3rd Gen as a Daily Driver?

[Jake2014]

Hi all,

Bottom line up front: Will a 3rd Gen be a good daily driver for me?

About me: First of all, this is my first post on a forum of any sort, so please be kind. I'm in my mid 30s, married with a young child, with another on the way. We purchased a brand new 5th Gen 4runner in 2012 and I love it. The problem is, since having our first child, my wife uses it as her daily driver as she is the one who drives the kid to day care and back. This situation leaves me driving my wife's 2010 Mazda 3. There is really nothing wrong with it, other than it is a Mazda 3, and sucks in the Canadian winter - a fact I didn't truly appreciate until driving the 4runner in the snow. I would like to swap it out before the snow falls and am strongly considering a 3rd Gen 4runner.

What I'm looking for is a vehicle that I like getting into every morning and that can handle the Canadian winter without issue. I'm convinced that a 3rd Gen can satisfy both these needs; however, I'm concerned with purchasing a ~15 year old vehicle as a daily driver. I drive 25km to work and back each day and need a vehicle that can reliably get me there. I have basic mechanical knowledge and tools, and anticipate doing my own maintenance. Assuming I can find a nice clean one that was well maintained, how well have these been holding up? Can I expect some relatively worry free miles, or will it require lots of work just to keep it running? I've read quite a bit on this site, including the buyer's guide, and appreciate all the info thus far. If you feel the 3rd Gen might not suit my needs, feel to suggest another vehicle. I would like to keep my budget low, but am willing to go up to $20,000 if a good argument can be made.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Bt08231]

I have 2 3rd gen dailys. I will sell you either for $20k lol but seriously they are great. Good mileage for what they are and very reliable. I bought my first one at 196k and it runs like a top.

 

[Atrox Caeda]

I think it would be a perfect daily in your case... Hopefully you're talking Canadian dollars? You can find them in the states in good condition for $5500.

 

[MStudt]

I daily drive mine about 70 miles round trip. That's with a 3" lift and 285/75/16 tires. Average mpg's are about 16-18 highway.

 

[Atrox Caeda]

I daily drive mine about 70 miles round trip. That's with a 3" lift and 285/75/16 tires. Average mpg's are about 16-18 highway.

Agreed. I'm running 255/85s and a 3" and in town I get 16.5mpg; on the freeway I'm up near 18-20mpg depending on the speed limit. Optimal is 60MPH State Routes... 21MPG all day son!!!

 

[gamefreakgc]

The 5VE-FE is arguably the most reliable engine Toyota ever made. It is easy to maintain; parts are very cheap.

You can get a decent one here in California around ~150,000 miles (240,000 km) for about $6k. These engines, when maintained with simple fluid changes and repairs, will last well past 480,000 km. That's not exaggerating either, search the forums and you'll see how many there are.

 

[Brique]

I bought my 3rd gen last year as my family's primary dd with no hesitation. Take care of these and they're rock solid.

 

[the great him]

i bought mine in 2010 for $5500 at 200kmi, and have 296kmi on it now, it has been very reliable and i would not hesitate to buy another one. id say it will out last your 5th gen. -every 5th gen owner i know who has owned a 3rd gen wishes they still had their 3rd gen, and they all think its a better made vehicle.

 

[Super-G]

I daily drive my 02 4 Runner Sport and I LOVE it.

It's AWESOME in the snow. Last year in PA we had a pretty bad winter. We had several major snow storms with several other smaller snows mixed in and I got to work without issues EVERY time. We had 2-3 storms with over a foot of snow and my 4 Runner never left me hanging.

My wife and I own a small vacation home in the Pocono mountains of PA. We use the 4 Runner as a ski vehicle in the winter. Driving up and down the mountain roads in winter it has been fantastic. In the summer I use the 4 Runner to drop my 14' aluminum fishing boat into our development's 2 fishing lakes. I can back my truck well into the water to drop and pull the boat, and it pulls out with ease every time. I love the roll down back window too, as I can crawl out through the back window to unhook or hook the boat to trailer without walking knee deep into the lake.

