Cape Cod, MA. Inspection Needed

[T4Rnewb]

After 3 months of searching for "the one" I think I have found a T4R that meets the criteria to be my first 4Runner! :banana::banana::banana:
My only problem, it's in Cape Cod, MA and i'm in Atlanta, Ga! :dammit:
After looking over the pictures provided on the website, reviewing the carfax report, talking to the seller of the vehicle to try and find out any further information on imperfections or surprises, and requesting more pictures, my hands are now tied for checking the vehicle any further.
What I'm hoping to find is someone in the Cape Cod, MA area that may be willing to go check out this vehicle for me!
From the look of the pictures, the carfax, and the mileage on the vehicle, I am confident the vehicle is in good condition. I just want to make sure there are no surprises that I am unable to uncover due to not being able to see it in person before I buy it. I have requested pictures of the undercarriage to make sure that there is no rust, though the seller of the vehicle told me over the phone that there wasn't any.
If anyone is willing to make the trip out to be my eyes and ears I would GREATLY appreciate it, and would be willing to spot some gas money if needed. Here's the link to the vehicle and my contact information...
2002 Toyota 4Runner Sport Edition V6 4WD - Cars For Sale Hyannis, MA
Kyle
[email protected]
770-855-9398
:thanks:

 

[cfranck1]

I have requested pictures of the undercarriage to make sure that there is no rust, though the seller of the vehicle told me over the phone that there wasn't any.

If he doesn't have the decency to send you some pictures of the underneath, then he really doesn't want to sell it and I wouldn't bother with him. But thats just me. Do what feels right to you.
My buddy bought a Tacoma off Craigslist from North Carolina and we live in Connecticut. The guy couldn't be nicer, I think he sent him about 25-30 more pictures of the truck. He even picked us up at the airport down in Raleigh/Durham. He knew we would be flying in and wanted us not to find any surprises with the truck when we got there.

 

[T4Rnewb]

If he doesn't have the decency to send you some pictures of the underneath, then he really doesn't want to sell it and I wouldn't bother with him. But thats just me. Do what feels right to you.
My buddy bought a Tacoma off Craigslist from North Carolina and we live in Connecticut. The guy couldn't be nicer, I think he sent him about 25-30 more pictures of the truck. He even picked us up at the airport down in Raleigh/Durham. He knew we would be flying in and wanted us not to find any surprises with the truck when we got there.

He sent me 7 pictures from the undercarriage and to my untrained eye it looks good to go! Just hoping someone from the area hits me up that can go look at it. Here's the pics of the vehicle....
Cape Cod T4R pictures by kylega122 - Photobucket

 

[cfranck1]

Doesn't look bad, but he did a quick paint job on the frame and stuff. Don't know if he's hiding anything or he just wanted to make it look better then it was??

 

[billsheila]

I would love to help, but just a little too busy this week and I am about 1 hour 10 minutes from Hyannis without any traffic...so it would be a bit of time for me.

But here are some comments...likely stuff you already gathered on your own but I will offer it up anyway. Any New England truck is going to suffer from underbody corrosion. If this truck lived on the Cape most of its life it may have fared a little better than average (weather and salt use is a bit better, ie less, on the Cape). My T4R came from NH and then went to south east MA and it is pretty bad underneath. As observed here it looks like this one had a shot of paint to try to slow things down which is not something too worry about in my opinion, it is a good idea to create more barrier to the salt driven corrosion that will inevitably eat up the metal.

For a 10 year old New England truck, based solely on the pictures I would put this underside at about a "7" out of 10. Ask him to take a close up shot of the metal heater lines that run to the rear heater along the frame on the passenger side. This is a known weak point and will give you an idea about overall corrosion on the chassis.

Overall it looks pretty good, but pretty rich price wise. But I guess the good ones are hard to find.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Ask him to take a close up shot of the metal heater lines that run to the rear heater along the frame on the passenger side. This is a known weak point and will give you an idea about overall corrosion on the chassis.

x2... This is what you don't want to see...

Yeah, I am the next closest, and I don't have time either; going on vacation friday and I am booked solid dawn to bedtime until then.

I looked at some 4r's from that dealer when I was looking for mine, they tend to have alot of 4runners there for some reason, though they have just the one now.

If you decide to go for it, be sure you put a hold payment down before buying your one-way ticket. But I agree with what others are saying, I would look farther south for one that you know won't have rust issues.

 

[Timmy22]

I live in Rhode Island and I did just the opposite, Bought mine from Atlanta. This thing has zero rust underneath. In fact the license plate border says "Marietta Toyota"

I've seen 5 year old trucks around here where the undercarriage is just SCARY! Brake lines rot off, linkages crumble, bumpers and fenders rust from the inside out. Salted roads and being close to salt water rusts everything!