Looking to Buy - Help with Pricing

[mountain mike]

I am looking to buy a 4RNR and need a little help with the pricing. A friend of mine has a 2001 Black Sport Package 4RNR with 210,000 miles on it. He is the original owner of the vehicle. I used to work with him so I have seen the 4RNR in the parking lot at work but have yet to really go over it. Basically I know it looks good on the outside but am unsure of the interior or mechanically. I know the last time I talked to him about it he was needing shocks and tires. I am not sure if he replaced them or not. I am hoping he did not as I would like to do a coil over lift and bigger tires.
Pricing seems to be all over. I have looked at KBB, Edmunds, and Nada and here is what guideness they offer.
KBB -
Fair condition $4002
Average Condition $4552

Edmunds -
Trade $2317
Dealer Retail $3852
Private Party $2873

NADA-
Average Trade $3825
Clean Trade $4575

I then look at craigslist and I see people asking the moon for these. Here is what I see listed
2000 with 215k for $6200
2001 with 228k for $5500
2002 with 245k for $7500
Are the 4RNR really selling that high? I want to be fair with the guy but I just don't see paying anything over $4000 and would really like to be in the low to mid 3's.
Am I being unreasonable with my numbers? This is vehicle worth the 5-6k?
Please help.

 

[jgue467]

My standard is

Edmunds, use it for all my vehicles. Like any other self respecting cheapskate I always aim for wholesale to person to person price BUT T4Rs can be a little more depending on your location, features, condition. Despite this I still got mine for slightly above wholesale. What's your zip? In my area Edmunds says this (all options+good condition) 3,730 $4,588 $6,163. So I'd go w/4k maybe start at 3100 and work up a bit. Is it 4x4, leather, heated seats?

 

[mountain mike]

My zip is 80907. I am not sure if all the options. I think it has cloth seats, not sure about heated seats, and it is 4WD.
I guess I need to figure out what all it has and then plug in back into the pricing sites.

 

[jgue467]

ZIP codes make a difference!

When I plugged your zip +4wd+clean condition and most reasonable options I get: $3,950 $4,785 $6,289. Being the cheapskate that I am, I'd still say aim for 4k, start at maybe 3400 to not pizz of your friend. But keep in mind it may need new tires, that's at least 700+, shocks not so much maybe 200 so use those points and how it looks inside to negotiate/substantiate your offer. Is your friend a good maintainer or like some mechanics who don't like to work on their own vehicles-use that in your judgement. Don't settle there are many out there albeit I know they're not as easy to find in CO as in TX or other parts.

Since it is 4wd, I would check if he's taken care of the potential milkshake issue (many threads here on how to fix cheaply). Have you driven it? I bought mine at 175k and it felt like new engine and suspension wise, what a feeling!

 

[BrianSD_42]

Wait it out. You'll find someone who's a private seller and doesn't subscribe to the my 4runner is worth it's weight in gold BS.

When you do buy 1) check for rust by putting it on a lift and looking frame
2) get a compression test done by a local mechanic ($75) & wrote down the results.

 

[mountain mike]

Thank you for your help, jgue. I am going to drive it tomorrow. I have made a list of things to check for, complements of the buyers guide on here, including the strawberry milkshake. I just need to get a number in my head that I won't go over. I have a tendency to get emotional about cars and want to have a rough number in my head before I go and drive it.

 

[mountain mike]

Wait it out. You'll find someone who's a private seller and doesn't subscribe to the my 4runner is worth it's weight in gold BS.

When you do buy 1) check for rust by putting it on a lift and looking frame
2) get a compression test done by a local mechanic ($75) & wrote down the results.

This is a private seller. He has been wanting to sell it but has not done anything to market the car. I just knew he had it and had recently bought a new car so I called him and asked if he still was looking to sell it. I asked him for a price and he told me that he didn't know but said it had a lot of miles on it. I don't get the impression that he is going to be unreasonable. I was more looking for a fair number that we can both live with.

Good idea about the compression test and getting it on a lift. I have access to a two post I can put it on, but would need to find someone to do a compression test. Thank you for the input!

 

[PitbullRescuer]

I'd say if you can get a clean '01 Sport 4x4 for $4,000 you're stealing it. Even with 210K on the clock. And CO tends to bring a heavy premium too. I'd expect to pay somewhere in the mid $5K's for it.

 

[mountain mike]

Thanks for all the advise guys. This one might not work out. The top of my budget needs to be about $4k. I'm sure the guy could probably get more for it. I'm going to go look at it, drive it and talk to him about a price this weekend. Hopefully we can work something out but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[mountain mike]

Went and drove the 4Runner feel in love and bought it. I got a good deal so to keep my karma and the world spinning in the right direction I cheap sold my Infiniti to a friend.
It's a nice one owner. It does need to have the timing belt and water pump replaced. It could also use some new shock, but I think I am going to run them for a little bit while I save up for a Toytec lift. Pics attached but they aren't the best.

 

[Hootz]

Nice 4runner! I love black sport editions

 

[skcolb]

Went and drove the 4Runner feel in love and bought it. I got a good deal so to keep my karma and the world spinning in the right direction I cheap sold my Infiniti to a friend.
It's a nice one owner. It does need to have the timing belt and water pump replaced. It could also use some new shock, but I think I am going to run them for a little bit while I save up for a Toytec lift. Pics attached but they aren't the best.

Nice, congratulations! How much did you end up paying for it?

 

[jgue467]

They can drive pretty good for teenagers, right?

I too felt a great ride when I took mine out for the first time at about 175K, felt like it had been maintained by the book-65k later still is feeling great! Good luck and Enjoy!

 

[mountain mike]

Nice, congratulations! How much did you end up paying for it?

$3800. He was asking $4000, I pulled out 38 hundred dollar bills and it was mine.

It's in dire need of a detail. I'm not sure if they PO ever had it waxed. But the paint is there and I think I can get it to come back with a little elbow grease.
I am also noticing a lot of maintenance items that are going to need to be done. But for what I paid for it, I'm not complaining.

 

[ItsAlwaysSomething]

I think you got a great deal, especially for a black sport AND given the fact that it's in Colorado. The prices in Colorado are crazy, even with 200K+ miles.