Advice? Purchased 4Runner swapped engine/odo

[PWRSTEVE]

Advice? Purchased 4Runner w/ swapped engine/odo

Last week I purchased a 4Runner SR5. Interior/exterior/mechanically in amazing shape. Purchased it for $3900.00 w/ "112k" miles.

I ran the service records and carfax and it showed that in 2015 it last reported 245k miles. So I contacted the owner who didn't know. Seemed honest because he got the car off his friend that gave it to him before he left the country. He picked up the phone, I didn't have any of his other info so he could've just dodged me. Contacted his friend and said the engine AND odo was replaced from the same 1 car and that the mileage of 112k represents the current engine.

Had a toyota tech friend check it out, everything checks out. I bought it as an extra car to drive around, work, and take my son places.

I know it was my due diligence to do the research but should I ask for some money back?

 

[ToyotaBrah]

Bummer, man!

Unless I'm wrong, I don't think you have much leverage in this situation, assuming you bought this from an owner and was sold "as-is," unless otherwise stated in the ad. Had it been from a dealer, I think then you may have a chance of getting a refund.

This is why running your own Carfax is so important and before buying the car, which I'm sure you already realized.

I actually learned recently some sketch dealers and owners will manipulate the records on the car report by deleting certain things (i.e. mileage discrepancies, accidents), and they give the potential buyer a copy of that report. This probably won't happen at big dealerships, but it's something to keep in mind.

The plus side is, you bought a rust-free truck (presumbably since it's from Cali) at a decent price even with 245K. I think you could sell it easily and make your money back.

 

[tystaco]

I think you might have to live with it...It sucks to have something like that happen, but at the same point, a real clean 4runner with 245k would fetch that price around me anyways. If you get a few good years out of it and sell it for a couple grand down the road, it will all be worth it.

 

[PWRSTEVE]

i meant to say the previous owner said the engine AND odo came from the same car. So the engine should have the matching 112k miles. But no way to verify. It runs great at the moment.

 

[RogueYota]

Last week I purchased a 4Runner. Interior/exterior/mechanically in amazing shape. Purchased it for $3900.00 w/ "112k" miles.

I ran the service records and carfax and it showed that in 2015 it last reported 245k miles. So I contacted the owner who didn't know. Seemed honest because he got the car off his friend that gave it to him before he left the country. He picked up the phone, I didn't have any of his other info so he could've just dodged me. Contacted his friend and said the engine AND odo was replaced from the same 1 car and that the mileage of 112k represents the current engine.

Had a toyota tech friend check it out, everything checks out. I bought it as an extra car to drive around, work, and take my son places.

I know it was my due diligence to do the research but should I ask for some money back?

Sucks, but at the same time that's not a bad price granted it's in good condition. That would be considered a deal where I
m from depending on trim level and options. I would just make sure to keep up on maint and enjoy it.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Seems like a fair price for what you got. Since it was his buddy that swapped the engine/cluster, the guy you bought it from probably knew. Maybe he wasn't completely honest with you, but I don't think you got ripped off at all.

 

[Hepar]

I would agree that you may not have much of a leg to stand on in a private sale, but not sure. I guess it all depends on how far you're willing to go or what you want to do about it. If you want your money back, you can talk to a lawyer and see what your options are (but the costs are probably going to negate the effort). You can try to bluff him and say you would like your money back or you are going to get lawyers involved or something to the sorts. Another approach is if he really didn't know the engine was swapped, you may be able to sit down with him and get you to refund an amount that you can both agree on. Or you just keep it and live with it. It looks like a pretty clean rig and if the engine on it only has 112k, then you've still got a great rig. Figure that engine swap alone was ~$3k+

 

[thegipper]

Shouldn't the engine have the vin on it somewhere? If you could find the vin on the engine you could run the report on that vin and see if the mileage matches up to the sellers claim.

In the end, you got a nice rig that looks solid and runs good for a good price. I know its not an ideal situation but I still think you did pretty good.

 

[tvpierce]

Shouldn't the engine have the vin on it somewhere? If you could find the vin on the engine you could run the report on that vin and see if the mileage matches up to the sellers claim.

In the end, you got a nice rig that looks solid and runs good for a good price. I know its not an ideal situation but I still think you did pretty good.

+1

You're not likely to find a better vehicle at that price. I'd have paid $4k even knowing it had 245k miles if it was in good condition -- and it appears to be.

I'd say you got a hell of a deal. Drive it and enjoy it! :trophy:

Good luck!

 

[PWRSTEVE]

Shouldn't the engine have the vin on it somewhere? If you could find the vin on the engine you could run the report on that vin and see if the mileage matches up to the sellers claim.

In the end, you got a nice rig that looks solid and runs good for a good price. I know its not an ideal situation but I still think you did pretty good.

found out that the engine has a serial number but not a VIN.

But I know you guys are right. it's a good rig interior, exterior, drives great. Just feel I got cheated out of what was clearly stated. My fault though I didn't do my due diligence.

 

[thegipper]

I'm pretty sure somewhere on the engine is a VIN. I'd do some research and find out where it may be.

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[Harleydoc]

I would say good buy nothing working with a motor swap I don't think I would of swapped the cluster but hey to each is own... nice looking runner.


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[phattyduck]

Looks like a 2WD, so probably not really worth $3900... but still better than just about anything else you could get for the price!

-Charlie