About to buy a 98! questions?!?

S

Scag

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Hello guys/gals! I'm 90% sure i'm about to buy a 98 4runner limited 2wd that was just traded in at the dealership i work at. This vehicle is very clean, seems to shift and run like a dream. The car is very clean on the inside with some minor scuffs and scratches on the outside, but no dents. It has 124,000 miles on it.

I am wondering what problems this thing could have that i wouldnt be aware of or what problems I should look for in the near futre. What kind of servicing should i take care of immedietly? I only hear great things about these vehicles and my dad put over 200k on one that he bought new in 1990.

thanks in advance:)
 
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That question cannot be answered w/o knowing what has already been done. Technically the truck should have had a 30k maint at 120. So if it had a full service you may not need anything for quite a while. If no service has been done, or you have no record, it was due for a T-belt at 90k, most do the drive belts and water pump at that time, actually in 98 it was still called for every 60k, so you may be due for a T-belt now, I think many push these ones to 90k or more as well. Other than that just fluid changes, tranny and rear diff on a 2wd, coolant if it's not new, plus other fluids like brake fluid and p/s steering fluid. Then wear items like brakes, tires and such, also U-joints don't last forever, so you may do one of those at some point. Some have trouble with leaking rear diff seals, which seem to cover the drums in oil, thus meaning they need replacing too. In 100k on my 00 I never encountered the last problem, but many seem to around that mileage.
 
Rear axle seals are kinda common issues over 100k but it's not a huge deal but when you replace the seals always stick with Toyota OEM seals since aftermarket versions seem to have issues with fitment.

If your seals do leak and they have saturated the rear drums you will need to replace the shoes.
 
Pat & Ron really hit it all on the head. I'm assuming that you either work at a dealer, or sleep really close to one considering you had a close eye for what comes in-and-out.

Since you work at one I would have them take a look at it with the previous listed things in mind. My 4runner has 124,000 on her and Im getting all of the belts changed tomorrow. The fluids have just been flushed and replaced and the one thing I really need to replace is the wipers. :biggrin2: That's window wipers for you not to techy fellers.

Im thinking that a 98 LTD 4x2 at a dealer with 124k (Im really surprised that a dealer took something that high in...)

lemme think....

$12,000


If those guys tell you $14k (aka 13,900) tell to shove it. :bash:


Drew
 
My experience comes from dedicated forums like this and just from being a slightly anal car guy. I also drag raced a '93 Eclipse for 8 years and during some seasons it was a maintenance nightmare so I've learned to pay attention to my vehicles but the nice part about Toyota is they definetlyt don't require the attention the Mitsubishi needed.

And I took damn good care of that car. :mad:
 
I'd hold out and see if you can find something either newer or lower miles since even $12k is a bit high for the year. I've seen '99s similar to mine (4wd) go for $12k with under 100k miles. '98 Limited 4WD are available around $11kwith that many miles.

Do some searching if they don't want to come down to your price range since the 3rd gen market has slipped a bit now that we are going into the 5th year of 4th gens.
 
well at 202,000 miles i had to replace my stock shocks and front coilovers. I gave them hell too, the few times i went wheeling.
 
Thanks for all of the replies! It appears the timing belt was changed at just over 60k miles because there is a sticker on the motor that indicates so. I had a tech at my dealership inspect it. He said everything was great, no leaks. He did suggest changing the timing belt and if i decided to do so, to go ahead and do the water pump at the same time. So i'm probably going to do that. Do you guys think I should let him do it or take it to Toyota. I was reading about the special torqueing and stuff on that job...


Thanks again for the replies.

BTW: I am picking this thing up at cost which is $7500 plus the 199 dealer fee. I wont have to pay any taxes since i'm trading my accord in for it! Our dealer will take anything in as long as it runs, even it if has uber high miles. We just wont retail anything with more than 100k usually because after that mark, vehicles become extremely difficult to finance.
 
for 12,000, It is overpriced. I got a 1996 4X4 mint condition with 130K for 6000.


wait a little and shop around
 
I recently picked up a really nice 99 limited 4x4 with 117000 miles for 8800.00
I bet you could get more for your honda than the dealer is giving you for it.
 
tailduster said:
I recently picked up a really nice 99 limited 4x4 with 117000 miles for 8800.00
I bet you could get more for your honda than the dealer is giving you for it.
Click to expand...

that sounds like a pretty good deal!

i tried to sell my car out right for about 2 weeks...didnt really get that much attention though. My manager couldnt hold this 4runner for me any longer so we closed the deal by the end of the month. We were able to shop my accord around to a few independent dealerships...i was able to get 200 dollars over CLEAN BOOK....which i'm pretty damn happy about. I spent so much time on the car keeping it nice, so i'm glad it paid. However, if i was able to retail it myself given more time, i probably would have been able to get at least 1500 more for it. At least I saved about 500 in taxes by trading it in.
 
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