tomcamaro97
New member
looking at potentially buying the above.. and i cant find any infromation about how rare these are ? any thoughts ?
how rare are 4cly 4wd 3rd gens?
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tomcamaro97
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kinda yeah... i always like to do my reaserch before i buy something to know its value/ future desireableity.. but there appears to be so few of these its hard to find values.. i literally found one within 300 miles of me, and that one seemed junky..
and this one is an sr5, really clean, automatic. cloth seats, alloy rims, 200K miles.
so we figure value would be what, 10% below a comperable v6 model?
and this one is an sr5, really clean, automatic. cloth seats, alloy rims, 200K miles.
so we figure value would be what, 10% below a comperable v6 model?
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rkntoy
New member
An SR5 4 cylinder to my knowledge never was made by the factory. All the 4 cylinder ones were base models. You could add options to them but not the SR5 package.
ToyoT4R
Member
Future value/desirability/collectibility are hard to gauge. I used to have a 1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, very rare with a lot of engineering that went into the Cosworth designed engine. It never attained any significant desirability. I sold it about 4 years ago and prices really haven't risen much. There are many other cars that were very rare but not desired much.
Then you have the Porsche 911, last year they assembled the millionth 911. There were over a million 911s that hit the road (most are still driving today) and they are commanding a premium today. I was looking at a 1989 911 5 years ago, they were going for about $17,000 then and today that same car will sell for well over $60,000. The 2016 911R had an ZMSRP just under $200,000. They were selling for close to $1M.
Scramble
New member
They are pretty rare and like others have said, a lot are rwd base models, 15" wheels etc.
Most are from 96-98. You dont want one if it's an auto trans, these things are slow enough.
The good:
- 3rz motor easily takes mods for more HP & loves high RPMs & boost. TRD Supercharger bolts right on.
- 99 & 00 Base models are pretty much loaded like an SR5. My truck has more options than most base SR5's do.
- Most are manual 5 speed
- Some have factory 4.56 gears
- A lot of aftermarket support since the 3rz is mostly in Tacoma's, go to Custom Tacos .com & look what can be done to these awesome motors.
The bad:
- less resale value with the 4cyl
- 3rz did have a few headgasket issues
- stock cast iron exhaust manifold can crack causing exhaust valve issues. Easily avoidable by adding Toyota or aftermarket headers & they only take 2 hours to put on.
I'd buy another one in a heartbeat as long as it was a fully loaded manual.
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socalkid
New member
i think they will always have a market but not in a scenario where they would exceed a typical 3rd Gen 4Runner with the V6. i think a good example is my 13' Accord Sport 6spd i recently sold private party. i read somewhere that 5% of 9th gen Accords (2013-17) were manuals, so that's "relatively" rare i guess you can say, but maybe not considering they make a couple hundred thousand a year, but anyway i digress... when i bought it new i purchased it specifically because of the 4cyl-manual transmission combo. you just cant find these kind of cars anymore in sedans, unless they are econo-boxes. guy i sold it to was the first one to call me about the car and was just like me, in the sense, that he only drove manual Accords. so he was specifically looking for my car.
now switch over to my Runner i just bought a couple weeks back. i was specifically looking for a 3rd gen-4cyl-5psd-4x4 (the combo of my 98' Tacoma i used to own). out of the many i saw for sale over the 3 months or so i looked, i think i only found 1 for sale that fit that description within 500 miles and that was in decent shape. 3 owner, 160k miles or so, no maintenance history, and he was asking $7.8k (willing to take $7k), steep in my opinion given all that so i passed and ended up getting the one i have now. granted it's a 2wd (kind of a bummer), but the other things listed above took priority, and i didn't buy thinking about resale in mind (if i did, def would have bought a 4wd), i bought a Runner i hope to "never sell".
so i guess in the end after all that to answer your question, yeah i think they're hard to find especially in good shape, rather than "rare", and like Scramble i'd buy my truck in a heartbeat again (and it is a fully loaded manual!)
socalkid
New member
i think that's right too, but i can tell you from experience Toyota did make 4cyl manual SR5 Tacoma's (2wd and 4wd) and that a "loaded" Base 3rd Gen 4Runner (Convenience and Upgrade Pkgs) has more stuff than a same year SR5 Taco... hell, my 98' Tacoma SR5 still had manual windows and locks, and no tach!
