gshadow325
New member
I bought my 2003 SR5 V8 on a whim after looking at several Land Cruisers/LX450 FJ80 circa 92-97. The more i drove the cruisers, the more i realized they were overpriced turds. with the exception of few nicely maintained beauties that cost a fortune. i drove hundreds of miles searching, almost flew to chicago and arizona for a beauty. Instead, i found my 4runner 3 miles from my house. First V8 i drove, first 4th gen i test drove. Love at first drive. Seller had a V6 too that was not for sale, but for shits and giggles. I asked to drive that too. No comparison. He gave up power for fuel economy so he says.
With a little research and negotiations. I only found out later, i got a hell of a deal 164k dealer maintained(not always good), new oem dealer transmission @ 144k, 1 accident vehicle for $5800.
In the past year, i have neglected my other cars. My convertible still waiting for me to install a clutch, my station wagon has only logged 2000 miles since the 4runner came into my family.
In one year i have logged 15,000 miles. Spent $4538 on preventive maintenance, repairs and upgrades. Not including MODS.
Did i spend too much? YES. I did repairs/maintenance items with OEM RED boxed Toyota stuff with critical items like water pump/belt service. When one catalytic converter went, i changed them both out. Replaced suspension parts with NEW instead of reinstalling old. replaced all brake rotors and pads instead of resurfacing.
This type of spending was not necessary but, i have had a trouble free truck for the last 6 months or 7000 miles. That meant it was time for mods.
In the last 6 months, I installed my winch, roof rack, various lights, quad projectors, BFG AT KO's, 18" wheels, on board air, train horns, kenwood dvd navigation radio, speakers, amps, dvd headrest monitors, just to name a few things.
This forum's wealth of knowledge on the little fixes helped me save a ton of money on repairs.
-simple a/c relay fix, saved me $2000 off my purchase price of the vehicle.
-simple grease the driveshaft saved me another $1500 of purchase price of vehicle.
thats just a start!
Thank you, T4R community!
With a little research and negotiations. I only found out later, i got a hell of a deal 164k dealer maintained(not always good), new oem dealer transmission @ 144k, 1 accident vehicle for $5800.
In the past year, i have neglected my other cars. My convertible still waiting for me to install a clutch, my station wagon has only logged 2000 miles since the 4runner came into my family.
In one year i have logged 15,000 miles. Spent $4538 on preventive maintenance, repairs and upgrades. Not including MODS.
Did i spend too much? YES. I did repairs/maintenance items with OEM RED boxed Toyota stuff with critical items like water pump/belt service. When one catalytic converter went, i changed them both out. Replaced suspension parts with NEW instead of reinstalling old. replaced all brake rotors and pads instead of resurfacing.
This type of spending was not necessary but, i have had a trouble free truck for the last 6 months or 7000 miles. That meant it was time for mods.
In the last 6 months, I installed my winch, roof rack, various lights, quad projectors, BFG AT KO's, 18" wheels, on board air, train horns, kenwood dvd navigation radio, speakers, amps, dvd headrest monitors, just to name a few things.
This forum's wealth of knowledge on the little fixes helped me save a ton of money on repairs.
-simple a/c relay fix, saved me $2000 off my purchase price of the vehicle.
-simple grease the driveshaft saved me another $1500 of purchase price of vehicle.
thats just a start!
Thank you, T4R community!
