I might of found the one, any opinions

[Raven326]

I found this one on the autotrader and have contacted the seller: Neat Auto Sales, New Hampshire Dealership

I put together a list of questions based on the 3rd gen buyers guide here and my limited experience. I'm waiting for the seller to reply to them as I stressed the importance of honesty being I will travel from SoCal to NH. I'm going to make this a long overdue cross country trip so she must be in good shape. Perhaps my list can be of help to some other buyers considering out of state purchases or even ebay. I'm sure there is more too add to it and the way I figure it is, if the seller doesn't want to "bother" answering them, that is an indication to PASS. Any thoughts?


Drivetrain
Assuming this vehicle is a trade-in or auction buy, how much history do you know about it?
Do you have any service or maintenance records?
Is there any rust anywhere especially the undercarriage, trailer hitch, wheel wells or bumpers?
Has the radiator or transmission ever been replaced?
Have the lower ball joints been replaced as per the 2005 Toyota recall?
Do brakes have any wobble upon application?
Any leaks from the rear axle or rear wheel area?
Any engine oil or fluid leaks anywhere?
Any pending or needed mechanical repairs?

Interior
Overall condition of the interior?
Any tears, excessive wear on the leather, headliner or other areas?
Are all electronics properly functioning such as pwr windows, locks, seats, dash, radio, lights and antenna?
Is the carpeting well cared for or worn?
Any other details you can provide to assess the condition?

Exterior
Any body, paint or touch up repairs?
Overall condition of paint and body such as scratches, dents or paint peeling?
All lights and wipers working correctly?
What is the condition and tread wear of the the tires?

Overall
Assuming you have test driven the vehicle, what is the overall drive?
Is it shifting smoothly and correctly?
Is the 4wd engaging and working properly?
Any noises or other observations during driving?

*Would you be willing to email some more pictures of the car, specifically the undercarriage, engine compartment, emissions label and the VIN label on the door sill that shows the color and trim code?

 

[WHORERUNNER]

For another 1500-2500 u could step up to a 4th gen with a v8

 

[GladeRunner]

Great list, lots of relavent questions. However, you might get a better response by calling them and talking about it, would save you a ton of time and you might get a faster response than email. Or can they send you a CarFax?

Since its a NE 4Runner, I'd be concerned about rust. There were no pics of the undercarriage or engine bay.

Good luck and let us know if you hear back.

 

[tbst]

Way way too much $.

 

[LittleCaesar]

You should be able to find a 4runner in your neck of the woods for the same price, minus all the rust that is sure to accompany the one in the ad.

 

[Baja Runner]

I dont like the price and mileage. Does NH salt their roads? Always seems like the NE guys have rust issues.

Id be looking for one in Arizona, Nevada or SoCal. I've seen better deals with less mileage right here from lazily looking around Craigslist. I'd just keep looking IMO.

 

[4-Ripcord]

yeah I'd pass.

1) Its like what? 50 zillion miles away from where you are? Pssh, forget that!
2) Northeast US = RUST! RUST! RUST!
3) A tad overpriced, especially when you add in the travel costs of said 50 zillion mile journey.
4) You can find one exactly like it in Cali. If you have to, expand search to AZ, CO, NM, TX.

 

[Brilliant]

CA, AZ, NM, TX, are all good places to buy used vehicles. New England is not.

Its also going to cost you 2k to ship it, or around 1k to drive it back.

I bought my last car in TX. I flew down from Seattle. The car was below wholesale though and I drove it back. It cost about ~$900 to get it to Seattle (400 ticket, 300 gas, couple nights in hotels).

Below wholesale and salt free led me there. You've got neither of those here.

 

[Raven326]

Thanks guys for all your replies and advice. The dealer did respond agreeing to answer all my questions by email tomorrow. The reason I didn't call them first was to give them a heads up as to what I want to know and give them time to look over the truck for answers. I would of called them once they replied. However considering the advice you guys have thrown my way, I will pass.

Yes its 3500 miles away and although could be a nice road trip back or 1500 to ship, the NE rust due to salt would definitely be a deal breaker. I wouldn't want to find any of those surprises when it arrived here. I didn't really consider that issue so again thanks for pointing that out!!

I'm going to keep my search to CA, AZ, NV, NM, and TX. I haven't found anything with those exacts specs (color, trim, low mileage, 4wd) near me yet but I have only started searching for about a week, patience is needed.

Thanks again for all your indispensable advice. When they do respond I will post their answers for you all to read just to see how honest you all think they are. A good buyers exercise if nothing else.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

Good choice. Be patient.

 

[Shawn5800]

Being a resident of the rust bucket up here, especially familiar with NH. Do yourself a favor and buy out your way. I would kill to own a almost rust free 4runner. I have actually dealt with that specific dealer and he is quite the *******.

 

[jrm]

Use search tempest

to check CL in Ca/ Nv and Az. I prefer buying from private parties as well. Youll find something. It took me 4 months to find mine and i had to travel 5 hours to pioneer to see/buy it.

 

[Raven326]

Thanks again, I'm staying away from the NE and searching within the states I mentioned. I guess when you finally are ready to buy the car you want, we tend to get excited and impatient. I've been on assignment overseas for seven years and haven't owned a car that whole time. I just got back so I've had to rent one to get me around hence my impatience but as the saying goes "the best things come to those who wait".

Shawn5800, thanks for the heads up on the dealer, I actually found some pretty bad reviews on the net about them a few days ago. A whole discussion between them and a few unhappy customers.

JRM, I'm using tempest and another CL search by state as well. I hope it doesn't take 5 months to find it. Otherwise I think I will just get a bike and a bus pass in the meantime.

 

[Raven326]

Found another one

I found another one so wondering what you all think. 2002 limited 2wd 138k miles, 7800.00. I went out to see it, its about 3hrs away but I don't mind. It is the color I want and it is priced nicely so I think;

Good: 2 owner car, exact color I want (KF9), not far from me, owner is very nice, no rust, carfax is clean, no accidents, checked for the issues from the buyers guide all seemed ok, no off-roading or towing.

Bad: 2wd, leather is not torn but worn, stains on the carpet and headliner (kids), scratches with paint coming off (front bumper) and a few small dings, timing belt hasn't been replaced yet, maintenance is sparingly tracked or done, it has been owned 5yrs by this owner who has put an avg of 17k per year (drives a lot).

Overall even if I reupholstered the seats, did the timing chain and brought it up to a condition where I would really like it to be (my est 2k) it is still a 2WD. I wouldn't say that I have to have the 4wd but the way I see it, it might be a good thing to have for that one time I find myself in Monument Valley stuck in the sand. If nothing else it does add some resale value later on.

I read a few posts on 4wd vs 2wd and it seems that most would agree if you have it, it is better than not.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Pass!

138k and still no timing belt? The owner clearly didnt give a sh!t about maintenance. Also its a 2wd.

 

[Raven326]

Roger that Ripcord! Too bad cause I just might of overlooked the 4wd if it had been in great shape, I guess everything happens for a reason. She was told it needed to be changed at 120k and decided she wouldn't keep it that long. It now has 138k and still going! The search continues.....