I have someone shopping auctions and dealer trades in New England for me (I'm looking for a 5speed 2.7 with fairly low miles). A couple weeks ago there was a trade-in that looked great in photos but turned out has a SEVERELY rotted frame. This same Runner is now listed for a high price at a NE used car lot that has made 3rd gen 4Runners something of a specialty, particularly low mileage 5 speeds. Hopefully nobody on this forum would buy one without checking for rust, but if these people are willing to be this blatant with one that's got a rotten frame what else are they willing to hide? If anyone wants to know the name send me a PM.
Buyer Beware!!!
- Thread starter MtnChick
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Nelsonmd
New member
Just post the name. Look at my build thread for an example of this kind of thing. The guy I bought mine from told me he "didn't see any rust on it"
Tell your fried to not buy a car in new england. They should shop elsewhere, the south probably being the best, call places to talk to them, put a deposit down on one, then buy a 1-way plane ticket. If I had to do it over, that's what I'd do. If they come on here and introduce themselves, they can probably find someone nearby to check out the vehicle for them. Don't buy anything in NE, period.
jgue467
Senior Member
Shop ebay instead
Lots to choose from, lots of pics, can ask all the questions you want. You won't find what you're looking for overnight, you'll have to work at it for 3-6 months, but you Will find it. Cheap too-I always find what I'm looking for at the Edmunds wholesale price=no higher. If you don't know how it works here's a quick summary. You bid or buy it now, then you have 24hrs to deposit $500 and 7 days to go see it. If for ANY reason you do not want it after seeing it, you simply say No and they will refund deposit. (no show = they keep deposit of course). In addition, ebay offers buyer protection plan where the item has to be as described, if not simply file a complaint. Good luck, you'll find it!
Lots to choose from, lots of pics, can ask all the questions you want. You won't find what you're looking for overnight, you'll have to work at it for 3-6 months, but you Will find it. Cheap too-I always find what I'm looking for at the Edmunds wholesale price=no higher. If you don't know how it works here's a quick summary. You bid or buy it now, then you have 24hrs to deposit $500 and 7 days to go see it. If for ANY reason you do not want it after seeing it, you simply say No and they will refund deposit. (no show = they keep deposit of course). In addition, ebay offers buyer protection plan where the item has to be as described, if not simply file a complaint. Good luck, you'll find it!
"Just post the name. Look at my build thread for an example of this kind of thing. The guy I bought mine from told me he "didn't see any rust on it"
Tell your fried to not buy a car in new england. They should shop elsewhere, the south probably being the best, call places to talk to them, put a deposit down on one, then buy a 1-way plane ticket. If I had to do it over, that's what I'd do. If they come on here and introduce themselves, they can probably find someone nearby to check out the vehicle for them. Don't buy anything in NE, period."
[MENTION=56021]Nelsonmd[/MENTION] My favorite phrase I've heard a lot from eastern dealers is "There's no rust on it", which seems to mean they THINK there isn't any frame or body rot- could have surface rust all over and they'll still say that. Or they're just lying. So, I agree with your advice on NE- unless you actually find one that isn't rusted. I'm the person who is looking for the 2.7. I'm lucky to have a very competent guy looking for me, unlucky in that he is in NE. He has found one excellent car for me, but so far he is wading through a lot of junk trying to find the runner I want. I am open to one anywhere in the country though and am also shopping craigslist, ebay, etc.
I feel kind of uncomfortable posting the name of the dealer, but in the interest of nobody suckering into these people's schtick here is a compromise. '00 4Runner
"Shop ebay instead
Lots to choose from, lots of pics, can ask all the questions you want. You won't find what you're looking for overnight, you'll have to work at it for 3-6 months, but you Will find it. Cheap too-I always find what I'm looking for at the Edmunds wholesale price=no higher. If you don't know how it works here's a quick summary. You bid or buy it now, then you have 24hrs to deposit $500 and 7 days to go see it. If for ANY reason you do not want it after seeing it, you simply say No and they will refund deposit. (no show = they keep deposit of course). In addition, ebay offers buyer protection plan where the item has to be as described, if not simply file a complaint. Good luck, you'll find it!"
[MENTION=75316]jgue467[/MENTION] So far I haven't seen what I want come up on ebay in the last year. There have been a few months where I didn't have time to put into it, so maybe I've missed some. From my experience I would agree with you on the edmunds pricing only on autos and/or high miles. Odds of getting a low mileage (under about 120K) 5 speed at that price are low, and every good one I've seen has sold for a lot more. Usually they only last a few hours if the asking price is within NADA retail range.