I just got a near mint 4cyl 5sp 4x4 Base with 110k miles with all options (I think?) except sunroof and remote entry. Love it.
To judge how rare they are: I'd been looking for nearly a year in the Seattle WA area for a 4cyl, 5sp, 4x4, <130k miles. I set up alerts on craigslist, autotrader, carsforsale, cargurus, and this was the 2nd one in a year to match. The first one was snatched up sight unseen by an out of state buyer the day after it was on craigslist. Nearly all the other 4cyl posted in that time were beat to shit or >240k miles.
To judge how rare they are: I'd been looking for nearly a year in the Seattle WA area for a 4cyl, 5sp, 4x4, <130k miles. I set up alerts on craigslist, autotrader, carsforsale, cargurus, and this was the 2nd one in a year to match. The first one was snatched up sight unseen by an out of state buyer the day after it was on craigslist. Nearly all the other 4cyl posted in that time were beat to shit or >240k miles.
Scramble
New member
Nice car, I have an 09 EX-L Coupe 4cyl auto. I wanted the 6cyl manual but my GF drives this to work if her car is down & I take the 4runner to work.
But yea, a RWD 4runner has lower resale value than a 4x4 4cyl.
Scramble
New member
Nice, I like not having a sunroof. I never used them in my other cars. Too much wind noise & sun in your eyes etc.
Oneluv13T4R
New member
There like unicorns...The ones that came with 4wd had to be special ordered that way
Scramble
New member
Not true up north, you couldn't get 2wd up here. I picked mine from the lot. There were no 6cyl manuals at the dealer.
snow junky
New member
Somwant rare. I have never seen another.
Mines a 3rz 4wd manual. Power windows locks and has ac. No flares or leather or moon roof.
My 4cyl has 250k on factory headgasket and still has great even compression.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mines a 3rz 4wd manual. Power windows locks and has ac. No flares or leather or moon roof.
My 4cyl has 250k on factory headgasket and still has great even compression.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oneluv13T4R
New member
What? First Ive heard of this ..go figure. That's a trip.
I stand corrected ..still a uni far and few.. its been awhile since i last tried to find one.. not Frankensteind
Oneluv13T4R
New member
That's what im talkin about ...
Kanoe
New member
Look to the north
Not so rare in the north. We are a town of 30,000 and I know of 2 other green ones and have seen a red one. But rare to still be in good shape.
By the way, mine did come with an SR5 badge on the rear hatch even though it is what we would consider a low optioned base model.
It's desireable enough that I have had a couple of dealership employees offer to buy it stating that they had been searching for a 3rz manual. No dice, I love it.
Not so rare in the north. We are a town of 30,000 and I know of 2 other green ones and have seen a red one. But rare to still be in good shape.
By the way, mine did come with an SR5 badge on the rear hatch even though it is what we would consider a low optioned base model.
It's desireable enough that I have had a couple of dealership employees offer to buy it stating that they had been searching for a 3rz manual. No dice, I love it.
I think they're pretty rare and pretty awesome. I looked for about 6 months before I found my base auto 1996 3rz 4x4. A manual wasn't on the table since the wife can't drive a stick. It had 175K when I bought it with good maintenance records. Wishing the first year I replaced the radiator, water pump, fan clutch, LBJs, tie rods, shocks, coils, all the fluids, spark plugs, distributor, ignition coils, belts, hoses, fuel filter, transmission filter, oxygen sensors, TPS, and front brakes. Also replaced the leaky exhaust manifold with a OEM mini header. Now with 220K is still runs great. Compression is perfect across all cylinders and all the valve clearances are right on spec.
I specifically wanted a base 3rz so I would have less electronic things to worry about and because it's really easy to work on. There is also no time belt which is nice. The only thing that pisses me off is the fuel filter.
When the engine is running well it has enough power even with an automatic. You really have to punch it uphills but the 3rz likes high RPMs. It also has decent low end torque. That combined with the lower weight makes it great off road. I only use it for outdoor adventures and house projects so a nice interior isn't important to me.
I specifically wanted a base 3rz so I would have less electronic things to worry about and because it's really easy to work on. There is also no time belt which is nice. The only thing that pisses me off is the fuel filter.
When the engine is running well it has enough power even with an automatic. You really have to punch it uphills but the 3rz likes high RPMs. It also has decent low end torque. That combined with the lower weight makes it great off road. I only use it for outdoor adventures and house projects so a nice interior isn't important to me.
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