Am I crazy to buy a 3rd gen on eBay site unseen?

[intechrity]

Hi All. Long time reader, first time posting. Long time 3rd gen owner as well. I'm in love with my hand me down 99' limited, but she's been ridden hard by previous owners and its time to get a new one.

I've been searching the country for the past few months and have recently found a '99 limited with 109k miles for 8,550 on ebay. I love everything about the car from the pictures but my schedule leaves me unable to drive/fly the 500 miles to see the car for at least the next week.

So I have a dilemma. Is it worth waiting to test drive it and potentially lose the buy? Or would you guys bite the bullet and buy site unseen?

I'd love to hear any opinions y'all have or even your own accounts of buying.

Also, check out the car and let me know if you see any red flags! Thanks a lot.
Toyota 4Runner 4WD | eBay

-intechrity

 

[BrianSD_42]

Not crazy at all. Its actually really smart.

In fact why don't you wire me the money and I will hold the truck for you.

I've also got a brother who is selling Bear Sterns bonds at a great discount. What's your Paypal email? I'll send you an invoice for the deal of a lifetime.

:lock1:

 

[intechrity]

While I appreciate the comedic relief :yo:, I was referring more to risks associated with only seeing the vehicles condition by image; not eBay's reliability.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Very clean for a North east truck. Has all the options a 99 4runner could have. The interior is immaculate. No rips in the driver's side front seat on the side like a lot of 3rd gen leather seats have. I believe I see some cupping on the front inner tread but could be a slight toe adjustment. Has some rust on the chassis but it really doesn't look bad and it doesn't look like someone has tried to cover anything up. Great mileage for a 15 year old vehicle. Nice color. Someone really took care of it. Price is about right, maybe just a little high but seing how well it was maintained, I wouldn't be turned away by it. Right across the bridge 20 minutes from me. Maybe I can help you out.

 

[threadlessclimber]

Currently in Pennsylvania from NJ didn't read the rest but the pics of underneath are only from a few angles when they took a lot of pictures of everything else. Watch for rust!!!!!

 

[kevin8629]

I bought mine on Ebay from a Dealer in New York. I had serveral photos, we even skyped as he test drove it . I spoke to my banker, as she said it surprising how many loans she processes for Ebay vehicle purchases. Even though I didn't finance, she took care of all the money handling for me, they put the vehicle on a truck, and in 5-6 days she was here. Was it a risk, yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. I did run a carfax before purchase and there were a couple cometic things when I received it, but the seller took care of both. Ebay does have buyer protection that should help protect you and your money. Heres my truck
[URL=http://s3.photobucket.com/user/showorgo/media/20140614_152116.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[intechrity]

Thanks for the info Kevin. Nice clean truck! It's nice to hear that others are taking the "calculated" risks for the cars they want.

Luckily I have a close family friend at my disposal who has been a toyota mechanic for 30+ years. Its an understatement to say he knows these 3gens inside and out.

How did the rust look on your rig when you purchased it from new york? Comparable? and has it given you any issues?

 

[kevin8629]

Thanks for the info Kevin. Nice clean truck! It's nice to hear that others are taking the "calculated" risks for the cars they want.

Luckily I have a close family friend at my disposal who has been a toyota mechanic for 30+ years. Its an understatement to say he knows these 3gens inside and out.

How did the rust look on your rig when you purchased it from new york? Comparable? and has it given you any issues?

It lived its life in Virginia, but I bought it from a dealer in New York who had purchased it at auction. I ran the VIN at Toyota's website and it was serviced at the same dealer from the time it was new. Being a toyota family, we to have a family friend that is a Toyota tech also. He actually was there when it was delivered. He took it and went over it from top to bottom. He said it was one of the cleanest he's seen. We did change all the fluids, plugs wires, pvc valve, filters etc. We also changed the radiator, although it looked okay and I like milkshakes....I'm definatley not a fan of the strawberry kind 4runners can produce. As far as issues...none...I love my truck and it replaced a well loved cressida with 312,000 miles on it, that still runs great. As far as surprises, there's always a scratch or nick that will be missed in photos, its a 12 year old truck, don't expect perfect. I detail cars to support my hobbies...lol (not my real job) most anything can be touched up with chip fix type kits with great results.

I viewed the auction posted a couple of days ago, and it looks like a nice truck. I saw vin stickers on all the panels except the rear hatch, prolly because of camera angle, so I'm guessing accident free. I would run a car fax to be sure. (not sure about the ebay vehicle reports) The undercarriage looks clean. If I were serious about the vehicle, I would request more photos of the undercarriage though just to be sure. The interior is super clean, the drivers seat doesn't look broke down on the edge at all. There is a piece between the grill and bumper that is wavy, might ask about that. Ask the dealer to skype a test drive with his phone. You can here it start, look at the motor, see the the 4wd engages as it should etc. If he's serious about selling it, he will have no problem with it.

 

[BrianSD_42]

On a more serious note it should be possible to message the seller and get their phone number.

By talking on the phone you should be able to asses the situation better. But always see it in person before handing over the cash.

What if it has frame rot? Or weak compression in a CYL?

Carfax basically means very little on the used car market. Its primary value is to help show odometer fraud whenever possible but that is about all it accomplishes.

 

[kevin8629]

On a more serious note it should be possible to message the seller and get their phone number.

By talking on the phone you should be able to asses the situation better. But always see it in person before handing over the cash.

What if it has frame rot? Or weak compression in a CYL?

Carfax basically means very little on the used car market. Its primary value is to help show odometer fraud whenever possible but that is about all it accomplishes.

I did forget to mention I had serveral phone conversations with my Seller, he always answered all my questions. If I couldn't talk to the seller by phone, I would have never purchased it. Run the vin at Toyata owners, to see its history, I would be suprised at 109k miles if there was compression problems. Ask for more photos of the undercarriage.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

If you have someone local inspect it for you no. Otherwise, yes you are crazy.

 

[THatfield]

I bought my 03 Infiniti QX4 sight unseen from NY. 6 months later I sold it and 12 months later it was bought back by Infiniti because of a frame rot issue and was crushed. I lost money, the fella I sold it too lost money as well.


I highly recommend seeing it in person. I hate for you to get burned like I did. See if he will take a refundable deposit to hold it until you can get out to look at it.

My $.02

 

[LittleCaesar]

Its like seeing a beautiful woman over and over again,marrying her, but then discovering she's psycho, or no good between the linens.

With it being from Philly it will have low miles since it probably lived in the city. Unless it was garaged every day, there will be undercarriage rust. The question is just how much there is.

Post some pics of the engine bay and undercarriage. Only then can we give ya a fair assessment of its worthiness. Good luck.

 

[slapdappy]

photos do not show the actual appearance of the vehicle. It may look flawless with no dings, no chips, no fade, no mismatched paint from repair, because this stuff just does not show up in a photo. Once you see it face to face you may be sorely disappointed. Not because buyer is being fishy, but because it is just the nature of a photo vs actual. Do a little test of a local ok condition car and see how the photo compares to the actual.

 

[T4R2014]

Looks like it spent most of its life in North Jersey. They do not salt the roads up here too bad but I would still ask for pics of the frame by the rear LCA's to be safe. The seats look really nice in those pics.

 

[jgue467]

I've bought my runner, a porsche 911S and two prius' on ebay, 2 polaris' sportsmans sight seen, of course in pics. if you can't go see it, then find a mechanic on that area to go check it for you, sure that'll set you back about 2 bills but you'll have peace of mind.

Besides that ebay has a buyer guarantee, if the object is not as described you can take it up with the buyer and ebay will back you up for up to 50K.

I think its stupid to buy at dealers, from individuals, carlots and especially "carmax", best place to get reamed. I've have nothing but good outcomes on my vehicles bought off ebay, wouldn't do it any other way. If the pics look good, so will the actual thing. You will not be able to duplicate the deals on ebay. Luck! :banana:

 

[TheDurk]

That really looks as nice as an eBay listing can look. I can add one data bit that is not in the listing or Carfax for some strange reason. The original selling dealer was Toyota of Morristown (New Jersey). I recognize the new vehicle document pouch with the Ridgedale Avenue address (identical to mine). It would appear it spent the first 5-6 years around here and then moved to Fair Lawn/Glendale. My '99 has about the same amount of rust. It's there, but nothing to worry about.

 

[intechrity]

Thanks for the input guys - all good advice. Another member that's local to the area offered to help out, how awesome! Debating taking a gamble and putting down the non refundable deposit so I don't lose it!

Also, In case you missed the photos of the engine bay and undercarriage follow the link and scroll to the bottom.
It definitely has less rust than my current 99 and mine has had zero problems at 240k.

Any thoughts on the condition? Red flags?

Toyota 4Runner 4WD | eBay

 

[intechrity]

I've bought my runner, a porsche 911S and two prius' on ebay, 2 polaris' sportsmans sight seen, of course in pics. if you can't go see it, then find a mechanic on that area to go check it for you, sure that'll set you back about 2 bills but you'll have peace of mind.

Besides that ebay has a buyer guarantee, if the object is not as described you can take it up with the buyer and ebay will back you up for up to 50K.

I think its stupid to buy at dealers, from individuals, carlots and especially "carmax", best place to get reamed. I've have nothing but good outcomes on my vehicles bought off ebay, wouldn't do it any other way. If the pics look good, so will the actual thing. You will not be able to duplicate the deals on ebay. Luck! :banana:

Btw thanks for the extra eBay details, that gives me a little extra confidence making such a big purchase online!

 

[BrianSD_42]

It would appear it spent the first 5-6 years around here and then moved to Fair Lawn/Glendale.

I guess it would matter if it moved from Jersey before or after hurricane Sandy.

Be sure to check for flood damage.