I live near NYC and found the 4th gen I wanted just outside of Chicago. It actually worked out great because I was already heading to Chicago for the Grateful Dead "Fare Thee Well" shows.
I called the dealer and put a REFUNDABLE deposit on the car using a credit card. A dealer in Ohio wanted me to put a $2500 NON-Refundable deposit on a 4runner without me seeing it. I told them to go f*** themselves.
We drove out in our BMW 535d (37mpg!) and went to Naperville Auto Haus, which is a used car dealership in Naperville, IL. What a great experience. These guys are legit. They have Ferrari's, Lambo's, vintage corvettes, BMWs, Range Rovers, etc. etc.
We could tell instantly this place does not sell junky used cars. We met the owner, awesome guy, he just loves cars. Everyone there was polite. They let us test drive by ourselves, which I prefer. It's a lot of pressure buying a used car and I hate having a sales rep babbling in my ear when I know more about 4runners then they do.
In the end we left happy and with a 2006 4Runner Sport Edition V8 with 117,xxx miles on it. I would buy another used car from Naperville Auto Haus. They said it's common for out-of-towners fly into CHI and a dealership employee picks them up at the airport.
We went to 3 Grateful Dead shows and danced like crazy. Then drove two cars over 800 miles home to New York. See you on Phish tour in my 2006 4Runner!!!
