Am I crazy? Perfect used tfr

[Anonymous4Runner]

No problem anonymous, sounds like your deal is moving in the right direction. I hate dealers, always gotta try to figure out not what they are lying about but why.. I just assume everything they say is a lie. Lol

I'm young so I'm not as seasoned as some of you guys here on T4R when it comes to transactions related to sale of vehicles though :laugh:

 

[ChrisLovesUgly]

I'm young so I'm not as seasoned as some of you guys here on T4R when it comes to transactions related to sale of vehicles though :laugh:

Sounds like you're doing your due diligence, and you'll be just fine. Just make sure it's a fair deal and be prepared to walk away if worse comes to worse! I had to do that on a truck that was EXACTLY what I was looking for and it was not easy, but it was in my best interest. Found one shortly thereafter that was close enough to what I wanted and in better condition.

 

[alhang]

Have you tried autotrader? I tried craiglist for my own search and got tired of dealing with fake or repeated ads. I agree with the previous posters to up your search limit to 12K but with decent negotiating you should be able to get them down a grand or more. I searched this morning and found 295 4runners under 12K with less than 150K miles, 148 of those had 4wd and all were gen 4's (that's a country wide search).

I took about 2 months to find mine, for reference I got a 2003 V8 limited with 142K miles owned by the father of a toyota mechanic for $9500. I found the vehice on autotrader before they posted pics up and setup a test drive, they immediately raised the price on the ad since 20 people called to test drive it, but they would honor the original price if i bought it that day which I did. All records and maintenance was done by the son and truck was in great shape except for a fender bender which was repaired by the dealer.

You mentioned you were in the desert, at least you won't have to deal with rust issues and I'm 100% positive you'll find one, please post pics of it when you get it. I passed on 4 crappy ones before getting mine. If you have good credit, try financing thru lightstream, they offer 1.99% even on older cars.

 

[4by4runr]

I'm searching both craigslist and autotrader but for sr5 V6 4x4, not black or red, the selection is pretty scarce and even more scarce going down to 500mi but I have looked countrywide I just know that I'm not interested in driving much further than I can get back in the same day. I do see a lot of sports on autotrader but I don't want xreas or hood scoop.

 

[Texas8668]

Thanks for the update Anonymous4Runner! Keep up the search OP!

 

[soloone]

No problem anonymous, sounds like your deal is moving in the right direction. I hate dealers, always gotta try to figure out not what they are lying about but why.. I just assume everything they say is a lie. Lol

best strategy

 

[jrm]

The 4.5 gen 4runners 06-09

are high in demand b/c of the revisions made to them in 06. It took me 3 months to find mine and i had to travel. I paid a premium for mine but i figure ill have it for a long time and over that time it will pay for itself.

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

Thanks for the update Anonymous4Runner! Keep up the search OP!

Welp, I walked away from the deal! The inspection report worried me to a point where I was not willing to overpay while keeping in mind future repairs that would eventually need to be done. Not only that but the dealership's inspection station did not note the same issues raised by the Toyota dealership where I had the truck inspected so that made me even more worried. If any the dealership only mentioned air filter/cabin air filter & brakes pads needing replacement while Toyota uncovered few more issues. For all I know, he could have slightly tweaked the results making the truck look good mechanically speaking to flip quick or the shop rushed through the inspection.

I was really disappointed though. The truck would have replaced the exact 4Runner that was totaled last month but it is what it is. I am confident the truck will sell quick to a lucky buyer, it's just the matter of how much the buyer is willing to spend. Honestly I would not be surprised if someone who is experienced with working on cars ended up buying this and doing the work themselves. I am positive the quote for repairs would be much lower because of labor costs that would be excluded from the total price. Unfortunately I'm not a guy who knows how to work on cars but maybe one day when I start a family, I'll start learning more about cars in general as a way to pass time in the evenings!

Inspection report from a Toyota dealership indicated the following issues;

• Replace Cabin Air Filter
• Air Filter
• Battery
• Brake Lining for rear drum brakes (front brakes looked good)

They recommended the following issues to be replaced ASAP;

• Both Front CV axle boots - ($1180)
• Air Filter - ($45)
• Cabin Filter W/ Evap cleaning service ($145)
• Headlight restoration ($165) - apparently it has small cracks on the right headlight that will not come out

I really cannot justify paying $18.5k only to pay close to ~$2-3.5k in repairs (including complete paint job) immediately and then drop another 1-3k to replace timing belt and water pump when it hits 90k miles in a month or two (i travel a lot). Not only that but there is also a good baseball-sized rust on the lift gate and the truck definitely needs a complete paint job. The interior needs to be cleaned too big time, previous owner was a heavy smoker from what I gathered. Hopefully another Sport Edition w/ V8 will pop up online soon I'm willing to wait it out as long it takes to locate a solid truck that does


Just in case anyone is in the market for a Sport Edition with v8 and 67xxx miles and located close to Northern VA/MD - here is the link https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/675913576/overview/

If someone from here on T4R ends up buying the vehicle though, let us know! That'd be very cool if I helped someone locate their dream truck:bump2:

 

[Texas866801]

I know NOTHING about cars either. I'm actually using this purchase to learn about them. I intend to do or at least "actively participate" in any repairs/maintenance my ride needs now and in the future.

