I've been wanting to buy a 4runner for a few months now but haven't been able to find any with relatively low miles for a good price. I finally found one that has incredibly low miles (18,000) for a fair price. I'm going to be checking it out tomorrow and wondering what I should be on the look out for.

There doesn't seem to be any kind of forum sticky for the 4th gens with common problems/issues (a used buyer's guide). I imagine things like plugs, fluids, and maybe the tires could need replacing... but is there anything else I should be on the lookout for?

It's a 2003 SR5 4x4 V6.

I have super low miles at 61,000 on my 03. 18,000 is unheard of. See if it has been maintained or just left parked for long periods of time. As always with used vehicles, it is best if a good mechanic looks at it with you.

Yea... I guess the woman's husband owned the car and he passed away, but I'm being told they have a clean title in hand, not sure about maintenance. Going to try to get it taken to a shop to be inspected before purchasing but the price is $15,000 ... I think even if it needs a full tune up that it's a good price.

Any issues with your 03? I've been doing a bit of research the past few weeks but can't seem to find any major problems to be on the lookout for. Seems that some people prefer the V8 over the V6 and obviously the 5-speed transmission is more desirable, but I won't be doing extensive off-roading or towing so I think I'll be happy with the V6 and 4-speed.

i have an 03 and went over the maint. records. No big issues and no issues now, i dont regret it.

Maintenance is key. 18k miles is extremely low. While it's not unheard of..it's very very rare. I put 18k on a vehicle every 6 months.

make sure you check the 4wd system. If it wasn't driven very often they probably haven't been cycling the actuator to place the vehicle in 4hi, 4lo and lock the center diff. If it is siezed and needs replacing, you are probably looking at $1500 at least.

Thank you! Didn't think about that. I assume that if the vehicle goes into 4hi/4lo back and forth, without any noises that I can assume it works?

No you cannot assume it works without noises. You can go to 4hi while rolling. A steady green light of a vehicle will indicate you're in 4hi. From 4hi to 4lo you have to be stopped with the gear shift in neutral before you switch to 4Lo. A steady yellow light 4LO indicates you're in 4lo. If it flashes and/or dings you're not there yet. There are quite a few threads on the 4wd system. It cost me $1700 for a rebuilt transfer case when I bought mine. $15K is steal if the rig checks out. Brake issues are also common. The search function is your friend.

Do you have a like and or pictures?

I have 03 V6 and love it (when I get to drive it, wife gets it all the time) just cycle it from 2hi to 4hi to 4lo a couple of times in nuetral then drive it in them and then try the VSC of switch a then the DAC and makes sure they all work.
Other than that I would buy it just because it really is a steal of a deal.
Oh buy the way once you do get it welcome to the T4R forum.

Checked the vehicle out tonight and overall it looks to be a solid buy. The 4wd system seems to be in good shape. I went from 2HI to 2LO to 4LO and back about 5-6 times. Never made any noises and all the lights looked good.

The woman has no maintenance records at all and doesn't think any maintenance has been done to it, which kinda scares me, but since it has such low miles and the 4wd system works, I think it's a risk I'm willing to take. I was able to knock another $500 off the already low price by telling her I was going to need to spend money to change all of the fluids in the vehicle. She had no issue with that.

The rubber hoses and belts under the hood looked good, and the battery seemed to be relatively new. It was in good condition anyway and the vehicle started up right away. All window actuators seemed good.

The vehicle has upgraded wheels (20" ... yay...) which I wasn't thrilled about because if I turn the steering wheel lock to lock, the tires slightly rub on the fenders. The good thing is that I didn't see any wear marks on the fender or the tires. The tires look to be almost brand new Toyo Proxies.

Is there anything else you gurus can recommend that I check out? I am going to do a second test drive on Saturday morning and get the car moving on the freeway and see how it is at higher speeds to make sure there are no noises. I wasn't able to do that tonight because it was rush hour traffic. If everything goes well Saturday morning, then I'll be buying it, and able to call myself a proud owner of an almost new 4runner


Edit: only issues I noticed are that the plastic trim has some sun fade which I am hoping to clean up a bit when I detail it, and the body paint has some hard water spots in a few areas but the paint is not in bad condition by any means.

You sir, have found a very nice buy if that is actually 18,000 miles.

You would be changing the fluids anyways.

Congratulations on the find.

If the low milage starts to bother you, I have a 2003 with 176,000 miles. We can trade

Thanks man. I'm really excited about buying this. I've been looking for a good deal on a 4runner off and on for about a year now, and very aggressively over the past 2 months. I'll be selling my 2004 GTO to pick this truck up, but I think it's going to be worth it. I'm kind of over driving fast now that I've become more responsible. Having a roomy and reliable truck for road trips is going to be bad ass.

Edit: if/when I buy it, I'll make sure to get some pictures posted.

So no maintenance but it's riding on some 20"s? I see where their priorities were, haha. Just messing around. Any plans for mods?

Seriously!!! Fortunately they're not super ghetto looking. If the tires weren't so meaty still, I'd replace them right away. Not sure about mods. I'll be using the truck mostly for hauling stuff around town and light camping, but probably not any serious off roading. Going to have to do some more reading about mods before I jump in.