Advice on a 1999 4x4 4Runner - high miles

[Kimm]

i am considering a 1999 4runner 4x4 i saw recently; hi miles 163K, asking $6500. here is a link: 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5, $6,500 - Cars.com

CARFAX (summary):
(1999 - 2003: registered as commercial/lease vehicle)
06/12/2003 52,088 Arizona
Motor Vehicle Dept. Tucson, AZ
Title or registration issued New owner reported

03/21/2004 Vermont
Police Report Accident reported in West Rutland
Vehicle involved in crash with a guardrail
Case #4546-04

07/11/2005 Arizona
Inspection Station Vehicle exempt from emissions inspection

11/16/2005 Aldermans Toyota Rutland, VT
Alderman's Toyota | Toyota Dealer | Rutland, VT Oil and filter changed chassis lubricated

02/01/2006 Aldermans Toyota Rutland, VT
Alderman's Toyota | Toyota Dealer | Rutland, VT Vehicle serviced

05/10/2006 Arizona
Inspection Station Vehicle exempt from emissions inspection

03/16/2007 112,000 Arizona
Inspection Station Passed emissions inspection

09/02/2009 163,026 California
Inspection Station Passed emissions inspection
---------------------------------------------------

long story short question: is this a vehicle worth pursuing? i would prefer less mileage, but don't want to pass up a potentially good 1999 4x4 4runner.

I'm not desperate to get a car immediately (sometime soon tho). i have a running 1988 4Runner 4x4 with over 308K miles - possible recent head gasket leak (suggested cause a spark plug gets rusted frequently) ... but still runs like a champ.

I love, LOVE my 1st gen, been together for 18 years, but i need something more reliable for DD and long trips these days. What i really want is a 1996-1999 (pref 1999) 4x4 4runner, dependable for dd, but also able to get to the remote places in the mountains, creeks, etc. as needed.

Thanks in advance for any information, suggestions or advice. Cheers, kim

______________________________________________________________
1988 4Runner SR5 4 cyl 4x4 silver. stock with yakima racks and grill guard. Unfortunately 4runner was stolen in 1992
1988 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 white. stock but fully loaded, added yakima racks and grill guard.

 

[Hacker]

Interesting that the Carfax only shows two factory servicings in 10 years, but that's not necessarily a non-starter.

Neither is the crash with the guardrail. Could be bad, could be nothing.

I do, however, find it interesting that the car was in Vermont, registered in Arizona and Cali, and in between was serviced in Vermont.

Perhaps it's a military owner.

 

[FoneRunner]

That is a great looking 4Runner....and 163k is not bad. I bought my 98 with 165k witthout blinking an eye. As always, make sure you do your due diligence with it...check everything within reason. But don't discouunt it just because of that mileage number...

 

[Qyota]

I agree...looks good. And the high miles gives you some leverage for bargaining. You are in a good position because you don't NEED a car. Check the oil, the trans fluid, the rear axle (leaking?), etc. Also, since it spent some time on the east coast, check for excessive rust underneath. They want too much for it, so offer them quite a bit less to start.

 

[Martinjmpr]

From the interior shots it doesn't appear to have the locker either. Could be a good negotiating point.

That price is a tad high but not excessive. It's in CA, from my understanding everything is more expensive in CA so it could be close to a reasonable price there.

 

[theizzardking]

i bought my '99 with 185K on it for about 5K all said and done. in washington.

4runner are beasts and that's not to bad of milage, i mean it's high but if it was cared for and you continue to care for it you can easily get 300K out of it.
my jeep had the same number of miles as the runner when i did the trade and the runner is driving like new and the jeep was on it's last leg, just to put things in perspective.

 

[brian2sun]

I think that's a little high IMO. There are some good deals right now. A friend found a '99 Highlander 4runner 4x4 with elocker and 72K for $4500 last week.

 

[BTO]

Looks high to me too. 165K means you'll need to have the timing belt/water pump replacement done soon so figure that in.

I'd be concerned about the wreck where it smacked a guard rail. It may have alignment issues or something else like paint not matching. Look real close.

 

[Nuke]

I've owned 6 Toyotas; 3 of them 4Runners; 2 over 200,000 miles before being sold; 2 over 150,000 miles before being sold; 2 still in service with one at over 170,000 miles. And all of those that I sold with the exception of a Camry (tranny was starting to act up) were in great shape.

I recently sold my '00 3rd gen V6 SR5 with 152,000 miles on it for a cheap $5400 to a frined I worked with. I bought my current 4th gen 11/08 only because of the car market condition and it was a great time to strike.

You can probably get the price down a bit but as long as the car checks out, I think you're pretty darn close.

 

[topdown4runner]

I think that's a little high IMO. There are some good deals right now. A friend found a '99 Highlander 4runner 4x4 with elocker and 72K for $4500 last week.

Damn!

The 2000 Sport 4x4 with elocker I am looking at has an asking price of $8,900 with 167K miles!

Would LOVE to find one for $4,500

 

[theizzardking]

Damn!

