How long to keep high mileage 4th Gen?

[Flyer]

My 2005 has around 185K now. It will probably keep going but I do need to start thinking about a newer vehicle. It is 16-17 years old and does not have many of the newer safety and convenience features either. I am waiting till someone comes out with a larger hybrid or electric SUV I like. I may do a similar type of truck but with a little kiddo and all the associated gear that we prefer keeping inside away from the weather, the SUV may be more convenient.

However, I will not sell this 4R. I'll keep it or give it to a close friend who is always driving a really busted up vehicle, and she would be far safer with this one.

 

[y=mx+b]

I plan to keep my 05 v6 with 235k for as long as possible. Its got a decent amount of sentimental value to me from purchasing and working to pay off, learning to fix things on it to save money, playing offroad, and all the other skills/knowledge I've learned from both wrenching and driving it where Toyota probably never intended for it to. I even bring up the work I've done on it during internship interviews, since some of the lesson's I've learned from this 4runner are more valuable than some of my learnings from previous internships.

Having no car payment is very nice, since everything else in life also costs a lot of money.

And now if anything breaks, I know that I can fix it.

 

[montijo505]

I plan to keep my 05 v6 with 235k for as long as possible. Its got a decent amount of sentimental value to me from purchasing and working to pay off, learning to fix things on it to save money, playing offroad, and all the other skills/knowledge I've learned from both wrenching and driving it where Toyota probably never intended for it to. I even bring up the work I've done on it during internship interviews, since some of the lesson's I've learned from this 4runner are more valuable than some of my learnings from previous internships.

Having no car payment is very nice, since everything else in life also costs a lot of money.

And now if anything breaks, I know that I can fix it.

I’ll drive it till the wheels fall off, then replace the bearings and drive it some more lol


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[venomj]

Agreed. The 4th Gens are rock solid all around. I just bought an 07 with 141k. Maybe I’ll hand it down to my son when he gets his license. He’s currently 5.


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I want to do the same thing with my 08. My son is 9.

 

[Toystory2]

Oh man, an 07 with 141k is just starting to be being broken in! Congrats on the new ride. I think it's definitely reasonable to plan on keeping it running for 10+ more years. Any plans to install a new suspension or other upgrades?

As reliable as these things are, I know my '03 won't last forever and my needs have been shifting towards the tundra for a while now so that's what I'll likely be in next. But there's always this temptation in the back of my mind to just buy a 07-08 4R with relatively low miles as you've done. I know I'll miss mine once it's gone.

Thanks, I was pleasantly surprised coming from a 2019 Tacoma ORP. The ride is awesome even with a worn out suspension.

I am planning to do shocks all around and front control arms. This will be my first really big job.

The Tundras are nice! But man are they $$$

You could always keep your 4R as reliable backup vehicle.

Honestly I want my next one to be an 07-09 V8 limited. I’d rather have that over a 5th gen.

 

[Drcoffee]

never say never!

Im pretty confident I am not going to spend $30-$40,000 on a new car or truck. Let the first owner take the hit.

Now if I had $130,000 I would buy a used 2019 Acura NSX. But I will have saved $70,000. :banana:

 

[The Simple Engnr]

Thanks, I was pleasantly surprised coming from a 2019 Tacoma ORP. The ride is awesome even with a worn out suspension.

I am planning to do shocks all around and front control arms. This will be my first really big job.

The Tundras are nice! But man are they $$$

You could always keep your 4R as reliable backup vehicle.

Honestly I want my next one to be an 07-09 V8 limited. I’d rather have that over a 5th gen.

Yeah they don't ride like a caddy, but they are good for a BOF SUV with a solid rear axle.

New shocks all around will be a huge improvement. That's probably the best money I've spent on mine.

Beyond that, a nice HU with a backup camera and you're golden. It's like owning a new(er) vehicle for 1/3 of the cost.

Those V8s are appealing especially with the V8 engine quickly disappearing, but personally I'd rather have the timing chain with the V6 as opposed to the belt. Still pretty sweet to drive a midsize SUV with a V8 crammed under the hood I'm sure.

