How durable is the SR5 cloth interior

jrm

jrm

New member
How resilient are the clothe seats to stain removal techniques and chemicals before it stretches and becomes wavy/loose? 4runner im looking at has stains that could be up to 3 years old that were never treated. 06' sr5 been used as a kid incubator (3 kids under 2 years old). Owner had 3 car seats fitted in the rear seats. Still waiting on pics of the cargo area and rear seats. Pics of the front seats revealed some stains in the clothe so im expecting the rears are pretty messed up as well. I dont even know if the interior smells @ this point.

She just texted me saying that the interior has been surfaced cleaned but that she doesnt have the time to have it professionally cleaned. They've also only changed the oil since buying it 7 years ago so the maintenance is lacking. The rest of the truck looks good and mileage is low. Shes asking 14k which seems kind of high to me given the interior and lack of maintenance.
 
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$14K for an 06 does seem high (assuming it's a v6) -- particularly in my area where these suckers rust if left unwashed. I can only assume she wasn't the washing type, if the interior was treated like a petri dish by the Irish triplets.

I bought mine -- an 08 v6 -- last summer with 82K on it for $14,250. The guy was a 'handy' dude, so he changed lots of the fluids himself (meaning it didn't have records). I had to rely a lot on my gut when I drove it and tested the 4wd. It seemed solid with the way it drove, and under the hood seemed nicely kept. It had a few blemishes on the outside, which I was fine with. Anyway, I went for it.

I've found the interiors to be pretty resilient, though I've seldom had to deal with real grime. I'd worry more about the 4wd, and how it drives. Has she ever done brakes?
 
interior is pretty durable, however I did try to spot scrub a stain with a hard brush and it did put some wear on it.
 
but seriously, my cloth seats are trashed...

IF i ever sell my 4runner, they will have to burn my seats and put new ones in.
 
HiVel-JR said:
pretty much.... :)
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Anchorman_082Pyxurz.jpg
 
No joking, my son and his friend got in the back seat tonight and his friend says. "Your car smells like dog food inside"...

My point being with the OP, if the car smells funky inside, don't buy it. I have deep cleaned the seats twice since I bought it brand new and straight out the mouth of babes.... basically my car smells like $hit inside....

(I run daily and play sports and coach so my seats have absorbed a lot of funk in the last 10 years)
 
You could try ozone to get smells out of your car. It can damage rubber and plastics if you use too much, but it's not too bad in general. That might be better than smelling bad smells. Amazon has cheap ozone generators.
 
Yeah

Im thinking ill will bring cleaner with me and with the owner present do some test patches to determine how bad the seat stains are. And yeah if it stinks like baby crap, barf, pee or something else im not buying it. Now im wondering if its even worth the effort to drive 2 hours to look @ it...
 
Screw worrying about the interior, oil only changed once? No thanks, unless it was super cheap.

As for the seats, the cloth seats in my 08 have been pretty good for resisting wear. However, last year was a tough year for my 4runner. For the first time ever, my kids spilled some kind of drink in the back seat (I don't allow food or drinks in the vehicles) while my wife was driving it. They also managed to get some dark blue magic putty on the rear seat. Then my wife spilled some tea on the front passenger seat. I used some off the shelf upholstery cleaner on the seats right away. While most of the stains were lifted, it did change the shade of the cloth somewhat and you can kinda tell where the cleaner was used. There was no hope for the areas that got the magic putty smeared in. The rear seat still has blue spots on it. I may do a leather conversion someday because it does bug me.

OP- that person sounds like a slob and with three kids, I can't imagine all grime that is in there. Not to mention, there has probably been vomit in there as well. I just can't cross that line. Like I said, if it was super cheap then maybe. I would probably have to gut the interior and start fresh but being it also lacking regular maintenance, I would pass.
 
I'd suggest passing on this truck if it was only the interior you were worried about. Add in uncertainty over regular maintenance and my advice becomes don't walk, run from this deal.

In the long run, you will be happy you waited for the right 'Runner, and you'll know it when you see it.
 
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jrm said:
She just texted me saying that the interior has been surfaced cleaned but that she doesnt have the time to have it professionally cleaned. They've also only changed the oil since buying it 7 years ago so the maintenance is lacking.
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Yeah I would clarify this. Did she say they only changed the oil once in 7 years or the only thing they have done is change the oil (assuming regularly) in the 7 year timeframe?

Either way...the price seems high. I bought my 04 V8 in the midwest with 140k for $10k in pristine interior/mechanical condition.

As for the seats, when I bought the 4Runner I wanted to keep the seats nice. I bought inexpensive (great value) Cabela's seat covers. I took them off for maybe the second time in 2 years and the seats still look like new underneath.

Also, [MENTION=9463]HiVel-JR[/MENTION] check out Amazon for those ozone machines. They have ones for around $80 like this and you get more uses out of it than you can imagine. Do your research to determine apprporiate duration for treatment...but science tells you that it will eliminate those smells. Then pick up some $17 seat covers and call it a day.
 
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Dylan said:
Also, [MENTION=9463]HiVel-JR[/MENTION] check out Amazon for those ozone machines. They have ones for around $80 like this and you get more uses out of it than you can imagine. Do your research to determine apprporiate duration for treatment...but science tells you that it will eliminate those smells. Then pick up some $17 seat covers and call it a day.
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roger that...I will check it out. My wife and kids would thank you!

Appreciate the info!
 
I got the even lower-budget ozone generator. http://www.amazon.com/ForeverOzone-Bare-Bones-Ozone-Generator/dp/B007GS5L08/ It seems really unsafe (somewhat exposed high voltage), but if you close it in an unoccupied space and don't touch it, it's fine. Point a fan at it to disperse the ozone and keep it cool. I used an extension cord running out a barely open window to power it (don't run a high voltage transformer off an inverter) and a fan. I also ran the A/C blower in the car to circulate ozone through there. It did a fairly good job of getting the strong old-people-smell out. I also used it in a closet that smelled like smoke from previous tenants, and it helped a bit but I should have ran it longer in there.
 
Owner sent more pics...

thrashed. I like the gouges in the interior plastics, on the dash and oh nice cargo area ..I cant believe these folks really think there gonna get 14k for that after neglecting the crap out of it ...I told um i was going to pass. found another 06' w 141k for 10k near by to boot.
 

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