Dark Lord
New member
It all started in August 2011 when my girlfriend bought a 2000 Toyota 4runner SR5 with 5-speed manual transmission. At the time I was in the market for a Tacoma or an old 5th gen Toyota pickup. My girlfriend asked me to help her find a new vehicle (preferably an SUV) to drive since her car was getting old. Naturally, since I like Honda's and Toyota's, I ended up finding a 2000 4runner on Craigslist at a local dealership. This truck had 66K miles on it, and ZERO frame rust since it spent most of its life in California. Finding something like this is VERY rare, especially being in Indiana. Well, my girlfriend's parents ended up cutting her a deal and selling their Xterra (which is what she wanted) to her for dirt cheap. With that, we ended up selling the truck.
Had I been in the market for a 4runner then, I would've bought that from her in a heart beat. It wasn't until about a month later when I realized I wanted a 4runner because I enjoyed driving her's so much.
In my search for a 4runner this was a list of my criteria ranked from most important down:
Minimal to no rust
4x4
5-speed manual
Under 150K miles
Finding a rust free vehicle in or near Indiana is a chore. Not to mention finding a 4runner with a 5-speed is just as hard. I eventually gave up on the 5-speed and went for this.
I drove 4 hours up to Chicago to buy this truck. It's a 2000 4runner Limited 4x4, 114K miles, E-locker, clean, Nevada truck. We had the dealership put the truck on a lift only to find almost no rust at all, and it was lifted. Granted, I wanted a vehicle that hasn't been modified at all, but I figured since I was planning on doing some similar modifications, I my as well just save the money. My biggest selling point was just how CLEAN this truck is. The engine bay was detailed, and the leather seats are spotless. This truck is SWEET!!!
Had I been in the market for a 4runner then, I would've bought that from her in a heart beat. It wasn't until about a month later when I realized I wanted a 4runner because I enjoyed driving her's so much.
In my search for a 4runner this was a list of my criteria ranked from most important down:
Minimal to no rust
4x4
5-speed manual
Under 150K miles
Finding a rust free vehicle in or near Indiana is a chore. Not to mention finding a 4runner with a 5-speed is just as hard. I eventually gave up on the 5-speed and went for this.
I drove 4 hours up to Chicago to buy this truck. It's a 2000 4runner Limited 4x4, 114K miles, E-locker, clean, Nevada truck. We had the dealership put the truck on a lift only to find almost no rust at all, and it was lifted. Granted, I wanted a vehicle that hasn't been modified at all, but I figured since I was planning on doing some similar modifications, I my as well just save the money. My biggest selling point was just how CLEAN this truck is. The engine bay was detailed, and the leather seats are spotless. This truck is SWEET!!!
