Told them I needed to test drive it alone for about an hour. Took it to a gravel road near by and tested 4 hi and lo. Tested the factory locker too in a way that they might not have approved of but I needed to know everything worked. No weird noises. Everything engaged, functioned, and disengaged like it should. I've had it on the trails a couple of times since I bought it and used 4 hi and lo and the locker just for fun (it wasn't needed) but everything seems to be in tip top shape. I'm going to do an oil change and change the fluid in both diffs, the transfer case and transmission this weekend or next just for peace of mind but I'm really not that worried about it. It will either be ok or it won't.

My rental is not confirmed as of now so it's possible I won't be able to test drive it in the morning.

On another note, I inquired to 6 dealerships around and asked who can give me best price on 2019 4Runner SR5 4x4 and the best offer was $37k out the door (E-price being $33,500). That's still too expensive as I can get one from Hertz close to $31k out the door.

Should I look in other cities / other states maybe? I'm committed to finding 4Runner in better price, especially that I can leverage the upcoming Christmas season and end of the year.

Show up in person. Emails and phone calls won't get you a good deal.

Go here for real prices that people are paying:
How much are people paying for the NEW 4Runner?

Yeah I remember those pictures "STILL" and it was many moons ago Philly...LOL

I bought a used Enterprise rental car once. It was problem free for 80k miles aside from some minor issues. At least you know up front it IS a rental and are getting a discount. I bought mine certified used and paid a good bit for it. I was enraged at the time. I am sure the dealer bought it from auction and made at least $10k off me. I would not worry about it. Most people that can afford to rent premium vehicles are not going to abuse them. Having service records makes it a no brainer.

Thanks for the heads up. I will make sure to avoid silver ones!

Here's where I am with the process today. I emailed about 30 dealerships around asking specifically for 2019 SR5 4x4 and so far best offer was $37k out the door which would break down to about $33k + approx $4k fees. 2 of them said if I find better offer anywhere else they will match - which tells me if I went in person I might get it down a bit further.

Going back to Hertz - they bailed on me. Vehicle was supposed to be ready by 9 AM and it wasn't. I even called them and said don't bother with detailing because I'm test driving the car within 2 hour complimentary window and either returning right after or buying. But they wouldn't give it to me, representative said car had to be detailed.
I noticed that Hertz TRD PRO models were selling for approx $34.5k and now they went down to $32k. Apparently Hertz prices go down as 2019 progresses so I might wait longer.

I wouldn't mind purchasing a vehicle on December 31st, but looks like inventory at dealerships sells out and very likely there won't be any 4Runners available at the dealerships by then.

Depends on what you mean by "fees". If the vehicle is 33k + TTL only, then it is a good deal. But if they have other bullshit fees that aren't TTL then run. Why don't they just advertise it for 27k and add $10,000 fees, I mean 27k is lower than 33k so maybe that will reel in more people. Stupid dealer if that is what they are doing.

As far as I understand fees = title and tax. For San Jose it's expensive, around 9.25%. The point is, dealer offers $37k out the door, that's it. I don't care much what kind of fees are in it. So far that's the best offer I got.

I recalculated again Hertz offer and it looks like I could get their rental for approx $34k out the door (San Jose 9.25% tax applies here as well as through the dealership). Now having offers from dealerships for approx $37k out the door it starts to NOT make sense to buy rental. But I'm still in the game. All of the time spent on arranging test drives, calling, emailing is very beneficial. I learned a lot so far.

definitely go visit in person. them watching you walk out the door will be far more incentive to give you a good price. once you have one offer, take that to the next place and continue. people are buying TRD off road premiums for 37k OTD. a base model sr5 isn't worth anywhere near that. should be 33k otd

The out the door price is tricky as I have one of the highest tax rates - 9.25%. I have on my spreadsheet about 30 dealerships I got in touch with and 4 of them don't even have 2019 SR5 4x4, many others don't have the colors I want. Only few have exact model, exact colors I like. Inventory is getting sparse. Also, I've been told it's possible that Toyota might take incentives off 2019 model so they could technically become more expensive. I don't know fully how to play that game. I've seen $35,500 invoice price. If I was to purchase for $33k out the door the dealer would have to sell it to me for approx $29k (as title + tax is approx $4k here). That means dealer would be selling over $6k below the invoice. I don't think that's possible, is it?

I will go in person once I figure out who is worth visiting.

I managed to test drive one 2018 SR5 4x4 from Hertz today with 40k+ miles. They want $28,900 for it which would be out the door approx $33k. I drove it over gravel and grass and it went really strong. Suspension in my opinion is real nice, drive is smooth. Engine sounds weird, like a toy RC car. I don't like that sound. It's not TOO loud for me, it's totally ok but the pitch is weird, a bit annoying. Also, flooring this car doesn't do much. My 2016 Camry is much snapier and Camrys are not known for being sport cars. Handling pretty ok, brakes pretty strong. I'm convinced I will be very happy with the car. If only acceleration was a bit better...

I don't think that spec at that price makes sense, so I keep looking.

So just a heads up, the manual tells you to drive it at least 10 miles a month in 4hi

"Four-wheel drive usage frequency: You should drive in four-wheel drive for at least 10 miles (16 km) each month. This will assure that the front drive components are lubricated."

Also, as far as I have seen, it doesn't say to avoid/not use 4wd on pavement.

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I'm in WA, our tax rate is close to 10% also for use tax on cars. Hasn't stopped people here from getting decent deals. I still vouch that showing up in person will net a better deal. A dealership knows people are emailing around just for price check. Being there in person ready to buy and them watching you walk away is better incentive.

Yes the 4Runner is a slouch. It's a big SUV with an old (but reliable) engine