2004 4-Runner Sport... just got totaled. Recommend buying a 4thgen with 150k+ miles?

Lumberg · Sep 23, 2014

Hello,

A drugged up kid hit my 04 4runner Sport while it was parked on the street in front of my house and totaled it. Just got the insurance check and am trying to find a used 04/05 4runner to replace it with but damn, people do NOT take good care of their trucks.

In your opinion, is it worth it to drop $10.5k/$12k on a used 4runner with upwards of 150k or even 200k miles on it? I'm debating on whether or not to spend an extra couple g's and get a 2008 Highlander with around 80k/90k miles, but I can't decide.

Essentially, this really sucks and trying to replace that truck with something in as good of shape as I kept mine in is draining the life out of me. Oh yeah, I only have the rental car another week so I can't just wait for the right one to appear. =/

For example, check this guy out: 200k miles for an 06 with $10.5k. Seems pretty high to me and I have no idea if buying a car with > 200k miles is EVER advisable, even though I know you can take these puppies to 400k+.

06' Limited Autotrader

Any advice on experiences? I have a 10 month old and another on the way and safety is my utmost concern, followed by snow handling, and finally being able to tow-- and obviously not a complete POS. Is there a rule of thumb for year/miles that you should follow? I tried searching but didn't find anything useful.

Thanks guys.

Drak · Sep 23, 2014

Wow, that is crazy, the EXACT same thing happened to me about 10-12 years ago.
I had a modded/lifted/tired up 1989 Pathfinder 2 door Sport edition in excellent condition, same exact thing happened, some drunk kid rammed it up into the front yard at 2:00am in the morning from the street.

And no, I wouldn't pay that much for a 150K 4Runner.

chmura · Sep 23, 2014

I would not pay that much either for a 150k mile truck.

Take your insurance money add some of your own money to the pile (if you can) and buy a truck with 80k miles or less.

With 100k+ miles its hard to find a a truck that is kept in excellent condition.

Lumberg · Sep 23, 2014

chmura said:
I would not pay that much either for a 150k mile truck.

Take your insurance money add some of your own money to the pile (if you can) and buy a truck with 80k miles or less.

With 100k+ miles its hard to find a a truck that is kept in excellent condition.

Yeah seriously. What sucks too is that my truck had 120k miles on it and was going STRONG. I begged my insurance company to just fix it but "policy is policy" and if the fix costs meet or exceed 80% of their estimated value, it's a total salvage. Great.

OK-- 80k miles as an upper limit is not a bad idea. The used 4runner market here in Milwaukee/Wisconsin is kind of weird. Seems there are lots of junkers for around 10k and then alot of stuff that is in to the 20k-22k area... not much in the middle for less thank 100k miles on it.

I'm really considering just saying 'screw it' and getting this.

08 Highlander Limited w/91k miles

But again, that's alot of miles for almost $20k. Ridiculous.

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. I'll either have to look in to getting something under 80k miles and throw some decent money in to it (ugh) or just bite the bullet and get something for around $8k with 130k-150k+ miles.

I hate both options.

I JUST WANT MY TRUCK BACK.

chmura · Sep 23, 2014

Lumberg said:
Yeah seriously. What sucks too is that my truck had 120k miles on it and was going STRONG. I begged my insurance company to just fix it but "policy is policy" and if the fix costs meet or exceed 80% of their estimated value, it's a total salvage. Great.

OK-- 80k miles as an upper limit is not a bad idea. The used 4runner market here in Milwaukee/Wisconsin is kind of weird. Seems there are lots of junkers for around 10k and then alot of stuff that is in to the 20k-22k area... not much in the middle for less thank 100k miles on it.

I'm really considering just saying 'screw it' and getting this.

08 Highlander Limited w/91k miles

But again, that's alot of miles for almost $20k. Ridiculous.

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. I'll either have to look in to getting something under 80k miles and throw some decent money in to it (ugh) or just bite the bullet and get something for around $8k with 130k-150k+ miles.