As for maintenance, I bought mine just over 2 years ago with 84,000 miles and have had ZERO issues. I change the oil every 3000 miles and this winter I am going to do a full tune up, and flush and replace the trans fluid, and coolant. I'm just over 100,000 miles on my truck and I fully expect to get to well over 300,000 miles.

I highly recommend a 3rd Gen 4 Runner as a daily driver.

 

[pattycakes77]

I've been daily driving mine for the last 11 years, only time I got stranded was when my $10 starter contacts failed. Will continue to daily drive without thinking twice.

 

[3rzrunner]

yes the 3rd will be a good dd. I drive mine daily without thinking twice. just came back from a 2000km trip and it did beautifully. It can also be had in a 5speed which is nice.

in Ontario a CLEAN 3rd gen will cost around 8-9k
but be vary wary about frame rust/rot.

 

[D Farms]

find one that has a multimode transmission. all 01-02 4wd have them, and i think some of the 99-00 as well, but with a slightly different configuration. the multimode lets you use the 4wd while driving on the road, without damaging the transmission and drivetrain. im not sure what exactly they look like on the 99-00 but for the 01-02 the transfercase shifter(smaller black knob next to shifter) has a black button that says 4wd.

 

[Rocky5000100]

Yes I definitely recommend a 2001-2002 with the Multimode.

I love dropping my 4runner into AWD mode when there's snow on the ground. And of course you still have the option of 4x4 if you do any off-roading.


And definitely look into the Andy-mod if you get one, it allows you to disable traction control with a switch, which is nice, because sometimes the traction control will leave you stuck in snow haha.

 

[Cmayer]

I have a '99 limited with multimode and rear locker. Daily drive it 100 miles a day mixed freeway and city; average 17mpg with 265/75R16 tires and 3" lift.

 

[Jake2014]

Thank you all for the quick responses, and to be clear, I wasn't looking to spend $20,000 on a 3rd Gen (not even $20,000 Canadian). The other vehicles I've been considering are a 2nd Gen Tacoma and the FJ Cruiser, both of which would set me back more than a 3rd Gen 4runner.

I personally feel that the 3rd Gen is the best looking SUV on the road today and would love to have one. My only concern was the maintenance required to keep a vehicle of that age running, but judging from the positive responses, that shouldn't be too much of an issue. I think the hardest thing is to find a good clean one around here with minimal rust.

 

[kolelt]

Dd all day everyday. Lifted 3", 33" tires, sliders, skid plate WM roof rack, and I'm planning on adding snorkel and savage bumper. And I drive 60-70 miles daily. But I keep it CLEAN!

 

[Joez60421]

My '97 has 300k miles on it, and I drive on average 700 miles per week. It has been hands down the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. It's fun and comfortable to drive, any gets decent mileage.

As it was said, an 01-02 would be top of the list, but really any clean well maintained truck will treat you well.

 

[pluton]

Try to buy from a non-snow, non-salt, non-humid area.

 

[ltdrose]

If you have close to 20k to spend go find another 5th gen I have loved both my 3rd gens (will always love them huge improvement over second gens, owned them also).

The 5th gen finally got it perfect good power decent size, but you know this, and the 4.0 is tried and true not to mention a real timing chain which should out last the motor. It's a no brainer if you have that kind of cash don't even screw around.

I purchased another 3rd gen because I beat the crap out of it and it's easy to work on (I like screwing with my rigs my wife's 5th gen was lifted with less than 3k on it with no problems, 60k on it now everything done by me) and parts are cheap if you like screwing around and beating on 3rd gens.

 

[wc11]

I've been daily driving my stock 98' LTD since new.
Towed a couple of snowmobiles every winter as well since new.
490,500km later and still purring along without issue. The very 1st rust spots just showed up that I have to tend to.
Make sure the maintenance records are up to date and all will be good.