!

God I wish I could have a 4Runner Like that.

As Far as Mods.
Lets start with power.
You want power..... GET A TRD SUPERCHARGER!!!
Just my humble opinion lol!
As for sound+power, the TRD Cat back exhaust is nice nice (I have one personally and am in love every time I turn the key to start the truck)
Headers, there are many options to go with, I am still doing research myself for such ideas on headers.

Mild Lift can be bought by anyone, but a strong suggestion as to who you do buy it from, Sonoran Steel Inc. has a variety of lifts from mild to wild.
I will be going with the slightly more wild lift, but then again I will actually be using mine for off-road use, as to you, you wont be so much.

Fair warning to you, Cause my stepdad has and 02' and there is one issue you should look out for.
It was a problem with the 01-02 trannys, even if they were properly taken care of and now towing/off-road driving was done, the transmissions overdrive planetary gear gives out, and your screwed out of getting your tranny rebuilt or letting a stealership give you a "refurbished" one.

But other than it is one fine vehicle.

Are you wanting to take it offroad or turn it into something like this..?

Thanks a lot for the advice. I hope to purchase this 4runner next week. Hopefully it will still be available by then. He said the only exterior damage was to the rear bumper. He said he would repace it to as new condition for $500 extra dollars. He also said I could get a 7year, 150,000 mile warranty that covers everything like the original warranty (bumper to bumper + power train) for an extra $1,500. He said pricing would be negotiable. I am hoping to get the ride out the door for 17,000. I am willing to go higher but I want to try and get a better deal.

Are there any specific questions I should ask this guy in order to make sure the truck is legit? I have never seen in it person and if I do decide to purchase it, I will fly to Denver and buy it. I really do not want to fly to Denver, see the rig, and not buy it. That would be a huge waste of my time and money. So before I fly out I have to be dead certain that this 4runner is the one for me. As far as looks go, it is exactly what I want. I want a black SR5 (sport) with low mileage. It seems to be in very good shape so I am pretty pleased about the car.

I will check into the mods I can do to the truck. I don't want to add exhaust simply because I had one on my bimmer for 2 years and after taking it off my life is so much easier. I don't want to go backwards and have to stuggle to have a conversation in my car without hearing my exhaust. I want to do a lift for sure. I want to get a ski rack for sure. I want to get bigger tires for sure. Tint is the first thing I will do. I am hoping to get somethign like 27% all around. That is what I had on my BMW and it was absolutely perfect. I also want to get the rain guards for the windows. Performance mods are going to be the last thing I do, so for now if you could just reccomend asthetic mods and where I can buy them it would be appreciated. A lift in my case would be asthetic. I know you guys will probably look down on me for raising my car and not 4bying it, but hey, I like the look. And if I ever get the chance to go off the beaten path, I know my truck will be able to handle it fairly well.

You should have plenty to mod the car with your kind of budget.

Suspensioin Lift: http://www.sonoransteel.com

Body Lift: http://www.4crawler.com/ if you just want looks.

Tires, they have other brands too, and they're local: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/pts/392232465.html

Bumpers: http://www.tjm.com.au/ Sonoran Steel and Burtman Industries both carry TJMs.

Lights: Ebay KC Hilite, Hella, or IPF.

Accessories: http://www.burtmanindustries.com/index.php

Batteries: http://www.lmrbatteries.com/ make sure you go with either Optima or Odyssey.

Stay away from 4 wheel parts or Performance Products IMO, I think they are the same company and their price are kind of high.

And finally, check out this guy's page, I think he's got an awesome rig: http://www.mycolorado.org/4runner.html

Good luck.

pius222 said:

And finally, check out this guy's page, I think he's got an awesome rig: http://www.mycolorado.org/4runner.html

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Thats Darren's Rig Off YotaTech.
I envy that thing soo badly.
I want to mod my stepdad's 02' to look that nice.

You know imagine if Darren had gotten his bumpers powder coated to match the rest of the truck, how bad A$$ would that look.

Something like this maybe.
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=229.0

nice ride

Here is a newer mod that I have been making 3rd generation Runner owners aware of-it's a small thing but it sticks out and grabs some attention everytime I pop the hood to check the oil or just show it off:


http://www.burtmanindustries.com/zoomprod.php?id=4run_hoodlift_96_02

click on view video if you want to see it working. I have had mine about 3 months and am quite happy with it.

With regards to your old Bimmer(or Beemer) that is/was a sweet ride, sorry to hear of it's demise.

I have never broken anything off-roading. It is a matter of trail selection first, and then knowing when to say "enough" and learning how to always spot the last place wide enough to turn around and head back the way you came. It might be boring to go back the same way-but there is never a reason to damage your equipment unless you choose to do so. I run trails very carefully-no running involved-I doubt I ever hit 6 mph on a trail- even downhill travel is very controlled in 4 Low and typically 2nd gear-but you will be in an auto tranny of course....

I have no experience with and don't run automatic trannys and should you want someone to eyeball this one for you in person just holler and one of us out here will step up to help you out.

Best of luck with your purchase and hope that all goes well for you.

be wary?

The rig you are considering on Auto Trader certainly looks nice and all but is underpriced for the Denver market from a dealer-it is my guess they know something they are not disclosing. I do not know this dealer and have heard nothing (good or bad) about them in the past.

Save some money from your upgrading budget to put into maintenance and repairs- I would have it professionally inspected to be sure, and even then not everything may be detectable in that short look. Certainly before you entertain thoughts of driving it all the way back to LA, have it inspected professionally.