"Second that. I live in Nashville and a good runner that's been in the south its whole life looks almost new underneath."
[MENTION=100310]Brique[/MENTION] Used to be like that here in Idaho, but no more- lots of liquid ice prevention going on the roads the last couple of years, at least on my end of the state. If you see a nice low miles 4 cyl 4x4 5 speed down there let me know
Tell your fried to not buy a car in new england. They should shop elsewhere, the south probably being the best, call places to talk to them, put a deposit down on one, then buy a 1-way plane ticket. If I had to do it over, that's what I'd do. If they come on here and introduce themselves, they can probably find someone nearby to check out the vehicle for them. Don't buy anything in NE, period."
[MENTION=56021]Nelsonmd[/MENTION] My favorite phrase I've heard a lot from eastern dealers is "There's no rust on it", which seems to mean they THINK there isn't any frame or body rot- could have surface rust all over and they'll still say that. Or they're just lying. So, I agree with your advice on NE- unless you actually find one that isn't rusted. I'm the person who is looking for the 2.7. I'm lucky to have a very competent guy looking for me, unlucky in that he is in NE. He has found one excellent car for me, but so far he is wading through a lot of junk trying to find the runner I want. I am open to one anywhere in the country though and am also shopping craigslist, ebay, etc.
I feel kind of uncomfortable posting the name of the dealer, but in the interest of nobody suckering into these people's schtick here is a compromise. '00 4Runner
"Shop ebay instead
Lots to choose from, lots of pics, can ask all the questions you want. You won't find what you're looking for overnight, you'll have to work at it for 3-6 months, but you Will find it. Cheap too-I always find what I'm looking for at the Edmunds wholesale price=no higher. If you don't know how it works here's a quick summary. You bid or buy it now, then you have 24hrs to deposit $500 and 7 days to go see it. If for ANY reason you do not want it after seeing it, you simply say No and they will refund deposit. (no show = they keep deposit of course). In addition, ebay offers buyer protection plan where the item has to be as described, if not simply file a complaint. Good luck, you'll find it!"
[MENTION=75316]jgue467[/MENTION] So far I haven't seen what I want come up on ebay in the last year. There have been a few months where I didn't have time to put into it, so maybe I've missed some. From my experience I would agree with you on the edmunds pricing only on autos and/or high miles. Odds of getting a low mileage (under about 120K) 5 speed at that price are low, and every good one I've seen has sold for a lot more. Usually they only last a few hours if the asking price is within NADA retail range.
"Second that. I live in Nashville and a good runner that's been in the south its whole life looks almost new underneath."
[MENTION=100310]Brique[/MENTION] Used to be like that here in Idaho, but no more- lots of liquid ice prevention going on the roads the last couple of years, at least on my end of the state. If you see a nice low miles 4 cyl 4x4 5 speed down there let me know
Nelsonmd
New member
Oh yeah, I looked at them when I bought mine, but when I realized they were down on cape cod, I decided not to since they are near the ocean down there and there is even more salt.
I would still stand by not shopping in New England. Look for yourself in the south, and just have your friend review the info on the vehicle. Anything in new england is going to have so much salt exposure that there is no way it will be in as good condition as a similar one in the south. Even if the rust is VERY limited for 12+ years in New England, it will still be worse than one from the south.
The only way you could get a better one in NE is to find a gem that hasn't been driven at all, but that is way limiting yourself. I mean, you are basically looking in the WORST place to find one, even though you don't live here. That doesn't make any sense, even if you have a friend that knows about cars here.
BTW, I am an automotive engineer, living in new england, so I also know what I'm talking about. Stay away.
I would still stand by not shopping in New England. Look for yourself in the south, and just have your friend review the info on the vehicle. Anything in new england is going to have so much salt exposure that there is no way it will be in as good condition as a similar one in the south. Even if the rust is VERY limited for 12+ years in New England, it will still be worse than one from the south.
The only way you could get a better one in NE is to find a gem that hasn't been driven at all, but that is way limiting yourself. I mean, you are basically looking in the WORST place to find one, even though you don't live here. That doesn't make any sense, even if you have a friend that knows about cars here.
