How long was the search for your 4runner?

[jtr]

Hello everyone, new guy here!
In the market for an 04-07ish 4runner. I'm curious how long ya'll looked around and how far you had to travel to get your truck? I live in northern Oklahoma and there doesn't seem to be many going around for sale, especially since i'm picky with criteria, it has to be:
black or grey, 4wd, V6, Sport Edition

Also, is this a bad time to be buying these trucks? Prices sure seem very high compared to some of the search results i've seen on prices paid for theirs. Thanks in advance!

 

[peter78]

It took me about a year for my 2001 and a little over a year for my 2004. When you least expect it the right car will come and bite you in the ass.:banana:

 

[jtr]

geez man! I was hoping to land one sooner than that maybe ill get lucky! Acworth, huh? I was born and raised in Dahlonega.

 

[MikesToy]

Welcome aboard! I have had always carry a pre-approved loan of $40K. I don't have to use these but they do come in handy. Anywayz, i just happened to be at the dealership in Jun of '03 and fell for my 4Runner. Just couldn't take my eyes off of it. It took me 10 hours and some minutes (test drive, checked everything, haggling and negotiating, etc) 'til i signed the papers and handed them the check. Since it had 71 miles on it (due to everyone test driving it, demo maybe), i fought from tooth to nail and they categorized it as a "Used" vehicle. Got it at a steal of $31K and some change (out the door).

 

[Mtn.Rush]

Start to finish keys in my hands in about 6 hrs. I walked in told my guy exactly what I was looking for, they had it, he threw me the keys "dared" me to find a lower price for the truck (even said I can have it for a day to test it out) I took it for a quick test drive, I came back and told him to detail it and have the paperwork done and id be back in a couple of hrs to pick her up. And yes it was that easy, no joking around, Sunrise Toyota in Oakdale NY is a GREAT dealership and my family and I have been customers since 1994.

 

[jtr]

Welcome aboard! I have had always carry a pre-approved loan of $40K. I don't have to use these but they do come in handy. Anywayz, i just happened to be at the dealership in Jun of '03 and fell for my 4Runner. Just couldn't take my eyes off of it. It took me 10 hours and some minutes (test drive, checked everything, haggling and negotiating, etc) 'til i signed the papers and handed them the check. Since it had 71 miles on it (due to everyone test driving it, demo maybe), i fought from tooth to nail and they categorized it as a "Used" vehicle. Got it at a steal of $31K and some change (out the door).

Thanks! Yeah that's going to be the plan with me as well in case something comes along ill have a shot at snagging it. I'll have to be buying "used used" though haha. These things are so hard to find, especially around here.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Wasn't looking for a 4runner really, but I saw mine at about 4:00 one afternoon and bought it later that night. Gotta say it's been a good first vehicle.

 

[jtr]

Also, in all likelihood i may have to do some serious traveling to bring home the one i want. Has anyone ever went long distance to get a vehicle before? I haven't. Anyone have any advice on phone haggling, etc and your experience in general?

 

[JAC]

...really liked the Saturn Outlook but too expensive for my budget at that moment...I had in my mind a Pathfinder as #1 choice...but ended up at the Toyota/Kia Dealer where I bought my used breeze a few years ago....and tested a few cars and brand new Sorento and the guy really wanted me to buy that one...but i told him that I needed something a little more roomier. Then there they were...the beautiful 4runners and when I saw them I just couldnt get my eyes off of them..so i told the guy..what about those over there?...and we test drove my babygirl and even tho it was used...dang the drive was soooo smooth comparing it to the brand new Sorento. I fell in love right away...almost bought a silver v8 4x4 but decided for the v6 2wd i got. It was around a 3-4 hour process and I took her home. I am extremely happy since then.:banana:

 

[jetboy1975]

Took me a month of shopping and test drives to find the right one for me. I'm very picky and there aren't a lot around here in Ontario. I covered most of the Southern side of the province in my search and drove around 3000 miles total until I found one online 800 miles (roundtrip)away. It was worth it. Very happy.

 

[Annoyed]

Took a couple of days.
I was unexpectedly thrown into the market when my Tacoma was bought back as part of the frame rust issue. This was last November, just before winter was expected to settle in, and I did NOT want to be hunting for a car in snotty weather. I had pretty much decided on either a Tacoma or T4R, there weren't many Tacomas on the used market, so I ended up with a T4R. Bought the 3rd one I looked at. It looked to be in good shape, and the price was right.

I've been happy with it. I think the biggest regret is that I'm not fond of the color. I would have much rather have had the red, but they are very rare around here, so finding one would have been a lengthy process.