We'll see, they're such good family cars I'd love to keep it around as long as I can. That's the goal for now at least.

 

[Toystory2]

Yeah they don't ride like a caddy, but they are good for a BOF SUV with a solid rear axle.

New shocks all around will be a huge improvement. That's probably the best money I've spent on mine.

Beyond that, a nice HU with a backup camera and you're golden. It's like owning a new(er) vehicle for 1/3 of the cost.

Those V8s are appealing especially with the V8 engine quickly disappearing, but personally I'd rather have the timing chain with the V6 as opposed to the belt. Still pretty sweet to drive a midsize SUV with a V8 crammed under the hood I'm sure.

We'll see, they're such good family cars I'd love to keep it around as long as I can. That's the goal for now at least.

What kind of shocks are you running? I am still undecided. Looking for a small level lift and good ride quality.

 

[The Simple Engnr]

What kind of shocks are you running? I am still undecided. Looking for a small level lift and good ride quality.

You get what you pay for right, so there are definitely better options out there than this, but I decided on Bilstein 5100's. Super popular and really hard to beat for the money IMO. I don't regularly get off road so I didn't need anything high performance.

Amazon.com: Bilstein 5100 Series Shock Kit for Toyota 4Runner 4WD 2003-09 - Includes Front Ride Height Adjustable Shocks # 24-239370 & Rear Shocks # 33-187174Excludes adjustable (X-REAS) suspension : Automotive

I've been really pleased with them, and the fronts are adjustable. I bought new coil springs all around too, but that's not really necessary. Only downside IMO is having to put coils on the fronts. Not fun, but you could always get a local shop to put them on if you didn't want to.

 

[baby#yota]

So I have an 05’ v6 at 215k miles. This truck is new to me but lived most of its life in the desert soooo it stayed rust free, which is great. The point being that I’ve owned a number of vehicles and it’s almost funny how little has been done to this truck besides maintenance. Sure it’s not perfect but it has NO REAL ISSUES and just runs like a champ. I’ve never seen a truck at that mileage (except a Toyota) behave like that. Ps I come from owning subarus and fords, so I’m quite used to replacing engines and trannys before 150k miles.

 

[bob3dsf]

I'm at 255k in an 08. There's a guy on here with an 08 at somewhere like 500k (yea, I know... wow). Everybody throws out the 300k benchmark. I think that's just a general "long time" with respect to traditional longevity times (including domestics) going back to the 80's. I fully expect to easily go beyond 300k. I'll even say that putting in a new engine/tranny in is in the cards before going 50k+(and interest) in debt on a new one. I've never done it, but a casual guess is $7k for a new engine installed... But I might be off. Like said earlier, car note cash is very useful everywhere else in a household budget. I also enjoy working on my truck so cost benefit to me is not what it traditionally is. Shoot I think my blue book value is still over 10k. I don't expect to get rid of it unless it gets wrecked. That'll be the deciding factor.

 

[woodman60]

What kind of shocks are you running? I am still undecided. Looking for a small level lift and good ride quality.

I put a lot of thought and research into this and went with Dobinson's. Good thread here on the various Dobinson's options.

 

[tom4416]

Funny this question came up just now. Used car values are through the roof and I'm tempted to consider getting rid of my 03 with only 130K miles on it. I'm the original owner, maintenance is absolutely anal with me, runs and drives flawlessly and I only use it to tote model airplanes back and forth to our flying field, which is only 10 miles from my house.

I do like new and shiny things and could pay cash for a new "something" but then I think about how reliable this vehicle has been, the situations it's gotten me through when we lived in a snow belt. Absolutely no frame or body rust, never misses a beat engine wise, I still get a kick out of seeing both a CD and a tape player in the HU and so my desire for new and shiny eventually goes away and I stay with what's tried and true.

My wife got the last new car, a 2018 Kia Sorento, so I am next on the list but I'm thinking electric 4Runner in another 10 years when Toyota markets the solid state battery technology they've come up with.