Is this a good deal? Might be buying a 4th Gen

D

danthemanx07

New member
I have parted ways with my 3rd gen and 1st gen recently and need to move on from my Tacoma. Have been lurking here and there looking for a v8 4WD 4th gen or GX 470 for cheap. Higher miles don't bother me so much. Not only do I drive on the low average side (<10k a year), but is seems the v8s have a pretty proven track record in all the vehicles in which they appear.

Still - not being as familiar with the 4th gens I thought I would ask some of the experts on here. I am looking at a 2005 v8 SR5 with approx 160k. Recent service includes timing belt, lower ball joints, lower control arms and some other odds and ends. Has new tires. It is a Texas truck so no rust issues. All in all seems like a solid 4Runner.

What gives me pause is the price - it seems too good - $6500. I have read through the thread "what did you pay for you 4th gen," and this seems to be on the low side of the runners I saw there. It is also several thousand below most comparable local 4Runners.

Now - I have not yet seen the truck personally (it is several hundred miles away) but before I hop in the car and drive out there, is there anything i should be looking for that might account for the low price?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Dan
 
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Being that the truck is so far away from you, I'd make sure your investigator hat is on tight before you commit to the drive. Ask for pictures of everything and anything. With today's tech, you can ask for a FB Live presentation if you both feel comfortable.

I'd also look up 4Runners on Craigslist for that area to gauge pricing. Might just be the market is flooded with T4R's and the value is low.
 
for reference: i just picked up a '07 V8 Sport with 190k miles for $6400 2 months ago. with wheel bearings, brakes, tires and manifold all done. I had to do the timing belt but everything else was mint.

you may want to lookout for the manifold issue, not sure if that impacts 2005's?
 
Americas High Five said:
for reference: i just picked up a '07 V8 Sport with 190k miles for $6400 2 months ago. with wheel bearings, brakes, tires and manifold all done. I had to do the timing belt but everything else was mint.

you may want to lookout for the manifold issue, not sure if that impacts 2005's?
Click to expand...

It does. My 05 V8 sport has the manifold ticking issue. That's a great price. I found mine this summer with 128k and bought for 13k. All major maintenance was done. Drove 4 hours to get it too.
 
With today's tech everyone is very tech savy and rolling back the mileage is so easy to do that anyone with a smartphone can easily do it, I would do a little due deligences and pay for a Carfax or at very least go to Toyotaowners.com, to see if you can confirm the mileage I recently saw a deal to good to be true and the 134,000 mile T4R I was looking at turned out to have around 180,000, I never would have found that out without checking out the vin number!!
 
Make sure its not been flooded

danthemanx07 said:
I have parted ways with my 3rd gen and 1st gen recently and need to move on from my Tacoma. Have been lurking here and there looking for a v8 4WD 4th gen or GX 470 for cheap. Higher miles don't bother me so much. Not only do I drive on the low average side (<10k a year), but is seems the v8s have a pretty proven track record in all the vehicles in which they appear.

Still - not being as familiar with the 4th gens I thought I would ask some of the experts on here. I am looking at a 2005 v8 SR5 with approx 160k. Recent service includes timing belt, lower ball joints, lower control arms and some other odds and ends. Has new tires. It is a Texas truck so no rust issues. All in all seems like a solid 4Runner.

What gives me pause is the price - it seems too good - $6500. I have read through the thread "what did you pay for you 4th gen," and this seems to be on the low side of the runners I saw there. It is also several thousand below most comparable local 4Runners.

Now - I have not yet seen the truck personally (it is several hundred miles away) but before I hop in the car and drive out there, is there anything i should be looking for that might account for the low price?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Dan
Click to expand...

read up on it..
 
Are you looking at the blue one in San Antonio? It had some paint damage in the hood above the driver side headlight?
 
clayinho said:
Are you looking at the blue one in San Antonio? It had some paint damage in the hood above the driver side headlight?
Click to expand...

No.

Ok - so I misread the ad. It it in NEW YORK - but is from Texas. Anyway, call me crazy, but that didnt really bother me. What did bother me was what I learned when I called and spoke to the seller.