 

[peter78]

Also, in all likelihood i may have to do some serious traveling to bring home the one i want. Has anyone ever went long distance to get a vehicle before? I haven't. Anyone have any advice on phone haggling, etc and your experience in general?

I bought my camper from a T4R member from another state. I worked out the deal on the phone and drove 3 1/2 hours to look at it. I brought cash just in case I bought it. I didn't have a mechanic to look at it, I would of if it was a car. The trailer was in very good shape, as evidence from the pictures, but I was prepared to walk away. It can be hard to do this, but the reward can be worth it.

 

[inscarguy]

took about a week and 1/2 and 3 dealers. the first one was a waste of time and a joke. kept calling me even after i bought a 4R. the second one much better to deal with but not as nice of a vehicle. the third was exactly what i wanted, color and options. made a great deal with a trade and drove off the lot the next day.

 

[scottm]

Half a year of scanning the internet daily, plus a dealer watching for me. I'm an airline pilot, so distance was not a factor, I've purchased several cars online at a distance. I was actually hoping to get a long road trip, but the dealer found one in Chicago and brought it home.

Prices are a little higher than in the Summer. People have gotten used to the gas prices, and are feeling more optimistic about their futures, so very practical SUVs like the 4R are getting a good price. You need a spike in gas prices to drop demand for SUVs. Oil speculators and the media are trying, but no hurricanes, no big events in the Middle East, nothing to scare us into expecting higher oil prices.

 

[Slvr RnR]

26 years. And then we met. It's been love ever since.


... but really only a few hours. Impulse buy. And the only one I've never regretted.

 

[charlier180]

I actually was looking at a Tundra first. Did not like the ride. Found out the 2004 4Runner had a V8 and 7K tow rating.
Spent a couple of weeks researching the 4Runner on-line as far as specs and owner feedback, etc.
Once I decided to pull the trigger it was about two weeks. One local dealer had the 4Runner I wanted.
That along with a year end price reduction of $3500, $750 Cash Back, bug shield and winter floor mats and it was a done deal.

 

[smackitsakic]

My wife and I purchased ours in one day. We travelled to a bigger centre to vehicle shop and the 4Runner won out over: Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Chevy Equinox, Chevy Acadia, Rav 4, Nissan Murano (x2), Subaru Tribeca, and others.

We have been happy ever since. There are a few annoying factors with the 07 T4R's but i'm still in love with ours!

 

[peter78]

geez man! I was hoping to land one sooner than that maybe ill get lucky! Acworth, huh? I was born and raised in Dahlonega.

Let me clarify about it taking a year. In 2000 I looked at different vheicles. I liked the 4Runner, but it was too exspensive. In 2001 they dropped the price and then the Highlander came out and no one wanted a older smaller 4Runner model. The 4Runner was now coming into my price range, thousands under invoice. It did take me most of one day to buy the car from the dealer, something that should of taken 1 hour, maybe 2.

Buying the used 2004 from another person took maybe 1 hour. That included taking it to the mechanic, then going to the bank. Dealers seem to try and rip you off, which if you are not wanting to be ripped off, it takes some time.

 

[Lowpro]

We just bought an '08 T4R Limited 4x4 V6 13k miles last week for the wife. I have an '07 T4R SportsEdition w/ cloth. We decided (well, actually she) that we wanted the same vehicle but at the same time something totally different from what we had already. This meant that I had to find a T4R that was not red,blue,black, grey. My T4R is shadow mica and she did not want an exact copy of my car. So that pretty much left me with white,silver & driftwood pearl. It already sucked ass looking for a used limited 4x4 v6 in the Los Angeles area and now I had to find the the exact one in one of those 3 colors. After visiting about 4 dealerships she determined that she also liked the galactic grey color. Woohoo, that should help the search! Not really, still a pain the ass to find the 4R with what we wanted.

We ended up finding the T4R (galactic grey) about 10 miles away at a Toyota dealership. The only thing that it did not have was the built in navi, which was an absolute necessity by the wife. The dealer went ahead and threw in an Eclipse AVN726e navi unit w/camera into the price. It took probably about 3 hours of negotiating before we settled on a price.

All in all it took about 3 months of hard searching. I came to find out later that a guy from Arizona had called and wanted to pay more for the car even without the navi unit.

Wife is happy and that's all that matters.

 

[VNT]

It took me about a month, this was when the price was gas was approaching $5.0/g and people were trading all kinds of trucks. I went to a few dealers around town and came across THE ONE, must have T4R. We been together ever since