I hate both options. I JUST WANT MY TRUCK BACK.

I recommend you to widen your search area if you can.

You can find very good deals out of your local area if you search 500+ miles away. That will lead to more selections as well to choose from.

I live in Southern California and I bought my 2009 4runner Trail Edition in Illinois with only 30k miles on it and about $5500 cheaper than prices here in California. Fuel cost me about $300 plus $280 for one way plane ticket. It was no brainer for me to fly out of state and drive the vehicle home and save $4k with a low mile truck.

Lumberg · Sep 23, 2014

The other thing this whole process has made me realize is how many people bought an SR5 with 2WD...

Makes me want to drive directly in to power lines whenever I find another one on the search list, and there are ALOT.

montana_jeepn · Sep 23, 2014

I paid $11.5k out the door for a 05' Sport with V8, aftermarket leather, TB and XREAS replaced within 20k, and 133k on the clock.....and I think I might have been able to get it even a little cheaper since it has a scratch on the right fender/bumper area. Definitely broaden that search! There are a couple in the classifieds on this site that are pretty sharp. While some folks don't realize they will never get out ($$$ in mods) what they put in, there are some great deals to be had on there. Good luck!

robaroni · Sep 23, 2014

The Highlander is not really a truck like the 4Runner. It depends on what capabilities want in the vehicle.

97BlackAckCL · Sep 23, 2014

I looked at highlanders before trading in my 03 Sport on an 08 4Runner and they just didn't do it for me, not enough power, too small, smaller frame and body, just didn't feel as safe in them, or have enough room. Like others said, it's all in what you're looking for.

gshadow325 · Sep 23, 2014

i would not pay that much for a 200k truck.

then again. here is a snap shot of current Manheim Dealer Auto Auction.

thats right on the money for what they selling for.

gshadow325 · Sep 23, 2014

gshadow325 said:
i would not pay that much for a 200k truck.

then again. here is a snap shot of current Manheim Dealer Auto Auction.

thats right on the money for what they selling for.

DC runner · Sep 23, 2014

Vehicle details

2008 does very well. Size has nothing to do with safety anymore. If you want proof, take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

Vehicles are built with crumple zones, airbags, strategic weld points. I prefer the 4runner to the highlander, but it is a very safe vehicle.

Also, interesting, but the 2008 performed better than the 2014 in crash test ratings. Perhaps some new molded frame change impacted it.

Sporin · Sep 23, 2014

I paid $10,400 for my 05 Sport in April, with 145k miles.

I looked at younger trucks and trucks with closer to 100k on them and they were all a mess, in way worse shape (dirty, rusty, scratched up) and more expensive than the one I bought.

There is plenty of stock closer to $20k with sub-100k miles on them. Then there is absolute junk below the $10k mark.

I had a budget of around $10-11k so I looked and looked and finally found one I thought I could trust. Sure the 145k miles weren't ideal, but it was in much better shape then every other truck I looked at, and had a long history of dealer maintenance. 5k miles later I'm still very pleased with the decision.

The odometer is only 1 piece of the used car buying equation.

Colemanfu · Sep 23, 2014

Sorry about your truck but..........

I have my clean 04 up for sale. Asking 13k for my 90,000 mile SR5 4x4, make an offer if interested in a Fly and drive to Daytona Beach. Dealers trade offer made me spit up a little.

I'll bet this is one of the nicest you'll come across and I'm very realistic of it's value - make offer more than criminals at the MB stealership.

Love the rig but have my eye on a 14 Sprinter I'll convert to a camper/moto hauler. But not interested in giving it away to a dealer to sell at auction - would love for it to stay in the family. Again sorry about your loss.
Details:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-vehicles/175928-fs-central-florida-04-sr5-4x4-92-xxxx-miles.html

Dylan · Sep 23, 2014

Drak said:
Wow, that is crazy, the EXACT same thing happened to me about 10-12 years ago.
I had a modded/lifted/tired up 2008 Pathfinder 2 door Sport edition in excellent condition

Man, you must've had a sweet hookup driving an '08 in 2004.