BTW, I am an automotive engineer, living in new england, so I also know what I'm talking about. Stay away.
citizen72
New member
Much to my disappointment, I purchased my '00 SR5 4x4 5spd sight-unseen from this dealer and since then have been compiling a list of parts that will need to be replaced due to rust (some photos in my albums). After having installed a ToyTec lift and subsequently being unable to perform an alignment because camber adjusters are rust-welded to the LCA's, I've been picking parts from a local yard and ordering some parts new when necessary. Also, when installing sliders, I was given the distinct impression some of the frame is in pretty bad shape as well - it took uncomfortably little effort to drill holes into the frame.
If there's a silver lining, it's that the vehicle is pretty much exactly what I was looking for (rust excluded...), has low miles, the interior and body are in great shape and my plan was to modify it anyway - it's just going to take a little more 'restoration' work than anticipated. If I can find an inexpensive, straight, rust-free frame, I'll probably slap a coat of POR-15 on then move everything over to it.
I haven't lived in an area with the kind of corrosion the NE has, so probably better to heed the warning of those who have, but I wouldn't necessarily discourage purchasing the vehicle if you can negotiate a better price and have the means to swap out rusted/damaged parts.
Either way, good luck with the vehicle hunt.
seabun
Member
It took me maybe 4 months to find what I was looking for. I came across quite a few in the NE/East Coast area that seemed great, really competitive pricing, but my dad who works at a dealership steered me away from them for the very reasons mentioned above. Ended up getting a truck that's never left Oklahoma, had to pay a little more than those NE trucks but not a speck of rust anywhere. Seems like Texas has some good vehicles for sale too, at least the last time I checked.
Their 4Runners come mainly from NE auctions. Another dealer doing this is 405 Motors in WA. They buy very low mileage eastern runners and then sell them for prices that are high even for the west. I guess this is working for them because there are so few with low-ish miles out here.
I do trust your judgement and appreciate your advice (and everyone else) on this- your build thread was an inspiration on the rust issue. If I do buy one from NE it will only be the "gem" or one that originated somewhere else which is why I haven't bought it yet. Am also searching everywhere else except the upper Midwest. My plan has been to do what you suggest and fly one way to pick one up. I have yet to find someone on craigslist who is willing to hang on to one I was interested in long enough to get it inspected and for me to get there though. I really am looking for a needle in a haystack wanting a 2.7. Might end up just sucking it up and paying the price to get a rust free dealer trade from the south or west coast. I've passed on a couple of those in the last year but probably shouldn't have.
[MENTION=106177]citizen72[/MENTION] Thanks. I guess I'm glad I posted it now. Since we have somewhat joined the rust belt here in Idaho I have been researching what to do to try to stop it. I've sort of zeroed in on sand blasting to bare metal and then epoxy primer like a lot of the restorer guys do, but it's hard to tell really what's best- lots of opinions out there. I bought both of the runners we have sight unseen, one in Utah that doesn't have much for rust (and I could have backed out of when I got there), the purple at a much better price from a big dealership in Philly. It's not rotten anywhere and we can get bolts off, etc, but there is more surface rust than I'd like to have and who knows what's inside the frame. We put enough miles on our vehicles that I anticipate I'll be able to wear it out before rust kills it so feel like I slid by OK, but I'm never doing the sight unseen thing again- will at the very least be inspected by someone.
threadlessclimber
New member
I'm from New Hampshire and I flow to South Carolina to buy my current 4Runner. I looked for months and everything local was a mess. I talked to the above mentioned dealer about a very low mile 4Runner and they told me it was in mint condition--then I talked to another person from the dealership the next day and he explained to me that the truck wasn't ready because they needed to replace the bumpers and other stuff because they wanted to make it "right" for the next owner. They never said rust but this thread answers my suspicions. Didn't even bother to drive the two hours to check it out. Found my 1999 5spd v6 the next day and flew down and drove it home--no rusty frame for me. Good luck in finding what you're looking for--it may take time but it will be worth it.
They're always "mint" there, ha! My only contact with them was to request some photos of the underside on one and they never responded. I had my suspicions too but now we know why for sure.
You did the smart thing. Hopefully won't take me too long to do the same. Anyone see one let me know! I'll take you fishing on the Henry's Fork.
Nelsonmd
New member
Yeah, they had one I wanted, but when I went to schedule a test drive, they said they couldn't get it into reverse, so had it back in the shop. I ran the other way when I heard that (out of the frying pan and into the fire, but oh well..).
OP, as long as you are looking elsewhere too. Honestly, I still wouldn't even bother with searching NE. Why dig through the garbage when there's good ones all around you. Even if you find a clean one here, it may have been repaired and painted, and you'll find rust elsewhere when you dig into it.
