Is it safe to buy a 4Runner that's had a wreck?

J

jkconnections

New member
I'm looking for a 4th Gen 4Runner and found one at a good price at a dealership that I'm considering purchasing. However, I ran the car fax and saw that the owner had been in a wreck. Here is what carfax says:

Accident reported
in ________ County
Involving left front impact
with another motor vehicle
Moderate damage reported.

Is this something that should make me re-think purchasing this truck?

If not, what kind of things should I be concerned with?

The interesting thing is that the owner kept the car for 2 years beyond the date of the accident so I'm not sure if that's a sign that they liked the vehicle still and just sold it due to mileage or if other problems began to appear.

Any thoughts?
 
Register to hide this ad
Find a shop that does inspections and mention that its been in a wreck but youre not sure where to see if they find any sign of damage. My parents 91 Caravan had a hard hit around 96 or so in the front right but they had it fixed at a good shop and there was 0 problems with it.

I'd say pass on it unless it was a really good price because there's so many used 4Runners out there now that you can be picky about which one you pick up.
 
That kind of a report would be enough for me to cross that vehicle off my list. Just as previously mentioned, there are a ton out there for sale...keep looking. The damage caused in an accident is sometimes not visible but after driving it for a while you will find all the problems and I am sure you will find some.
 
XJeepguy said:
Did it list a dollar amount for the damage ?
Click to expand...

No, it didn't list a dollar amount unfortunately. All I have is what I copied above from the carfax report.

The price of the vehicle is pretty decent ($12000 / leather, sunroof, 75k miles, V6 for slightly better gas mileage).

What kind of places do inspections like that? A body shop? A Toyota dealer?
 
I would stay away from it. The accident most likely affected suspension components, and may have involved the frame.

No one knows at this point what shop performed the repairs, and if the repairs were done properly (and honestly). An inspection may not reveal the true extent of the past damage.

With so many choices available today, I would continue looking. I'm sure you will find the truck you want at the price you can afford.

If it looks too good to be true... :bigok:
 
Reason I asked about the dollar amount is these days it doesnt take a large amount of damage to run 3 or 4 grand. New bumper and some paintwork and labour these days and ur at 4G.

IF it is a reputable dealer they will let you take it where ever you want for an inspection. Check BBB or Yellow pages for a good vehicle inspection place . If its a great deal for you and you really like it spend the money and get it looked at . I wouldnt toss it out the window over what could have been a new bumper replacement .

I would get ANY used vehicle looked at anyways ,not just an accident victim.

On a side note , I used carfax too when I was looking and found it about as useful as tits on a bull.
I'm in Canada and I ended up using another service ( I'll look for the name later) and it had EVERYTHING on the report.

Mine had 2 windshield claims ( they listed total dollars spent too) . That was all that had ever been done to mine . I also got a little crafty and its up to you . I asked for the vehicle file to look over and got the previous owners name and called her :D
just to see if windshields was all it ever needed. She was happy to help but I would imagine dealers frown on that ;)




jkconnections said:
No, it didn't list a dollar amount unfortunately. All I have is what I copied above from the carfax report.

The price of the vehicle is pretty decent ($12000 / leather, sunroof, 75k miles, V6 for slightly better gas mileage).

What kind of places do inspections like that? A body shop? A Toyota dealer?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
XJeepguy said:
Reason I asked about the dollar amount is these days it doesnt take a large amount of damage to run 3 or 4 grand. New bumper and some paintwork and labour these days and ur at 4G.

IF it is a reputable dealer they will let you take it where ever you want for an inspection. Check BBB or Yellow pages for a good vehicle inspection place . If its a great deal for you and you really like it spend the money and get it looked at . I wouldnt toss it out the window over what could have been a new bumper replacement .

I would get ANY used vehicle looked at anyways ,not just an accident victim.

On a side note , I used carfax too when I was looking and found it about as useful as tits on a bull.
I'm in Canada and I ended up using another service ( I'll look for the name later) and it had EVERYTHING on the report.

Mine had 2 windshield claims ( they listed total dollars spent too) . That was all that had ever been done to mine . I also got a little crafty and its up to you . I asked for the vehicle file to look over and got the previous owners name and called her :D
just to see if windshields was all it ever needed. She was happy to help but I would imagine dealers frown on that ;)
Click to expand...

:iagree: In addition make sure someone in the know confirms the airbags are there and hooked up properly.
:cheers:
 
It really depends and you can't tell unless you get checked out by a shop or manage to get the repair bill and see what was replaced (which is probably impossible).

If it's the corner it could have sustained damage to the bumper, fender and inner fender structure and leaving the frame unscathed, since the 4Runner is a body on frame SUV. As some have posted, the dollar amount is pretty irrelevant because a headlight lists for almost $300 and labor is $70+ an hour.

However, SUVs aren't exactly a hot seller right now, I would say look around, you're bound to find another good deal.
 
What is YOUR Interpitation of Moderate Damage Compared to the Car Fax Listing of MODERATE DAMAGE......Walk away ..There are plenty of Quality vehicles that havent been wrecked
 
In High School...I wanted to drive so bad, I didn't care if the car was salvaged.

Of course, there's lots of stages in Salvage Title.

But if the vehicle has been in a reck, I would pass on it.

As I grew older, I realize, it may be unsafe to drive.
 
In this market, with everyone trying to ditch their SUV's for Civics, why would you even mess with a wrecked SUV? There are better deals to be had, w/o the issues of a wrecked car. One thing I learned several years ago about buying a used SUV: Always go for the V8 "over powered = less stress on the engine in normal driving", get 4x4, and check the weatherstripping around the doors and windows. If it looks new, time to run. These are such large vehicles that any hit to the car can possible flex the frame/body to a point where leaks, wind noise, and rattles could occur and you wouldn't know it until too late. I had a 94' GMC Jimmy once. Bought it with 30k on the clock, was from the outter banks of NC. By 35k miles, paint was bubbling up around the fenders, driveshaft seals were leaking, and countless other problems. But what tripped my "I've been scammed" alarm was the first rain storm, when water would collect in the center of the headliner and pour from dash board to rear window in the car. Guess what? The previous owner, who just so happened to be the general manager at the GMC dealer of the outer banks had rolled it one day on the dunes. His job allowed for it to be repaired and never showed up on carfax. But, at that time, I was a Teamster with friends. And one friend just so happen to be a car-frieght driver. In his log of inventory cars he hauled, guess who's vin number was on his list, as a "recovered" vehicle.....

I bought it from a GMC dealer in Wilmington, NC "Bob King". As time marched on, it became obvious that Bob King GMC was screwing over lots of people like this.

Point is: don't mess with a wrecked car, period. Especially these days, when you can pretty much pick your price on any used SUV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 8,144 (members: 3, guests: 8,141)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,120
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top