Around here finding a low mileage Runner is iffy at best-this would be $20-22K at a Toyota dealer and their value is well documented here in this market.Remember this is the final year of the 3rd gens. and lots of folks out here are not fond of the 4th gens (mainly looks-they love the 4.0-V6 except the gas mileage)

It is completely possible you have found a killer deal but I would guess that this dealer knows exactly what it is worth and why.

All the Carfax reports are coming back positive and so on?

This vehicle is not out of my way on my daily commute and I would be glad to eyeball it for you.

That would be amazing if you could check it out for me. I would sincerely be grateful for your help. It would be much easier than me flying to Denver and checking it out for myself. O man, I am really happy you guys would be willing to go somewhat out of your way in order to help me out. Thanks!

I haven't carfaxed it yet. I will do that today.

As far as getting it professionaly inspected goes, it sounds like a great idea, and something I hadn't thought of. How much would something like that cost, and how would I go about setting it up? Would I contact a Toyota Dealership and have one of them go and check out the car? Would a professional mechanic work just the same?

no problem this is close

No inconvenience to me no worries-this is just one or two blocks off my normal route home.

I will swing by there tonite on the way home.

We have trained Toyota techs in our club, Rising Sun 4WD and I would imagine one of them could be negotiated with to provide a check up of the vehicle.

There really is no close by Toyota dealers but if the "great danes" dealer would be okay with having the vehicle inspected-I would help you get it to either Mountain States Toyota (closest) or Stevinson Toyota East (other direction-perhaps a little farther) or I would prefer to use my Russian friends at Irbis Off-Road.

Here is a link to their site:

http://irbisoffroad.com/

I will focus mainly tonite on body and paint and accessories, and leave it to the mechanics to comment on the tech stuff.

I will take good notes and let you know first thing in the AM what I have discovered.

it's gone

sold per Dane 1:55pm Denver time Monday 8/13


sorry g2go


supposedly they have access to more and about the same price

David at 303-908-7420 supposedly has details-I did not want to make that call without pictures to reference to.


We'll help you find a nice one out there-you really do not need 4wd it sounds like to me- and that would save you a bunch of gas mileage money.

Re: it's gone

Ron Helmuth said:

sold per Dane 1:55pm Denver time Monday 8/13


sorry g2go


supposedly they have access to more and about the same price

David at 303-908-7420 supposedly has details-I did not want to make that call without pictures to reference to.


We'll help you find a nice one out there-you really do not need 4wd it sounds like to me- and that would save you a bunch of gas mileage money.

Click to expand...

The only reason why I would need 4WD is because I snowboard very frequently and I could definitely use it when I drive up to the mountains. I am on the snowboard team at my school and I try to go up to Mammoth every other weekend. Albeit there is not snow on the road at all times, it definitely does occur, and I would like to have 4WD just in case. I also think it is good to have for a resale perspective. It seems like a truck with 4wd would hold it's value better than a 2wd simply because there are more people interested in purchasing a 4wd vehicle. Greater demand = greater money back to me. This is all assuming that gas prices do not increase to the point where people will be deterred from buying the 4wd version. Ultimately I want to get a black SR5 with low milage that is 4wd. Both of the ones I found on Autotrader have been bought. This really sucks. The other one I found was in Boulder and it was 24k for a runner with 29k miles. Damn.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=2039

That's another option...but I really want black

:bash:

yeah that one in Medina OH is priced right, at least at first glance I would trust it a bit more.

I agree with you about the 4WD- around here the few 2WDrives that exist are kind of shunned-but someone always wants to be a
'poser'.

Stick with it, there has got to be one out there near you somewhere with your name on it.....they are worth the wait.

Ron Helmuth said:

I agree with you about the 4WD- around here the few 2WDrives that exist are kind of shunned-but someone always wants to be a
'poser'.

Click to expand...

Wait, does that mean that I'm a 'poser'?

What do you guys think about this one?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=296

What is this convenience package they speak of? It seems overpriced to me.

Does it sound like it has the sport package? It seems to mention everything the sport package has (roof rack, painted bumpers, running boards, rear winshield deflector) but it doesn't say anything about the hood scoop. Does the sport version have any performance differences from a non-sport edition sr5?

everybody but you

polvadis-nah I did not mean you-what I was trying to get at is out here (Denver metro area) in the newspapers they have trucks 4wd section in the classified advertising, then the 2wd section. (in that order) I am ignoring the cars-not my thing at the moment....

There are rarely more than a handful of any brand , even the domestics, in the 2wd section. Usually no more than 4 or 5 Yotas or Nissans and so on. Again only in the 2wd section.

But the 4wd section that preceeds it is huge, and frequently I have noticed an ad that seemed too good to be true-pricewise most usually. SO I will call and say-"really? it's a '97 4Runner with only 40K miles and only $8K at an Oldsmobile dealer?"

and they will say come on over and let's get it sold to you, and at least once I have done so-only to discover it really was never a 4wdrive truck at all, it just happened to get listed there-either as an oversight of the newpaper of the ad placer.

So they are a poser- in that the truck is presented as a 4wdrive and then you climb in and there is no second gear set available.


I even had one private owner who was convinced his truck was 4wd and it most definitely was not-he admitted he had never needed to use it....

So I meant no offense to 2wd owners in general-just those that try to pass off their vehicle at sale time specifically as having 4wd.

And certainly no offense to you polvadis-and from the look of your pic your truck in 2wd looks rougher and tougher than my "plain jane white" 4wd-which I admit is so pretty I am almost afraid to take it into some tight brush situations so as not to scratch my paint (talk about a poser!)

Gator Greg has posted up some good links about the various packages and options on the Runners -try paging back about one or two pages and you should see other questions about trim levels and stuff. They changed after my year (99) and I am not that savvy on the newer trucks.