Decent buy or no?

[Jasony0423]

New here, looking for a commuter car that will be at least moderately reliable and safe. The seller is a used car dealer and they bought it at auction. No idea of the hostory, carfax shows no accidents and the previous owner had it for almost 12 years.
It's an Sr5 manual transmission with 203k miles. I can get it for $2,000. No lights or snything, but the rust is a concern. Anything I should check for, or should I run?

 

[LookAtThatDog]

Get pictures of the rear axle and rear lower control arms

 

[4-Ripcord]

$2k is a sketchy price, something significant has got to be wrong.

BTW where in Ohio? I can take a look at it with you if you are near Columbus.

 

[JeepKiller]

Make sure the owner has done regular maintenance (ie oil changes, coolant, etc) Im guessing for that price that he hasnt done the timing belt or water pump or lbjs. Post some pics of the rust.

 

[98WhiteT4R]

Used car dealers can be sketchy... dash lights don't mean anything, its not hard clear them or pull the bulb behind them. If you can get Ripcord to look at it that would be ideal, if not I'd have a mechanic look it over.

 

[Jasony0423]

I work at a chevy dealwrship, so I'll have it inspected no matter what. I'm west of cleveland, so pretty far away from Columbus

 

[gamefreakgc]

Priced at $2000, you can pretty much assume there's something terribly wrong. That dealer is shorting themselves $4000 or so.

If you're handy with a wrench (sounds like you are if you work at a dealership) you could probably fix whatever is wrong and get ahead. Even if you needed a new engine or transmission it'd still come out cheaper if you do your own work.

 

[jeremyc74]

Priced at $2000, you can pretty much assume there's something terribly wrong..

That was my first thought as well. If it were a private seller than there would be the possibility that they just didn't know what it was worth, but with it being a car lot I'd have to assume they're trying to unload it fast for some reason.

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

That was my first thought as well. If it were a private seller than there would be the possibility that they just didn't know what it was worth, but with it being a car lot I'd have to assume they're trying to unload it fast for some reason.

That's a good point. The guy must have some idea what it is worth. But, if you have it inspected and you can do your own work, there can't be too much that will surprise you.

 

[jeremyc74]

That's a good point. The guy must have some idea what it is worth. But, if you have it inspected and you can do your own work, there can't be too much that will surprise you.

Yeah, I wouldn't completely rule it out, but I'd definitely go into the inspection with the assumption that there's something there to find.

It might be something as simple as a bad clutch that would be an easy fix, or it could be as bad as a rotted frame. I always treat used car dealers with a healthy amount of skepticism.

 

[T4R2014]

Be very careful. $2000 is way too cheap for a "working" 4Runner. Imagine how cheap this guy got it at the auction to actually make a profit at the price he's selling. Vehicles that old that couldn't be sold on the street end up going to the auction, which is why I try to avoid auction vehicles.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Head for the hills.

I don't know if you've looked at auctions before but if you have, you haven't seen a running 4runner in sellable condition for under $2000.

 

[T4R2014]

Get the VIN. If it was auctioned through Copart then you may be able to find the listing to see if he's hiding any issues. I called out a guy on CL after I found his 4Runner's Copart listing. Turned out to be a "donated vehicle" and the engine bay was covered in dried up coolant in the Copart listing even though he said there were no problems.

 

[pluton]

If they're selling it for $2000, they paid $500 for it.