I'm most likely buying this tomorrow

Mannnn. All you guys helped a lot and are SOOO RIGHT on this one. You guys really know your stuff. It was horrible. After wasting 3/4 tank of gas and paying bridge toll, I come to the 4runner and it is not how the seller described it at all! On the phone I asked if theres any problems mechanically/cosmetically like dents scratches, etc. He said its in excellent condition no scratches, no dents, its beautiful. When I got there I immediately noticed a softball sized dent in the passenger side of the rear bumper. Hmmmmm....then I walked around and saw the flares on the driver side were scratched and about to fall off. The front bumper had dents and scratches. The driver side door had a ****ty paint job. It had a matte finish, and was obviously repainted (poorly) due to accident. There was even over spray on the windshield gasket. WTF. Again, I'm not racist, but the inside smelled like ****in curry. I was pissed. My Dad came with me and he was pretty upset too. The seller kept saying its beautiful condition especially for a 1999, and my dad pointed to my 4runner and said "take a look at that. Its a 1996. Buying this 99 would be a downgrade. its nowhere near excellent. its not horrible, but definitely nowhere near the way you described it to my son."
Then on the way back I get stuck in traffic...what a day! Ok I'll stop *****ing :)
I'll most likely post another one of these threads when I find a new one just because I know Im so damm indecisive and this is kindof a big deal to me. Appreciate the help guys
 
Glad you made a smart decision. I personally would stay away from craigslist. Try auto trader and places that are more legit. THe sellers on other sites tend to be more reliable. and stay away from "special edition"
 
The atrocious spelling in the ad would have made me not even consider it.

There is always a better one around the corner, just wait.
 
Zachpins34 said:
Mannnn. All you guys helped a lot and are SOOO RIGHT on this one. You guys really know your stuff. It was horrible. After wasting 3/4 tank of gas and paying bridge toll, I come to the 4runner and it is not how the seller described it at all! On the phone I asked if theres any problems mechanically/cosmetically like dents scratches, etc. He said its in excellent condition no scratches, no dents, its beautiful. When I got there I immediately noticed a softball sized dent in the passenger side of the rear bumper. Hmmmmm....then I walked around and saw the flares on the driver side were scratched and about to fall off. The front bumper had dents and scratches. The driver side door had a ****ty paint job. It had a matte finish, and was obviously repainted (poorly) due to accident. There was even over spray on the windshield gasket. WTF. Again, I'm not racist, but the inside smelled like ****in curry. I was pissed. My Dad came with me and he was pretty upset too. The seller kept saying its beautiful condition especially for a 1999, and my dad pointed to my 4runner and said "take a look at that. Its a 1996. Buying this 99 would be a downgrade. its nowhere near excellent. its not horrible, but definitely nowhere near the way you described it to my son."
Then on the way back I get stuck in traffic...what a day! Ok I'll stop *****ing :)
I'll most likely post another one of these threads when I find a new one just because I know Im so damm indecisive and this is kindof a big deal to me. Appreciate the help guys
Click to expand...


Man, sorry I didn't see your thread sooner. I could have told you all that ^ from the get go. That CL ad reeked of misrepresentation.

I'm not racist at all either (shoot, my wife is mixed) but unless you personally know the dude, I would NEVER buy a car from a middle eastern "salesman" that flips cars. Ever. They just are not honest (or rather, what they consider honesty is quite a ways lower than what you or I consider honestly). I used to work for a luxury car dealership, and was a buyer. I flew all over the country buying cars at major wholesale auctions and also did highline consignment. I did that for about 3 years and learned a lot. Since then, when shopping for myself for cars, I've called the number and gotten the accent.....it's basically over at that moment. Sad, but true.
 
Am I the only one who thinks not all craigslist vehicles are junk? Personally, I'd stay away from wholesalers that try to sell you their vehicles. Dearlers are a little bit more trustworthy, but it's still an older vehicle you're buying. I remember I bought mine off of a private owner from Colorado and when I saw it I fell in love. The undercarriage looked great, the interior did, and the motor sounded awesome too. But all in all, it's a crapshoot when buying a used vehicle, especially an older one. Ideally, I think the best scenario would be buying a vehicle from a 1 owner that has every single maintanence item documented. But how often does a guy come across something like that for a "KBB" price?

A personal story: There was a certain wholesale lot in the summer of 2010 that tried to sell me a 1997 4banger 4runner. The frame was rust free, the body was nearly perfect, and it was a 5 speed! Although, it had a CEL on (first hint to run), but Stanley INSISTED and so did his mechanic that it just needed new plugs and wires. I remember Stan because he fed Dad and I a line about once being the 9th top automobile salesman in the U.S. None the less, I was giddy, and we got him to drop the price to $3400! There was still something preventing me from completeing the deal, maybe it was God screaming no. Eventually on the 2nd test drive, Mom was digging through the glovebox and found the previous owner's name and phone number. We called him up, and he got rid of it as soon as he found out it had a low compression on one of the cylinders. Thank you Mom! And screw you Stan. I never got the pleasure of beating the **** out of Stan because I was a signiture away from completeing the deal at one point, and he had some personal information from me. He would have talked his way out of it any way.
 
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sorry to hear that happened! thats one of the worst feelings when they tell you one thing and you see another, ive been through that plenty of times.

whats your budget and what are you looking for exactly? Im in the bay area also and can help out im always on craigslist/auto trader looking for 4runners even when I dont need one. I just like seeing whats out on the market.
 
thanks guys, and yea if anyone happens to come across any good ones that'd be cool. My budget is about 7k. Appreciate all the feedback and help. I love my runner now, but its just missing a little lever that says 4WD haha. Got tranny cooler, and lift all ready to go, just waiting for that perfect runner to put it on.
 
i dont think CL is a bad place to look, thats where i found mine, its not the best place, but depending on where you are and yeah idk, ive always had good luck buying and selling things on CL, you just have to know what your looking for and dont compromise. if there is something you dont like, dont get it. after all, its not like you can just go buy another one if something is right, your kinda stuck with it for a bit. so yeah dont lower your standards just cause it looks good or someone says its good.
 
Sounded sketch form the get go. Don't give up on CL, just be very cautious. Set up an search on autotrader and get email alerts every morning whenever a new 4Runner goes up for sale. You can really narrow it down or leave it broad and go through them everyday. That is how I found mine. Cars.com might do the same thing, not sure. Keep looking and when you find the "one" you will know it man. Good luck.
 
thanks guys. looks like the hunt continues. And yea thanks Brignola. I started using it about a week ago. makes it sooooo much easier!
 
Try Autotempest too. It's in beta, but I've been using it. It searches CL, Ebay, Cars.com, Autotrader and others all at once.
 
Oh man been there

to. When i saw the ****ty condition of the truck i turned to the guy and said "thanks for wasting my time".

Stick to private parties if youre using CL.
 
It took me a while and several test drives before I found mine. I ended up getting a 97 limited 4x4 with e locker for 5900 last october. It has 158,000 on it and was owned by a long haul trucker. It has been great to me over the last year. I found it on Craigs List, so dont give up.
 
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