Looking at used '04 4Runner

[KBacon]

Hello all..

First off.. sorry for the newby post.. but here goes...

I've wanted a 4runner for a very long time (since 2nd gen). And I think I found one that the wife might let me get. It's an '04 Limited V8 in gold w/ the tan interior. It's fully loaded as far as I can tell.. Nav ect.. It has 29,700 miles and they are asking $24,900.. which they told me up front was negotiable (of course). It's Toyota certified and comes w/ the 7yr/100k warranty.. It's extremely clean. The paint was a slightly different color on the lower cladding than the rest of the body.. but figured it was prolly due to the two different underlying materials?

With the $3.65/gal gas prices I was a little leary of the V8..

but I've searched for the last few hours and found the milage difference is very minimal.. but couldn't find any figures for what kind of milage people were actually getting in real life?

Is this a good buy for this vehicle and is there anything that I should look out for or have checked out on this vehicle? Would the nav need updated? If so.. how is this accomplished?

They also had an '06 SR5 V6 for the same price... would I be better off w/ one over the other? Any features that might have become available in the later model years that one can't be without?

It will be mainly used as a daily driver w/ a little fishing/hunting thrown in.

 

[Fuzion]

Well I have a lift , 32" tires, k&n filter

street 17-18 mpg
highway 22-24 mpg

Not bad for a V8

before the K&N i got 14 street.

 

[toto]

This thread has a brief overview of the year-to-year changes.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33792

I've got sort of a lead foot off the line, and I make a lot of short trips. I get about 15 MPG city with the V8.

 

[kurt_dogg]

V6 for comparison's sake.

18 mpg in the city
25 mpg hwy

That's US gallons

I am in Canada & we measure it accordingly:

13 L per 100km (city)
9.5 L per 100km (hwy)

I had to remove some lead from my foot to achieve these numbers though. I have become a slow accelerator & a coaster becuase of the cost of fuel. The change in driving style is definetly saving me money.

I wouldn't recommend a 4Runner as a primary vehicle unless you put less than 15,000 km or 10,000 miles annually. We have a little Acura & we leave the thirsty 4Runner in the barn whenever possible. I still love my T4R, it is a great machine & when we need a truck we got a hell of one.

 

[KBacon]

Why would this not be a good daily driver? Other than the gas milage?

Do you guys believe that this is a good/bad deal or about average? Anything in particular that I should look out for?

 

[kurt_dogg]

Gas Mileage is the only reason this would not be a good primary vehicle. If money is not at all an issue for you then the 4runner is a great primary vehicle.

I feel the dealership's price is high. The SUV market is just starting to bottom out due to fuel costs. There will be a lot more on the market in the near future.

Cars are just begining to become widely available in China so global fuel consumption is going to continue to rise & oil prices with it, for the forseeable future. This will & is already causing all used SUVs & truck's values to plummet.

I see we 4Runner owners are the most stubborn about keeping their values high on the used market, that is because they are so good.

Think low 20s or if you are lucky just under for what you described. There should be a lot of motivted sellers with the likely threat of $200 barrells of oil not far away.