4th gen strange carfax
 

I was considering this 4th gen sport to purchase but looking at the carfax, it does not make sense. Would you buy this car for $16k out the door?

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...aUbWb1ismdrgxJ

I would never buy a car just by looking at carfax and without checking out at lease pictures lol. More info is required in order to answer your question.

PS as for the carfax -- 14 days ownership is odd. Another driver is selling after a few months is also odd. That could mean that there is an expensive problem and no one wants to fix it. Or it could mean that they are flipping it to make some money. Either way you are not getting a good deal and its a red flag. Or may be I am wrong and its just a coincidence and its nothing. Do your home work man, what kind of answer do you expect here?

What's weird about it.

I would have to look at it before even considering on a purchase, as I would with purchasing any vehicle, no matter what history I found good or bad doing research to see if it's worth the asking price.

That being said, here's my interpretation of the Carfax as I read it...

It's appears to be a one owner vehicle that had the registration renewed every year until they sold it or was possibly traded in and then it was sold 2 weeks later possibly at auction to the last owner, possibly another dealer since you haven't stated if it's for sale from a private party or dealer and I would say the first owner did all of their own maintenance themselves or had it done at private garages since there's no service info other than the one time of it being serviced anywhere else, it appears that the first owner only drove it around 11,000 miles a year up until the last year of ownership and then drove it 22,416 miles the last year of ownership and then decided to trade it in before the mileage got any higher or for other reasons, which will possibly be never known.

I also entered this vehicle's info and VIN into the Toyotaowner's website and couldn't find any info or service info done at any Toyota dealers, other than the original dealer who sold it new, so again, the original owner must of done all of their own service or had it done at private garages.

That all being said, this is a British Columbia/Canadian vehicle and as such a possible highly rusted frame vehicle and another possible reason it was sold by the original owner, so as I stated above a careful inspection is in order to determine the actual condition of this vehicle and it's real value.

thanks for your reply.

A problem is that the car is 122 miles away at a used car dealer. I'd have to rent a one-way car to buy it. I may not have time to take it to a mechanic to go over it. I think the speedometer has been replaced as it reads MPH now.

Usually carfax states origin of manufacture and the dealer's dealership that is offering to sell it. This has none of that.

this is the car with pictures JTEBU14R89K036351 | 2009 Toyota 4Runner SR5 for sale in Auburn, WA

many more photos here; 2009 Toyota 4Runner SR5 for sale in Auburn, WA | Stock #: 18594

I would request good photos of the undercarriage so you can see the frame and determine if it has any bad rust since you can't inspect that prior to going to look at it if you're still interested in buying it, if it's in good condition I would definitely offer a much, much lower price, you can always make another higher offer but it's hard to go back down once you make an offer.

Just an FYI, there's is a way to change the odometer from km to miles simply by connecting a ground wire to a certain wire within the dash display cluster and is reversible back to km by disconnecting the same ground wire, the info for doing this is on these forum somewhere.

Just a question about the Carfax, did you pay for the Carfax or is it provided by the seller?

If provided by the seller it maybe in your best interest to pay for your own just to be certain that the "Carfax" you're looking at now is not faked!

Does the tranfer case shift into 4wd? Maybe owner 2 and 3 discovered this and traded? Definitely have it inspected at neutral 3rd party.

Edit: It's in Auburn, Wa. Ask Auburn Car and Off-road if they do vehicle inspections. They have done some great mods on a friends vehicle and repairs on others. Not sure if they do vehicle inspections. If they do, have the dealer drop off to Auburn Car repair for inspection. Should be a no brainer. Saves you time and money travelling for no reason.

There is a big off-road event starting this Wednesday. Lots of Wheelers heading to Eastern Washington. Auburn Car Repair might be busy? Definitely give them a call.




Auburn Car Repair & Offroad

328 37th St NW, Auburn, WA 98001
(253) 939-5019 https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&client=tablet-android-samsung&q=Auburn+Car+Repair+%26+Offroad&ludocid=18 190066373847372090&ibp=gwp;0,7&kgs=d5b15e9dd6ee357 d&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/local

Also whatever you do if you go and check out this vehicle DON'T tell or let them know you're coming 122 miles and rented a car just to come and see the vehicle, it will kill any bargaining power you have to get it at a lower price point as they will know you're REALLY interested and have spent good money just to see it, they need to be selling it to you and not thinking they have a pasty as a buyer and they will never go down on the price!!!

You need to have the attitude and appearance that it's only one of many vehicles you're thinking of purchasing and you can take it or leave it depending on the final price!!

They already know i'm 122 miles away as i have told them I need an out the door price for a cashiers check. They also know that I have other interests.

They were asking $17k+. Their internet price is $16,988 but they are willing to do $16k out the door which includes the doc fee ($150) and trip permit. Wait, trip permit is not lic and registration so what good is that? I'm not sure how it works out being from oregon buying washington. Reg fees in oregon is expensive.

The rental car im using now is $26 a day so I can't keep this up. The insurance co finally cut me a check for my totaled 5th gen so they are no longer paying for the rental.

At the end of the day its your money and whatever makes you happy but this price is steep. It doesnt mean its a bad purchase tho.

OH CRAP!!!

Is this your first time buying a vehicle from a dealer???

I guess this will be a lesson for you on how to get a good price when buying a vehicle!!

That is a terrible deal. It's $1k less than I paid for my V8 GX, which I bought at 9 years old vs 10 for this, with 32k less miles than this, with all Lexus service records including the big 90k, from Texas with no rust anywhere. The Carfax is the least of your worries.

I think the pricing on this 4th gen is slightly below market for the Pacific Northwest. Edmonds and others would claim it's too high. However, around here 4runners, Wranglers and Subaru seem to command top dollar. This 2009 isn't too cheap to be a scam. If I was looking this would have caught my attention. It also has side airbags.

Lexus GX are slightly cheaper around here vs 4runner.

Looking at Cargurus and Autotrader it looks like GX averages $1k-$2k more than comparable 4Runners in his zip, which is pretty standard nationwide. That said, all the prices out there are ridiculous, but it's worse when considering that this was a Canadian 4Runner. If anything you should be looking at Cali, not Canada. Rust sucks.

I would suggest you find a car closer that you can get inspected. Some car shops dont report information to carfax.