Lumberg said:
Any advice on experiences? I have a 10 month old and another on the way and safety is my utmost concern, followed by snow handling, and finally being able to tow-- and obviously not a complete POS. Is there a rule of thumb for year/miles that you should follow? I tried searching but didn't find anything useful.

Thanks guys.

Sorry to hear about this. I bought my 04 V8 SR5 last November for $10k with 142k miles on the clock. Depending on the engine, you want to verify certain maintenance items have been addressed. A lot of sellers may not be as in tune with their vehicles as those of us on this forum. For example, they may not know to factor in a $1,000 timing belt job into the price of their V8 4Runner for sale....like when I bought mine.

Drak · Sep 23, 2014

Fixed and thank you!

Lumberg · Sep 24, 2014

Dylan said:
Man, you must've had a sweet hookup driving an '08 in 2004.

Sorry to hear about this. I bought my 04 V8 SR5 last November for $10k with 142k miles on the clock. Depending on the engine, you want to verify certain maintenance items have been addressed. A lot of sellers may not be as in tune with their vehicles as those of us on this forum. For example, they may not know to factor in a $1,000 timing belt job into the price of their V8 4Runner for sale....like when I bought mine.

Yeah. That's not bad actually-- good work. The variation is seriously crazy.

The other thing that sucks is that I don't know how some guy treated his 4runner for the first 100k-125k miles. He might have driven it like a complete idiot and while a mechanic can see superficial damage, I dunno-- it just makes me nervous. Glad you found a good deal.

I saw an '04 sport the other day that was in pretty good shape, timing belt was replaced at 90k, with 137k miles going for 11.5k. Brakes/tires at 75%. But there was a big rust spot forming on the rear tailgate, looks like it was coming from the metal underneath popping out of the paint, almost like it got hit by a buckshot blast from a shotgun at close range and then rusted. So do you lowball at 10k and hope for the best, then deal with the rust spot later? Who knows. The uncertainty is keeping me up at night.

(Actually, that might just be the 10 month old. But still.)

brianhuntRVA · Sep 24, 2014

My 2 cents is that a good maintenance record and good test drive/inspection/look over means more than the odometer number. But the odometer number is a good negotiating point.

proptied · Sep 24, 2014

brianhuntRVA said:
My 2 cents is that a good maintenance record and good test drive/inspection/look over means more than the odometer number. But the odometer number is a good negotiating point.

I'd have to agree. I'm over 217,000mi on my 2006 V8 and it doesn't feel anywhere close to that. However, I have every maintenance record since it was new. The previous owners had Toyota Service Plans so it was brought in every 5,000mi and the full maintenance schedule has always been followed and documented. Timing belts, all fluids, etc... have been changed regularly on time. I wish more people did this with their vehicles.

Mike

shoeless · Sep 24, 2014

As others have said, broaden your search area.
I purchased an 05 V8 with 96k on it in July for $12k out the door....from a Toyota dealership.
I wasn't having any luck in my area so I started looking within 500 miles. Found it online about 300 miles away. I too had a rental and drove it down there with a plan to drive 3 trucks I had found.
1 was fairly beat up with 110k....seller firm at $14k.
Another had 130k, clean, but a V6 and color I wasn't a fan of (asking $13.5).
And the one at the dealership had a sticker price of $13k...but otd price would've been around $16k. I liked it, had my walking price set, and we negotiated it down. It needs a timing belt but other than that, the past few months have been great (knock on wood).

You should be able to drop the rental off in whatever city/town you find a vehicle in! Some dealerships even have Hertz built in.

Good luck!

2004 4-Runner Sport... just got totaled. Recommend buying a 4thgen with 150k+ miles?

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