Golden Age of 3rd Gens Ending

Yes, but the maintenance cost on a vehicle to reach extremely high mileage, all while it is slowly deteriorating is a turn off for anyone but a true enthusiast. That being said, there's 3 3rd gen 4Runners I regularly service at work right around 350-380k, and one that I haven't seen in a while but was sitting at 560k.

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What kind of costs are we talking about? Technically, I would say any engine should be capable of lasting nigh forever as long as it has oil changes. Unless it was designed by a moron, Apple, or Microsoft.

But now we are getting hypothetical. Haha
:zoom:

As for maintenance, it's always going to be less than a new vehicle seeing as how vehicles are sky rocketing in price every year. 500+ a month and most likely 200-400 in insurance? Yikes.
 
After 22 years, 1 month, and 1 day, I sold my '97 SR5, 4wd, V6, 5-speed, rear locker, factory leather, moonroof, premium sound, bigger brakes, wheels, and tires 4Runner. It was in great shape, and I got what I felt was a very good price for it. Hopefully the new owner is happy.

I could have kept it for another 22 years probably. I could fix anything that might go wrong. But after driving a new 5th gen, I decided it was time for a change.
 
What kind of costs are we talking about? Technically, I would say any engine should be capable of lasting nigh forever as long as it has oil changes. Unless it was designed by a moron, Apple, or Microsoft.



But now we are getting hypothetical. Haha

:zoom:



As for maintenance, it's always going to be less than a new vehicle seeing as how vehicles are sky rocketing in price every year. 500+ a month and most likely 200-400 in insurance? Yikes.
Talking people who will not be wrenching on anything themselves even the smallest things add up quick with shop rates being over 100$ in most areas. There's things you might think of as minor that some people certainly would not.

Just to name a few off hand, ball joints and control arm bushings would cost most people $800, A timing belt and water pump job coupled with the things recommended with it is typically over a thousand, you get into a couple hundred dollars for a bad ujoint or CV axle, $600 for rear wheel bearings and seals, $300 for one front bearing, cracked radiator for another $300 or a new steering rack and all new tie rod ends to go with it for $700.

The list can go on and none of these are major repairs, but most of the time they will all be needed before 300k miles. There's a lot more to a vehicle than an engine, and a lot of it starts to need attention past 200k. This is also on top of regular maintenance, tires, brakes, fluid changes etc, which are all charged at the same high labor prices.

Then you get into the possibility of catastrophic failures like a head gasket or rod bearing failure, torque converter failure, pink milkshake etc which will cost anybody paying a shop to fix thousands, more than the theoretical value of the vehicle if it's approaching 300k.

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Not in Florida

Down here in south Florida u can’t go a day without seeing a 3rd gen on the road, most of them have the grey paint job and is starting to show its beating from the Florida sun, good luck finding a good one with 4wd most of the ones here are rwd since there’s really not a lot of mountains to climb here and also most of them still seem to being used as family vehicles. My uncle happens to have a 99 limited 4wd that’s in excellent shape with around 112k Miles his had it since 03, the truck has never been pass Orlando, he tells me there’s been many ppl that come up to him in at parking lots and ask him if it’s for sale. He says he won’t sell it unless he really has to for some financial reason. Its still completely STOCK minus some smaller upgrades.
 
Talking people who will not be wrenching on anything themselves even the smallest things add up quick with shop rates being over 100$ in most areas. There's things you might think of as minor that some people certainly would not.

Just to name a few off hand, ball joints and control arm bushings would cost most people $800, A timing belt and water pump job coupled with the things recommended with it is typically over a thousand, you get into a couple hundred dollars for a bad ujoint or CV axle, $600 for rear wheel bearings and seals, $300 for one front bearing, cracked radiator for another $300 or a new steering rack and all new tie rod ends to go with it for $700.

The list can go on and none of these are major repairs, but most of the time they will all be needed before 300k miles. There's a lot more to a vehicle than an engine, and a lot of it starts to need attention past 200k. This is also on top of regular maintenance, tires, brakes, fluid changes etc, which are all charged at the same high labor prices.

Then you get into the possibility of catastrophic failures like a head gasket or rod bearing failure, torque converter failure, pink milkshake etc which will cost anybody paying a shop to fix thousands, more than the theoretical value of the vehicle if it's approaching 300k.

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Are your going off dealership pricing? I mean yeah. But I'm pretty sure 3rd gens will do at least 300k before those things fail, but I don't mean that you should wait that long...

Shit down here in Georgia I see people drive on tires until the steel belts fly off! It's crazy. There are a ton of laborors with that whole "might be illegal" and "have no credit" thing going on. So they pay for repairs since they generally can't get anything else. But I also think most of them don't want anything else...

There is a painter who daily's the Starbucks my girlfriend works at. Drives an old 1st Gen Tacoma that is beat to hell, covered in paint spots, dings, and just slap full of work shit all the time.
He's got like 460k on it last time she asked. (She asks as she knows I like old toyotas and talk about them a lot)
In fact, most of the hispanic guys with work trucks I see are 1st Gen Tacoma's and/or 3rd gen 4runners. There are crap tons of them.

Then there are a TON of them in the Korean area, I didn't know Koreans likes Japanese stuff? But the Korean markets up there always have a few 3rd geb 4runners in the parking lot.

Obviously these situations don't count for everything. But I am sure a ton of 3rd gens are going 300k without being as maintained as they should, not driven by some one like us all.

Damn I don't even know what I'm saying at this point, it's too early. I just love 3rd gens
:party:
 
Are your going off dealership pricing? I mean yeah. But I'm pretty sure 3rd gens will do at least 300k before those things fail, but I don't mean that you should wait that long...

Shit down here in Georgia I see people drive on tires until the steel belts fly off! It's crazy. There are a ton of laborors with that whole "might be illegal" and "have no credit" thing going on. So they pay for repairs since they generally can't get anything else. But I also think most of them don't want anything else...

There is a painter who daily's the Starbucks my girlfriend works at. Drives an old 1st Gen Tacoma that is beat to hell, covered in paint spots, dings, and just slap full of work shit all the time.
He's got like 460k on it last time she asked. (She asks as she knows I like old toyotas and talk about them a lot)
In fact, most of the hispanic guys with work trucks I see are 1st Gen Tacoma's and/or 3rd gen 4runners. There are crap tons of them.

Then there are a TON of them in the Korean area, I didn't know Koreans likes Japanese stuff? But the Korean markets up there always have a few 3rd geb 4runners in the parking lot.

Obviously these situations don't count for everything. But I am sure a ton of 3rd gens are going 300k without being as maintained as they should, not driven by some one like us all.

Damn I don't even know what I'm saying at this point, it's too early. I just love 3rd gens
:party:

What part of Atlanta are you in?

My 3rd gen gets stares whenever I ride down Buford highway :hungry:
 
I think you are looking at this the wrong way. The golden age is actually just beginning. It is no longer just another used car. The really awful ones are disappearing and what is left is the nicest around and they go for good money. They are also leaving that phase of craigslist trail rig much like the 1st gen 4Runners did over a decade ago.

I think you're right!

I was recently on vacation in Mexico and saw what I think was a 1983 Toyota 4x4 PU rolling down the street. Full of what was obviously construction stuff in the bed. I told my wife, dang I'd love to have that and it's someone's work truck down here!
 
I think you're right!

I was recently on vacation in Mexico and saw what I think was a 1983 Toyota 4x4 PU rolling down the street. Full of what was obviously construction stuff in the bed. I told my wife, dang I'd love to have that and it's someone's work truck down here!

And odds are that truck started life with an owner in the USA. Many of these pickups were bought to be resold in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, etc throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Now look at the market. No one has bought an 83' PU trail beater in over a decade. Too rare and prices for these are way up.
 
I just picked up a solid, clean, 2000 Limited with 225k for 3k. 2 owners - same family. They are out there! I'm pretty stoked. Sad to let my 2nd Gen go.
 

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