close to buying a 4th Gen 4runner *questions*

[Fly]

first of all, just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the helpful replies and advice. this community is pretty awesome.

listening to most of the advice in this thread, i've decided to just be a little bit more patient in my quest for a T4R. everyone who said to wait till i find the perfect car is right.

i asked the dealer how much it would cost to order and paint normal non-cladding T4R bumpers and he said it probably wouldn't be worth it to do. i've seen a 4runner with painted cladding and it just didn't look too nice.

as for the 2003 4runner sport with cladding up there, i'm probably just gonna offer her (girl driver) something less for it and wait it out.

quick question: did all the '03 sport T4R's come with cladding? or was it just on earlier models?

what are the MAIN differences (besides cosmetic) between an SR5 and a Sport edition?


again, just want to say thanks for all the helpful insight from everyone who responded :yesyes:

 

[jharris2]

first of all, just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the helpful replies and advice. this community is pretty awesome.

listening to most of the advice in this thread, i've decided to just be a little bit more patient in my quest for a T4R. everyone who said to wait till i find the perfect car is right.

i asked the dealer how much it would cost to order and paint normal non-cladding T4R bumpers and he said it probably wouldn't be worth it to do. i've seen a 4runner with painted cladding and it just didn't look too nice.

as for the 2003 4runner sport with cladding up there, i'm probably just gonna offer her (girl driver) something less for it and wait it out.

quick question: did all the '03 sport T4R's come with cladding? or was it just on earlier models?

what are the MAIN differences (besides cosmetic) between an SR5 and a Sport edition?


again, just want to say thanks for all the helpful insight from everyone who responded :yesyes:

Only the early models of the SR5 and Sport came with cladding.

The two biggest differences between the SR5 and Sport are that the Sport has larger brakes, and it has X-REAS suspension. Of course, the Sport has the hood scoop. None of these were available on the SR5. I believe the Sport also had heated mirrors and a couple of other features.

 

[OUTRNNR]

A clean '03 with relatively low mileage for $17k? Sounds like a great deal to me...

What do they blue book at? A friend of mine bought an '02 sport with similar miles and paid around $20k for it.

 

[GYoter]

My friend recently bought an 03 SR5 V6 with cladding for 18k out the door. So i would say 17k a decent price. If you want one color matched, you will prob pay a bit more. Thats up to you to decide, but if you like the cladding, thats a fair price i would say.

Sport-SR5 differences are larger brakes, heated mirrors, color matched mirrors(SR5 is black only), leather wrapped steering wheel, radio controls on the wheel, hood scoop, better looking rims(IMO), xreas

 

[toybox]

Concerning the cladding...

I don't know if this is posible, but maybe you could have it painted. I know a lot of replacement bumpers and other plastic pieces for vehicles come not painted. The bodyshop has to paint it to match the vehicle.

My brother bought an accord dx some years ago that had non-painted bumpers. He had a bodyshop paint them to match the car. They turned out great. There is a special paint additive (or special paint?) that keeps the paint flexible on plastic parts.

Just a thought.

TSB for finishing plastic parts for painting.

 

[SoCalRunner]

Wait for something else...

Fly,

My recommendation is to pass on this one. If you have a spec of doubt about your choice it will really bother you later down the road. Personally, i dont like the "cladding" and i think it will look worse with time no matter what you do to it.

If you wait a better 4runner and a better deal may come along. You really should wait for the summer time when gas prices go through the roof- i'm sure many people will be trading in thier 4Runners for smaller cars and you can pick up a nice used one. Also if you get one at a dealer you may be able to get a warranty with your purchase plus free oil changes and car washes for life(claremont toyota). When gas prices are high there will be alot of dealer incentives to move those trucks. You probably have the "bug" and you want something now, but it may payoff to wait. Good luck.

 

[Fly]

Re: Wait for something else...

Fly,

My recommendation is to pass on this one. If you have a spec of doubt about your choice it will really bother you later down the road. Personally, i dont like the "cladding" and i think it will look worse with time no matter what you do to it.

If you wait a better 4runner and a better deal may come along. You really should wait for the summer time when gas prices go through the roof- i'm sure many people will be trading in thier 4Runners for smaller cars and you can pick up a nice used one. Also if you get one at a dealer you may be able to get a warranty with your purchase plus free oil changes and car washes for life(claremont toyota). When gas prices are high there will be alot of dealer incentives to move those trucks. You probably have the "bug" and you want something now, but it may payoff to wait. Good luck.

thanks for the advice. you may be right. that cladding is really the only thing holding me back from purchasing this T4R.
they just informed me that they are willing to go 16.5k on the 4runner i posted earlier. i'm tempted

and you are totally right about having the 'bug'

 

[Fly]

thanks to everyone who contributed and offered some great advice.

I can now say that I'm a proud owner of a black 2004 T4R Sport :biggrin2:

got a GREAT deal on it. I'll post up pictures in a few.

Thanks Everyone!

 

[sharp4runr]

Congrats on the new truck!

 

[HiVel-JR]

Hey, alright... congrats!!! I think you will like your 4runner!!!




:driving: