Is this a good price?

jreask

jreask

Member
I am thinking of buying a 1996 Green 4Runner Limited with 96,000 miles. The exterior is in decent condition with a few small scuffs. No rust or dents. The interior is in good shape , except for the driver's seat which has a tear in the leather, but has a cheap seat cover on it. The motor is a little dirty, but could be cleaned up easily. The problems I saw were that the driver's window motor is really noisy and could go out soon. It will probably need brakes soon by the feel of the pedal. The only other thing that I question is the oil. Perhaps some of you guys can help with this. When I removed the oil filler cap, I see some heavier than normal thickened oil or sludge on top of the valves? or whatever the parts are right below the cap. Is this pretty much normal or has this Runner not been taken care of very well? The party is asking $5400. What do you guys think?

TIA

JR
 
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It's hard to say if that's a good price or not, without any pics or seeing it in person. How is the underside of the runner? Is it from a state that salts their roads?

I don't really know about your sludge thing under your oil cap, since I've never noticed anything like that on mine.

A few other things to consider are if the timing belt has been done (should have been done at 90k), rear axle seals (make sure they are not leaking), and check to see if the seller has good service records.
 
96743runner said:
It's hard to say if that's a good price or not, without any pics or seeing it in person. How is the underside of the runner? Is it from a state that salts their roads?

I don't really know about your sludge thing under your oil cap, since I've never noticed anything like that on mine.

A few other things to consider are if the timing belt has been done (should have been done at 90k), rear axle seals (make sure they are not leaking), and check to see if the seller has good service records.
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The seller has a receipt for the timing belt, water pump, etc at 75K. I guess this does not mean it was replaced, but the parts were purchased. THe "sludge" under the oil filler cap is what concerns me. I suppose it could be flushed, but I just wonder if this is normal on the top of the engine or not.

Thanks for your help.
 
Be very very cautious about that sludge. The 3.4L is a very stout motor, but there are weak points. Sludge is one of them. It could've happened from just neglect (oil changes) or overheating. Personally, I'd stay away or at least get a mechanic to take off the valve cover and check things out. New engines plus labor is around $2k, the last I heard.

Price wise, that's not too bad for 96k miles. Timing belt - usually, when they change it out, they put a sticker on the timing belt cover. (right where it says "3400 Four Cam 24").
 
jreask said:
There is one in every crowd.
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$4,000 is a fair price for a first year 3rd Gen that is 15 years old. Check out your area Kelly Blue Book, Vehix.com, etc... You should be able to find a 4R that is a few years newer for $5400...
 
A little sludge underneath the oil cap is normal. I wouldn't worry about it. How does the oil level look? Does it smell good? And, I don't have any clue how the previous poster would assume the head gasket is going?! :shrug:

I'd also check the tranny fluid. Smell it as well, make sure it doesn't smell burnt. If its new looking ask why they changed it. Also hold down the brake and put it in drive, and give it some gas. See if you get any weird noises under load. I always take it on the freeway and gun it to 70mph, make sure it cylces through all the gears correctly.

If AC works, no weird sounds or ticks, tranny fluid looks good, oil looks decent and no rust I would say that is a very good price for a truck with only 96,000 miles. Seems awfully low for a 96. I'd probably Car Fax it to make sure the mileage didn't have a rollback.

Also you didn't mention if its a 4x4 or not. $5000 would be a very good price for a 4x4 with that low mileage. If it is 2wd then I'd say its average price for $5k.
 
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