The 2000 Sport 4x4 with elocker I am looking at has an asking price of $8,900 with 167K miles!

Would LOVE to find one for $4,500

yeah dude that's not the norm, we all would, you can't even find a sr5 with no locker and 2wd for that price in most places, lol

 

[brian2sun]

$4500 was an outrageous deal, but they are out there if you are patient and look hard. I told my friend if he didn't buy it I would! $8900 for '00 w/ 167K is a bad deal IMO. I wouldn't pay that much for anything w/ that many miles on it.

It seems like the people who are selling 4runners w/ elockers are asking like 50% more for their vehicles. Elockers are cool and and all, but not that cool. Obviously you can retro-fit one for as little as $350-400 (if you find a good ebay deal), but I've seen quite a few people asking like $6,000+ for a truck that would normally go for $4000 just because it has an elocker. I honestly think for serious off roading, elockers are weak compared to ARBs anyways. I say that because I know 2 guys that have ruined their elockers on the trails, but despite the myths, I have never heard of anyone breaking an ARB and mine is strong as hell.

 

[brian2sun]

Damn!

The 2000 Sport 4x4 with elocker I am looking at has an asking price of $8,900 with 167K miles!

Would LOVE to find one for $4,500

Example: Take the elocker (worth say $650 at most) out of that list of features and $8,900 seems crazy doesn't it?

 

[theizzardking]

a few diff specialist i talked with agreed the arbs are slightly stronger then the stock e-lockers but not much more ,not worth pulling out the stocker and upgrading to the arb, the arb will be between 600-1K deepening on install and discounts. and make sure you tell the guy that your not willing to pay more for a locker you can just add later...it's funny when i was shopping around 90% of the people selling theirs used had no idea what the locker was or what that button even did.....

 

[brian2sun]

I agree, I would never pull an elocker out to replace it with and ARB unless it was already broken, and even then I would probably still just buy a new elocker rather than install the ARB and the compressor, run the air lines and wiring, etc.. that's a lot of work.

But since mine didn't come with one, I saved more $$ at the time of purchase than I paid to get the ARB and install it. And in the end, I got an onboard air compressor to fill up my tires, pump up air mattresses, and a slighly stronger locker.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

$4500 for a Highlander? That is rare period and you could wait forever for a deal like that since $6-8k is the norm for a '99 with 150ish K miles and in very solid condition.

I suggest wearing something you don't mind laying on the ground in and get under the vehicle and really inspect it for leaks and rust and anything else that seems unusual but on the surface that '99 seems like a pretty decent deal.

Look for excessive rust and while mine isn't the norm look for something close since mine has over 155,000 miles on it and is in really good shape for a DD that has seen a fair amount of off roading too.

 

[Kimm]

Greetings and thanks for all the responses and suggestions. This forum is fantastic.

If anyone is interested, took that 4runner out for a drive today, and it is a very nice truck. Only a few scratches/divits to the plastic interior parts. I didn’t see any evidence of repairs (no obvious paint differences), but then again, I don’t really know how to look for that kind of thing. VIN number present driver side doors (forgot to check the passenger side). The body had no dents, paint looked to be in excellent condition. The rims had some erosion/rust. The tires looked old, tread is fairly worn with some cracks, so would want to put new tires on it. Has size 16, so can’t swap the fairly new, really nice tires I have on my 88 4Runner (size 15). Didn’t notice any of the usual 4Runner rear sag. Was a wee bit disappointed it didn’t have the handy rear headrest storage slots, thought that was a cool feature. Asked the on-site mechanic about the timing belt – there is no record of when it was changed, but he stated that it looked to be at about 70% and thought it was probably done ~20K miles ago. Tried to look under, but didn’t want to ruin my clothes - thanks RonMAIDEN for the suggestion of being appropriately attired , should have thought of that.

Shifting seemed smooth, but there was this one time when it seemed to shimmy/hesitate at fast acceleration. Put into 4wd, and, well, I have no idea how to assess 4wd drive capability/condition on dry pavement. I did manage to grind the gears when trying to shift into park (while stopped) in the 4wd mode – don’t know if that is normal with an automatic transmission with auto locking hubs (with my 88, I have to lock the hubs manually).

My only concern about the mileage is that 1) I intend to keep whatever I buy a VERY long time 2) needs to be dependable DD, long trips, and off road.

Thanks again for the input and I welcome any and all suggestions. Have a great evening and thanks again. Kim

 

[Kimm]

So, can eLocker be applied to all 3rd gen T4rs?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

So, can eLocker be applied to all 3rd gen T4rs?

the locker was discontinued in the 3rd gens in '00 but reappeared in the last year of the 4th gens and now is available on the 5th gens.

 

[gunny1001]

I bought my 98 with 198,000 on the odo for 3600$. It now has 225000 and is running like a champ. I flushed out all fluids and i have no worries.. It's a toyota. I had a fj60 1984 prior to this and drove it everyday and when i soldit it had 380,000 on the odo and still drove like new. I am definatly proud to be a toyota owner.