Buying a 2008 Runner

J

jm47

New member
Hi Everyone. Sorry if I posted in the wrong place. I am looking at a 2008 Runner tomorrow and thought I would ask the members here what I should be looking for besides body rust, undercarriage rust and transmission/4WD glitches. According to Carfax it's a one owner,accident free vehicle with 121k miles.There are 54 pics on the website. It looks pretty decent. Used Cars Topsfield MA | Used Cars & Trucks MA | Topsfield Motor Company The dealer wants $13k for it.
If anyone can offer their advice or input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...
 
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Check the pre purchase info sticky at the top of the message board.

This is a checklist I wrote for my preinspection, it was on my V8 Limited so not all items apply. Also I think $13k is a decent price but I'd try to get down to $11-12k.

Driveline:
Transfer case actuator for 4WD HI and LO
Center Diff Lock
CV boots (cracked covers or leaks)
Noisy or leaking wheel bearings
Driveline thud when making a hard stop and taking off again
Suspension and Brakes:
X-REAS leaks (if equipped)
Brake caliper seized pistons
Interior:
Sunroof rust, on roof itself or on sliding sunroof piece Also sunroof drains.
Dashboard cracks
Heated seats and memory seats controls
Cracked or ripped leather upholstery
Electrical:
Check under the steering wheel on the remote starter, was it installed and fused correctly
Engine Compartment:
Intake manifold tiny cracks (known issue with 4Runner V8)
Leaking fluids around diff
Check for deposits in the coolant overflow bottle
 
Agree with [MENTION=146528]havoc531[/MENTION] lil steep for 120k on it, my son's 05 has 128k & I paid that in 2012 for it then with 92k on it , ya start at 11 & walk out on em !
 
jm47 said:
Hi Everyone. Sorry if I posted in the wrong place. I am looking at a 2008 Runner tomorrow and thought I would ask the members here what I should be looking for besides body rust, undercarriage rust and transmission/4WD glitches. According to Carfax it's a one owner,accident free vehicle with 121k miles.There are 54 pics on the website. It looks pretty decent. Used Cars Topsfield MA | Used Cars & Trucks MA | Topsfield Motor Company The dealer wants $13k for it.
If anyone can offer their advice or input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

Check the calipers. It is very common for them to seize. Take it for a drive and slam on brakes. If it darts to one side, it's likely to have one seized.
 
Value is all in the locale's market. That truck in my area would be posted for at least $15k.

I personally like the post refresh look (06+).
 
Big things for me would be to check the under side and exhaust for rust. Make sure the truck goes into 4H and 4L easily, the 4-wheel actuator is notorious for not working if it's not used on a regular basis. Brakes, ask when they were done last (receipts), its pretty easy and inexpensive to upgrade to gen-5 units, which seem to have fewer problems than the gen-4 brakes. Check CV boots for rips. If I were in your shoes, I would be looking in a southern state....the mag chloride used on the roads around here in the winter, kills these trucks.
 
For comparison, I recently purchased an 08 with 100K for $13. It had a some rust on the frame around the moonroof glass, but everything else was ok. The 08s and 09s don't come up for sale much in my area and the dealers know this and don't budge from the price. However I was able to negotiate more for my beater trade-in. Good luck with the purchase.
 
Here in San Diego, for an '08 with that mileage, that would be a good deal. The '08 and '09 are nice because they come stock with the DSC disable button. Galactic Grey is also my favorite color after white.

I did notice that it does not have the Sport Edition wheels, I wonder why.

Like others have said, check for rust and make sure all of the 4WD functions works, i.e. 4Hi, 4Lo, and Center Diff Lock.
 
Also make sure it comes with the 'Master" key as well as valet keys and fobs. Cargo cover and cross bars as well.

The wheels were probably changed out due to corrosion. My '09 came out of New Hampshire and the wheels are peeling due to road salt. However the chassis looks pretty darn good overall.

Price is in line with New England in general, took me several months to find a nice medium mileage '09.

The shop I got mine from just started prepping a '06 SE V6 with 87K on it. PM me if you want their contact info.
 
Thank You

Thanks to everyone for their replies to my post. You guys are the best! I went and looked at the Runner this afternoon and remembered what everyone posted. The truck passed the exterior, interior,and mechanical test. The rust test? I am not so sure. The dealer put the vehicle on a lift and let me take a look. I could flake the rust off with my thumbnail in several places. Should I make an offer or run away? I bought a 99 in 2007 and never looked underneath. I couldn't believe how much rust there was the first time I saw it on a lift. It was way more than this one. The 99 lasted me till July of last year with zero problems until some s. h. ran a stop sign and t boned me. What do you guys think? Thanks again...
 
MikeyMike said:
It's because it's not a "Sport Edition", but a SR5. No hood scope, no Sport rack and steps, and SR5 fabric.
Click to expand...
That's what I get for just reading the ad description and not looking closely.

jm47 said:
Thanks to everyone for their replies to my post. You guys are the best! I went and looked at the Runner this afternoon and remembered what everyone posted. The truck passed the exterior, interior,and mechanical test. The rust test? I am not so sure. The dealer put the vehicle on a lift and let me take a look. I could flake the rust off with my thumbnail in several places. Should I make an offer or run away? I bought a 99 in 2007 and never looked underneath. I couldn't believe how much rust there was the first time I saw it on a lift. It was way more than this one. The 99 lasted me till July of last year with zero problems until some s. h. ran a stop sign and t boned me. What do you guys think? Thanks again...
Click to expand...
I'm from California, I know next to nothing about rust other than it's bad juju.
 
I say

jm47 said:
Thanks to everyone for their replies to my post. You guys are the best! I went and looked at the Runner this afternoon and remembered what everyone posted. The truck passed the exterior, interior,and mechanical test. The rust test? I am not so sure. The dealer put the vehicle on a lift and let me take a look. I could flake the rust off with my thumbnail in several places. Should I make an offer or run away? I bought a 99 in 2007 and never looked underneath. I couldn't believe how much rust there was the first time I saw it on a lift. It was way more than this one. The 99 lasted me till July of last year with zero problems until some s. h. ran a stop sign and t boned me. What do you guys think? Thanks again...
Click to expand...

ask um to reduce the cost of removing and sealing the rust from the price. Its not like they can deny the rust exists since they saw it as well.
 
Rust Removal

Actually the owner of the dealership offered to do just that when we spoke this morning.I have been looking since last summer for a 4Runner and have been dealing with lots of dealers and owners.This guy really seems to be pretty honest about fixing all the small things I nitpicked him about.I sent pictures of the undercarriage to the body shop that worked on my 99 and if he says the rust isn't too bad I will make an offer.
 
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