4th Gen Buying Advice (esp. 04-06)

[paulbruno]

New to 4Runners, and even the idea of buying one. Modest budget, looking to (maybe, possibly) pay cash for a 4Runner 2004-2006 that is...

4X4
V8
Tow hitch
Sunroof

So, here's one I've found...

2005 4Runner SR5 V8 4WD w/ Navigation

Gonna test drive it tomorrow. FSBO. It's got all of what I've been talking about, with higher/above average miles, 148K. However, here's the kicker... it's had one accident. Was parked when a window company was backing into the driveway for delivery/installation at his house, and hit the car, on one of the sides on the back bumper. Was repaired and repainted by Toyota dealership. Main mechanic for car was a friend, who's the head mechanic at his dealership. Standard maintenance done the last (almost) 40K miles, not much maintenance history before that. And small dent on rear hitch, from something else. Otherwise near mint paint, it seems, and near mint interior, too.

If I talked this guy from 10900, to 9000 or about that... would you consider that a good deal? What could I get for what I'm looking for, what prices would you think I'm looking at, given my general description of features above? And anything else I should look for?

Wanting something I can drive for 5-8 more years with modest yet consistent and meticulous maintenance, even at 20K per year (which is probably what I'll rack up, since I do like road trips). Where should I be looking, and how high a price should I expect?

(And thanks in advance for all answers. Also, yes, I have looked at other threads for answers to the more general questions, and yes, I'll continue to look.)

 

[Atlanta_man]

Looks good to me at $9K

That accident does not really count as worrisome if the paint is holding up.

I would drive it enough to validate the transmission and roll the sunroof back and forth several times and check it for lube. The sunroof is expensive to fix, painfully so.

A good look underneath around the spare and the rubber seal above the back hatch for rust.

Be prepared for some big repair bills in 5 to 8 years. This forum is a great place to read about likely problems. Still, the cost of ownership vs. fun factor beats everything else out there.

 

[bluemarlin04]

Looks good to me at $9K

That accident does not really count as worrisome if the paint is holding up.

I would drive it enough to validate the transmission and roll the sunroof back and forth several times and check it for lube. The sunroof is expensive to fix, painfully so.

A good look underneath around the spare and the rubber seal above the back hatch for rust.

Be prepared for some big repair bills in 5 to 8 years. This forum is a great place to read about likely problems. Still, the cost of ownership vs. fun factor beats everything else out there.

I doubt he could get it for 9k. Trade in value (actual trade in value from autotrader) is higher than 9k.

That's actually a decent price to begin with. You might be able to talk them down some but I wouldn't expect a big price drop.

There shouldn't be any really large repair bills as long as maintenance has been kept on.

 

[bluemarlin04]

I just picked up a 2004 v8 limited for 12k. Has 88k miles on it. The guy was offered 11k from a dealer so I was able to get it for a bit more than that. The trucks hold their value pretty well so I wouldn't expect to find one for really cheap unless it has major problems.

 

[paulbruno]

thanks... and what do you think about this?

Thank you, everyone for your replies! I'm still doing a search, to see if I can beat this deal, though it seems it's a good one, from what you've said.

Having said all of that... what do you think about this option?

2005 4x4 V8 4runner

Pluses:

- Car apparently has lived entirely in TX, where it's dry, hot, no snow/salted roads, and no ocean/salt air. (I.e., rust shouldn't be an issue here, though I'll have to check it out myself when I'm in TX this weekend/next week.)
- Milage is better than the first car/listing posted.
- Possibly/Probably no accident history whatsoever.

I might be able to stretch my budget, and get him/her down to $10K... again, thoughts?

 

[paulbruno]

Looks good to me at $9K

That accident does not really count as worrisome if the paint is holding up.

I would drive it enough to validate the transmission and roll the sunroof back and forth several times and check it for lube. The sunroof is expensive to fix, painfully so.

A good look underneath around the spare and the rubber seal above the back hatch for rust.

Be prepared for some big repair bills in 5 to 8 years. This forum is a great place to read about likely problems. Still, the cost of ownership vs. fun factor beats everything else out there.

Okay, thanks for the advice... how would I validate the transmission? Just be very attentive when switching from P to D or R, and hear how it sounds? What should I listen for when driving, transmission-wise? And how do I check for track lube on the sunroof? (Sorry, I'm all questions.)

Yeah, I know with anything at/over 5-6 years, rust becomes an issue, especially in places known for heavy winters, like KC. I'll definitely look at that. (Originally was looking at 2000-2002 TR4s, and found that the ones from this area had plenty of rust.) Even more than a tad bit will probably be too much from me. I actually can buy one from TX pretty easily, where it's hot and dry, so that should be a good backup plan.

 

[paulbruno]

I doubt he could get it for 9k. Trade in value (actual trade in value from autotrader) is higher than 9k.

That's actually a decent price to begin with. You might be able to talk them down some but I wouldn't expect a big price drop.

There shouldn't be any really large repair bills as long as maintenance has been kept on.

Okay, good to know... I'll still try my darndest to get him down a little bit, regardless. He's had it listed for a little bit, and the prior accident hurts resell value, which helps in the negotiations.

You say there shouldn't be any large repair bills... but I don't really know much about maintenance history before 100-110K or so. The guy who owns it now has definitely taken care of it, and has the advantage of having a buddy who's the head technician for a Toyota dealership, so that's a big plus, as maintenance done from that point was most certainly by the book. Some alignments, a few other things, but nothing major done to the car, and the owner says it drives perfect. We'll see about that today. Knowing that, that there's a question mark before the 100K mark, what do you think?

 

[bluemarlin04]

It will also depend on your area. I looked for months for a reasonable one around here and finally got one for 12k. There were some with tons of miles (160k) going for 10k. A 2005 SR5 was posted for 11k with 100k miles and it sold in a day.

 

[paulbruno]

It will also depend on your area. I looked for months for a reasonable one around here and finally got one for 12k. There were some with tons of miles (160k) going for 10k. A 2005 SR5 was posted for 11k with 100k miles and it sold in a day.

What area are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[bluemarlin04]

What area are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

Pensacola Florida