Full disclosure - here is the vehicle:

2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 | eBay

When I called the number listed in the add, which is a Texas number, I spoke with "Joe." The story goes, the 4runner belongs to Joe's brother who was living in Texas. His brother fell on hard times and had to move to Vegas and party of the deal was selling this 4runner. Joe and his brother thought that because everyone in Texas drives F150s, the 4runner would sell better in New York where people need 4wd for the winters. So Joe's brother (still unnamed) drive the 4runner up to New York and drops it off with Joe. How he gets to Las Vegas, I don't know. Joe's brother then tells me the longest story about why he thinks Joe's brother shouldn't sell the runner because he knows he is going to want it back in a few months and regret selling.

So I ask Joe how he was planning on making out a bill of sale or filling out the title if he wasnt the owner. He seemed to think he could just sign on his brother's behalf or have the title mailed out to his brother to be returned completed. I explained to him that this sounded a little fishy, his response "You know Daniel, maybe this isnt the truck for you, you probably shouldn't buy it." "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't I reply."

Curious as to how this story continues, I inquire about the maintenance in the ad, he knows it was done, but nothing more about it. I asked about the ownership, Joe said his brother bought it from the original owner but did know why there were registrations listed in all the different places on the carfax report (TN, CA, NY, TX). He also didnt know why the carfax noted lease/rental use in the past. He then tells me the NY registration might have been because his brother's ex-wife bought it for him as part of a divorce agreement so that he could move to TX.

So I asked him if it was listed anywhere else, he said he thought facebook. A friend of his "Bill" put in on eBay, and he thought he also put it on Facebook market place. I did find it on facebook marketplace - if you set your location to Port Jervis, New York and search for 4runners you will find an ad posted by "Joe Puba" that mirrors the ebay ad.

Anyway, I spent about 30 minutes talking to this goob - mostly him telling me how awesome the 4Runner is. He refused to put me in touch with his brother throughout the conversation. I forgot to ask "Joe," a self professed mechanic who says he has lived in Port Jervis his who life why he has a TX phone number. I am sure there was a good explanation there too.

If anyone wants to go get a better look at this thing and see if you can figure out the real deal, have at it. I can't fly across the country with that kind of bs hanging in the air.

Also - on a side note, I checked the VIN. It has not been reported stolen, or at least the VIN listed on the ebay ad has not.
 
That whole story is so shady! Walk away!

Two vehicles I've been looking at the last couple weeks here in TX have been advertised by someone other than the owner; you would think that they would mention something like that in the ad. Both seemed too good to be true. They couldn't provide coherent and consistent information.
 
Just another tip to look out for, it could be 2wd they are not worth nearly as much and alot of people don't mention it on purpose. I almost drove 4 hours or so to go look at a good deal but I caught a glimpse of no front cv axle in one of the pictures (he had it listed as 4wd) I called him and he made up some story about it was his friends vehicle and he didnt know. Also it took me almost 1 1/2 years to find the right 4runner and I personally would not buy the V8.
 
oldmansimek said:
Just another tip to look out for, it could be 2wd they are not worth nearly as much and alot of people don't mention it on purpose. I almost drove 4 hours or so to go look at a good deal but I caught a glimpse of no front cv axle in one of the pictures (he had it listed as 4wd) I called him and he made up some story about it was his friends vehicle and he didnt know. Also it took me almost 1 1/2 years to find the right 4runner and I personally would not buy the V8.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I am no stranger the the search for the perfect vehicle - this will be my third 4runner. Need the v8 for towing, v6 really isnt an option.
 
Now, I recently bought a 4th Gen, and was floored with how expensive they are, but I was not prepared for this stellar deal. Granted, its a really nice rig.

4runner
 
I just bought my 05 in San Antonio for $4k. They were asking $6500 and since I live out of state I had it taken to one of the local dealerships to have them do a Pre Purchase inspection. That was the best move I could have ever done. The timing belt and a few other things need to be done but I was able to use that as bargaining tool and got a way better price. Plus some confidence that everything else checked out. Good Luck though!

I would personally steer away from that guy. :crazy:
 
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