Looking at buying 03 Sport Edition w/152K

[Craigers]

For the life of me I can't figure out why someone would drop almost 10k on a vehicle with 150k on it. Why not buy something low mileage like a Honda civic or something for the same price? A 4runner will run a long time but at that mileage a good portion of its usable trouble free life is gone.

I just bought an 05 Sport V6 4wd with $150K miles a few months ago for around $10K. Had maintenance records for the last 100K miles, engine is strong, transmission smooth, 4wd works great, no rust underneath, so I wasn't concerned about the mileage.

There are a lot of folks on this board with 250K+ miles on their T4R, heck even one with around 450K miles!

With the proper maintenance I am doing, I'm not all that concerned with it lasting another 150K.

 

[zstampe]

4runners are great cars but fiscally, buying one with that many miles doesn't make sense. You could get a corolla or something comparable for the same money with 50k miles on it and it will still run to 300k. Its just poor financial decision making in my eyes. Don't get me wrong I'm not faulting you guys for that, its just not a purchase that I'd make.

 

[G.I.G.]

4runners are great cars but fiscally, buying one with that many miles doesn't make sense. You could get a corolla or something comparable for the same money with 50k miles on it and it will still run to 300k. Its just poor financial decision making in my eyes. Don't get me wrong I'm not faulting you guys for that, its just not a purchase that I'd make.

But then you would be driving a Corolla. :

I see what you're saying but I still think you're missing the point. Sure, you could buy something with less miles for the same amount of money, but you wouldn't have 4x4 and some of the creature comforts that go along with owning a 4Runner vs a Corolla or Civic. Simply put, you're buying less car when you buy a Corolla or Civic. If you don't need 4x4, the room an SUV offers, and you want better mileage, then a Corolla or a Civic are fine options. However, I don't think that is what the OP was after.

 

[zstampe]

But then you would be driving a Corolla. :

I see what you're saying but I still think you're missing the point. Sure, you could buy something with less miles for the same amount of money, but you wouldn't have 4x4 and some of the creature comforts that go along with owning a 4Runner vs a Corolla or Civic. Simply put, you're buying less car when you buy a Corolla or Civic. If you don't need 4x4, the room an SUV offers, and you want better mileage, then a Corolla or a Civic are fine options. However, I don't think that is what the OP was after.

I'm not missing the point. If I want a 4runner (any vehicle really) I'm going to buy something with less than 100k on it, if I can't find that then I can't afford that vehicle. I'm not going to settle for something high mileage just because it has the creature comforts I want. I need to either look at different vehicles or save some more money up. Lets say your budget is 9k and the transmission fails since its high mileage, are you comfortable spending a 3rd of the initial purchase price to fix it? Does someone that can only afford a 9 thousand dollar car have the means to do so?

Look at it this way......lets say you want a 4 bedroom house but can't afford one in a decent neighborhood......would you settle for one in the ghetto next to a crack house because it has the "creature comforts" you want?

That's my point. I think the 4runner the op bought was fine if that's what he wanted to buy. But its not something I'd be comfortable doing.

Edit: The only reason I'm saying anything is that I've bought some stupid **** in my day lol.

 

[NeilC]

4runners are great cars but fiscally, buying one with that many miles doesn't make sense. You could get a corolla or something comparable for the same money with 50k miles on it and it will still run to 300k. Its just poor financial decision making in my eyes. Don't get me wrong I'm not faulting you guys for that, its just not a purchase that I'd make.

Have you seen what used Civics and Corollas are selling for now? It is a good comparison. A new Corolla sells for between $15,000 and $20,000. A used one with between 100,000 and 150,000 miles will still sell for $7000 to $10,000. You are paying half price for a vehicle with half its life left. With the 4runner, you are pay 1/4th to 1/3rd for a vehicle with half its life left. Buying a 4runner with a 150,000 miles for $10,000 makes more financial sense than buying a Corolla with 100,000 to 150,000 miles for $7000 to $10,000. Also if you drive the vehicle you like, you are more likely to drive it longer and take care of it better than one you dont like.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Was hoping this was my old 03 Sport V6, don't think I had that many miles, and it's not it. Oh well, I loved my 03 Sport, it was one of the best cars I've ever owned.

 

[NJshadow93]

I don't understand this argument. a 4Runner and a Civic or Corolla is apples to oranges. If you put it in the way you have, that's like saying, since you cannot afford a brand new vehicle, you should not buy a vehicle at all. In one way or another, pretty much everyone here needs a 4Runner for what it is; whether it's safety, capability, or reliability, there are reasons why we get a mid sized, truck based SUV over a small sedan.

Every car is going to encounter problems at some point. Nowadays, miles aren't that significant because a vehicle's life span relies mostly on how well it was maintained rather than how many miles it was driven. If you need a truck, you get one in your price range rather than change your lifestyle (such as moving to a place with no snow or getting rid of a trailer you need to tow) to accommodate a cheaper car.

 

[Craigers]

Have you seen what used Civics and Corollas are selling for now? It is a good comparison. A new Corolla sells for between $15,000 and $20,000. A used one with between 100,000 and 150,000 miles will still sell for $7000 to $10,000. You are paying half price for a vehicle with half its life left. With the 4runner, you are pay 1/4th to 1/3rd for a vehicle with half its life left. Buying a 4runner with a 150,000 miles for $10,000 makes more financial sense than buying a Corolla with 100,000 to 150,000 miles for $7000 to $10,000. Also if you drive the vehicle you like, you are more likely to drive it longer and take care of it better than one you dont like.

Funny you say this. I sold our 07 Civic to buy the T4R. The Civic had 105K miles on it and got just under $11K for it (granted I take care of my cars and it looked brand new). Took that and bought my T4R with 150K miles for $10K cash.

I think more people are realizing it's less about miles and more about how the vehicle was maintained, which is why I wasn't worried about the mileage on my T4R.