Just from my readings here those prices the dealer quoted for repairs are high. Good job on walking away from something you weren't sure about. You and OP will find something.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[zidaro]

$18k!!! Dang. I bought my 08 in April for half that. Needs some minor maintenance, but worth it.
Keep hunting

 

[Sifrk]

Is there an area in this forum where members post their T4R for sale?

 

[Donoharm]

I think the main problem here is you're using a dealer. You're almost by definition going to get screwed as much as possible. I mean it's literally their job. They just call it nicer things like "not leaving money on the table".

Sorry to OP for hijacking the thread but got an email from people wanting an update from today's test drive :laugh:


Test drove the truck and it felt good mechanically wise. The salesman was kind of a dick to me though, insisting I couldn't return it within a certain time period if issues arose (it's part of a local brand and on most of their sites they have a 7 day return policy). I told him I was not about to spend money on a vehicle I could not have inspected prior to payment and was ready to walk out of the dealership. Guy gave in and informed me it'd have to pass local state inspection before I can drive it off their lot to have the truck inspected at a dealership. So that being said, I scheduled an appointment at a local Toyota dealership few minutes away for a PPI and hopefully everything goes well!

There is definitely some work needed on the truck; this is a picture that shows the worst damage on the truck with scruffs unseen in this picture. I checked the underbody and did not see anything that stood out.

It's getting close to closing time for the dealership this evening and I have yet been contacted regarding the status of the truck truck after leaving earlier today. I'm heading back up there in the morning and taking it to the dealership right away. Fingers crossed the inspection goes well so I can finally end the search for a Sport Edition pending the final price!

One thing for sure though, it needs a complete paint job. First thing that came to mind when I saw this Sport in person :laugh::laugh:


I'm praying for you, OP! There has to be a 4Runner that's bound to turn up at one point. Just a matter of time :fro:

 

[DallasSR5]

I bought my 06 SR5, 4wd, V8 with leather, sunroof, 126k, etc. about 14 months ago from a Carmax dealer with a warranty for about $14k out the door. It had the 90k service. It looked almost new. There were some scratches inside the rear from a dog, but dog would likely do it anyway.

I later realized it may have bumped the front, despite clean clean car fax.

I'm happy with it. I was hoping for an LC, couldn't find anything close to price/condition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4by4runr]

UPDATE: I have located two vehicles matching my description. One is driftwood with 150k and 3 hours Away and most service records, the other is charcoal, with 220k and 12 hours away. The latter is a one owner vehicle with every service record from new and I am leaning toward it as I don't care too much for the driftwood.

ANYONE HERE THINK 220 IS NEARING THE TOO HIGH MARK? I know I've seen some with 3-400K.

Unrelated, is anyone else having trouble opening the "download details" link on the toyota owners login? It will open but not display anything.

 

[Velas]

Just keep searching, it will eventually pop up, I'm in Socal and 4WD and V8 were so hard to find, i got lucky and a broker/dealer had an 05 V8 4WD Sport which i picked up for 15300 a couple of months ago... best part is it only had 112k which I'm beyond happy about. Check Craigslist, Autotrader, Cars.com, carmax, i found mine from Craigslist.

 

[Hench4Life_21]

Per State

I was having real bad problems with prices initially. I've been looking for months for a decent 4th gen. I live in Alaska and people there will try and sell 4Runner's with 200k miles for $15k+ sometimes. There's such a small market there. I just flew down to Dallas though and was able to pick up a 2004 V8 4x4 for just sub $10k and I'm going to drive it back up.

 

[Texas8668]

I was having real bad problems with prices initially. I've been looking for months for a decent 4th gen. I live in Alaska and people there will try and sell 4Runner's with 200k miles for $15k+ sometimes. There's such a small market there. I just flew down to Dallas though and was able to pick up a 2004 V8 4x4 for just sub $10k and I'm going to drive it back up.

If this is recently,I know the exact vehicle you are referring to. I test drove it! Enjoy it and how far you gonna drive it to?

 

[Hench4Life_21]

Listed from Auto Place Inc? Man it was difficukt finding a V8 4x4 even in big Dallas. I'm in training for a few more weeks in Tulsa then I have 2 weeks to drive it to Anchorage. I flew down with my tent so I plan on camping my way back up. Still not sure the route but I'm thinking Denver then either Yellowstone or Moab, then head to the California coast and take the Pacific highway up through Canada into Alaska. I'm really looking forward to it. It's gonna be a little bit of a trial run since I want to do the Pan-American Highway with this 4Runner at some point. I wanted to get involved here as much as possible because I'm going to be getting one of those 360 degree cameras from samsung this month and I want to film some 4runner stuff with it on my journey back up and make some posts here on it. What did you think of the test drive? Did you notice anything wrong?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[bunz559]

I thought I found the perfect car 2 weeks ago. It had 180k, paid $6900, had tons and tons of service records from 1 dealership through 3 owners. Pretty much every single service, oil change, drivetrain flush, tire rotation, etc was recorded and on Carfax. No accidents and all vin numbers matched on body panels. Besides it being a smokers car and having the usual paint chips over the last 180k, the car checked out perfect.

What I wasn't expecting was the transfer case getting stuck in 4Lo yesterday!!! EEEK!!! LOL!

 

[jrm]

No

But ones not going to fall into your lap. It took me 4 months. Some of the ones id see on CL would be snapped up within a day or two. I had to travel about 2 hours but its worth it.

You really need to be ready to jump:bolt: