Griffin4Runner
New member
Hello everyone!
Griffin4Runner here... (also my Instagram handle)
Back in November of 2019, I bought my 2000 SR5 4x4. Let me tell you, when I bought it, it was a POS. Frankly, today, it still kind of is. But now that I have time to sit down and contribute to this forum (thanks COVID!), I plan on doing just that.
With that said, let me jump right in!
When I purchased the vehicle, it had 265,436 miles on it. I bought it from this old redneck couple (sorry if I offend anyone) out in Jasper, GA. The thing stank of cigarette smell. It was essentially stock. The color scheme is Sunfire Red.
Some major problems when I bought it. The sunroof didn't work. To me, that wasn't a big deal at all. It's a sunroof, who gives a darn? I've never been a fan. Little did I know that broken sunroof would come to bite me in the butt in February 2020 (three months after I purchased it). Additionally, the shop we took it to- which the couple said regularly serviced it- said it just needed a new timing belt & water pump. That shop estimated the repair would cost $1k and then the truck would be perfect.
So with that said, I bought the 4Runner from this couple for $3500, when they originally asked $4500. Because this entire process is entirely new to me, I figured that was fair and I would be set. Moreover, because my brother works for Lexus in my hometown, I get a steal of a deal with Toyota parts (price of part + ~20%) and labor ($39/hour).
So when I took it to Toyota, we ended up actually needing to A LOT of replacements:
-Timing belt
-Water Pump
-Engine coolant
-Oil filter
-Timing belt guide
-All 3 Drive belts
-Thermostat & Gasket
-PCV Valve
-Spark Plugs (and wires)
-Brakes (cleaned and adjusted)
-Alignment
-Air filter (could have easily done this myself but it was at no charge)
This was a whopping total of $900.26!!! So I needed way more repaired than I thought, but I got a 4Runner with a bunch of new parts for less than $4500.
And thus began my journey...
Screen Shot 2020-05-03 at 2.23.36 PM.png - Google Drive
Photo is originally from November 26, 2019.
IMG_9951.JPG - Google Drive
Photo is from December 6, 2019.
Edit:If someone can tell me how to upload photos into this thread I would really appreciate it. I'd rather not just add google drive photos.
Griffin4Runner here... (also my Instagram handle)
Back in November of 2019, I bought my 2000 SR5 4x4. Let me tell you, when I bought it, it was a POS. Frankly, today, it still kind of is. But now that I have time to sit down and contribute to this forum (thanks COVID!), I plan on doing just that.
With that said, let me jump right in!
When I purchased the vehicle, it had 265,436 miles on it. I bought it from this old redneck couple (sorry if I offend anyone) out in Jasper, GA. The thing stank of cigarette smell. It was essentially stock. The color scheme is Sunfire Red.
Some major problems when I bought it. The sunroof didn't work. To me, that wasn't a big deal at all. It's a sunroof, who gives a darn? I've never been a fan. Little did I know that broken sunroof would come to bite me in the butt in February 2020 (three months after I purchased it). Additionally, the shop we took it to- which the couple said regularly serviced it- said it just needed a new timing belt & water pump. That shop estimated the repair would cost $1k and then the truck would be perfect.
So with that said, I bought the 4Runner from this couple for $3500, when they originally asked $4500. Because this entire process is entirely new to me, I figured that was fair and I would be set. Moreover, because my brother works for Lexus in my hometown, I get a steal of a deal with Toyota parts (price of part + ~20%) and labor ($39/hour).
So when I took it to Toyota, we ended up actually needing to A LOT of replacements:
-Timing belt
-Water Pump
-Engine coolant
-Oil filter
-Timing belt guide
-All 3 Drive belts
-Thermostat & Gasket
-PCV Valve
-Spark Plugs (and wires)
-Brakes (cleaned and adjusted)
-Alignment
-Air filter (could have easily done this myself but it was at no charge)
This was a whopping total of $900.26!!! So I needed way more repaired than I thought, but I got a 4Runner with a bunch of new parts for less than $4500.
And thus began my journey...
Screen Shot 2020-05-03 at 2.23.36 PM.png - Google Drive
Photo is originally from November 26, 2019.
IMG_9951.JPG - Google Drive
Photo is from December 6, 2019.
Edit:If someone can tell me how to upload photos into this thread I would really appreciate it. I'd rather not just add google drive photos.
Last edited:
