Looking to buy this 4th gen, any concerns?

[DiracSea]

Hello everyone,

I need to own a car by the end of this week and after looking through a variety of 3rd gens, none in my area were all that great in my price range. Then, I stumbled upon this 4th gen. Planning on taking a look at it today and getting a PPI before purchasing.

Used 2003 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4WD for Sale in Crestwood IL 60445 Bose Motors Inc

Carfax:
CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 2003 TOYOTA 4RUNNER LTD: JTEBT17R438004113

Anything stand out to you as concerning? I checked the service records on toyota's website and that carfax and it all seems to check out nicely. Someone owning the vehicle for only 2 months is kind of weird but the previous owner drove it for 50k miles and replaced/maintained a lot.
Only thing I imagine I'd have to take a look at is when the timing belt/water pump was changed (since it's a v8).

Your thoughts? If the frame is solid and the timing belt/water pump were recent, this looks like one of the best priced 4runners in the country to me. I'm struggling to think of points to negotiate price with. Am I missing something obvious?

Thank you!

Not 4runner related, but, I just got an offer letter for an engineering job. When I go to the dealership, I'll need to get the 4runner financed. Can I show them my engineering job offer in order to get approved? Obviously I don't have pay stubs and need the car to show up for my first day of work haha.

 

[hinmo24t]

not sure the price of it - but if it seems like one of the better deals in the country (maybe you said county) than the timing belt job could be 50% of the cost if it is only a few thousand dollar vehicle. Something to keep in mind. Then again, vehicles that cheap sell so the buyer may only move a couple hundred bucks.

 

[techno]

When you check it out, take a closer look at the drivers side front mud flap. It's half ripped off, and the running board light next to it appears damaged too. Also, looks like a decent size crack in the drives side corner of the rear bumper.
These could be minor things, but perhaps something to use during negotiations if you like everything else.

 

[techno]

Also looks like a daytime running light is out. Passenger side is on, drivers side is not.

 

[gfxcruncher]

In addition to the comments above, if you have to finance it, might want to look into a personal loan. Don't think you can get a car loan for more than 10 years old and/or over 150k on the clock, at least I wasn't able to.

 

[Jcmeadows82]

- Look for rust, especially around the spare tire area.

- When test driving it make sure the brakes don't strike you as "wimpy". If you feel you have to stand on the brakes a bit more than you should you may need to replace the calipers (lots of information on this forum on the 5th gen upgrade). Better yet, just figure on doing that at some point in the future.

Both of those were things I had to deal with in mine. They weren't things that made me not buy, just things i knew i needed to factor in on my cost estimate on the vehicle.

 

[John in NC]

Looks great in the photos, the underside may tell a different story. Lifelong Northern vehicle? Rust?

OK I'm going to put on my middle aged hat for a second, if you need the car to be financed, and to get to work in, maybe look for a less thrilling car that's much newer with fewer miles...
You're looking at a 16 year old V-8 4x4 with a fair amount of miles from rust prone regions of the country.

Newer Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic for example that will get twice the gas mileage and be stone reliable, and yes, boring.
Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic= cheap insurance, cheap tires, cheap oil changes, low maintenance, great gas mileage.

But hell, if you want to drive a sweet rig, go for it if it's not rusty underneath and the PPI is good. If you had said I have a great job, cash money, and am sick of driving econo boxes... I'd say 100% do it.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

Look at the photo of the rear hatch opened. you can see the bolts are rusty looking. Even from that far away you can see that. I would be interested to see what the underside looks like.

 

[DiracSea]

When you check it out, take a closer look at the drivers side front mud flap. It's half ripped off, and the running board light next to it appears damaged too. Also, looks like a decent size crack in the drives side corner of the rear bumper.
These could be minor things, but perhaps something to use during negotiations if you like everything else.

Wow I missed virtually all of those things, much appreciated.

In addition to the comments above, if you have to finance it, might want to look into a personal loan. Don't think you can get a car loan for more than 10 years old and/or over 150k on the clock, at least I wasn't able to.

I think I can find one or two obscure financing sources for preapproval, I intend to pay the entire thing off within 2 months either way.

Looks great in the photos, the underside may tell a different story. Lifelong Northern vehicle? Rust?

OK I'm going to put on my middle aged hat for a second, if you need the car to be financed, and to get to work in, maybe look for a less thrilling car that's much newer with fewer miles...
You're looking at a 16 year old V-8 4x4 with a fair amount of miles from rust prone regions of the country.

Newer Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic for example that will get twice the gas mileage and be stone reliable, and yes, boring.
Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic= cheap insurance, cheap tires, cheap oil changes, low maintenance, great gas mileage.

But hell, if you want to drive a sweet rig, go for it if it's not rusty underneath and the PPI is good. If you had said I have a great job, cash money, and am sick of driving econo boxes... I'd say 100% do it.

Appreciate the fatherly advice! I neglected to mention the engineer job pays very well (I will pay the car off within 2 months) and I need an SUV with hauling capacity because of a side business I co-own selling poison ivy/oak lotion (Aitex). I plan to put a commercial wrap on the vehicle, haul bottles and a selling booth to surrounding midwest states. Believe me, I didn't think my first car was going to be anything other than a used camry until recently. I'm trying to avoid settling for a highlander of around the same age haha. I definitely will not buy it unless the frame underneath has rust I can remove and put protection on. My one concern is when asked for a PPI, they want me to arrange an onsite inspection as they don't allow offsite inspections. That's a borderline red flag for me. I didn't even know you could arrange onsite inspections.

Look at the photo of the rear hatch opened. you can see the bolts are rusty looking. Even from that far away you can see that. I would be interested to see what the underside looks like.

Yeah I definitely saw that and has me weary of just how bad the frame underneath could be.

 

[ac1617]

OK I'm going to put on my middle aged hat for a second, if you need the car to be financed, and to get to work in, maybe look for a less thrilling car that's much newer with fewer miles...
You're looking at a 16 year old V-8 4x4 with a fair amount of miles from rust prone regions of the country.

Newer Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic for example that will get twice the gas mileage and be stone reliable, and yes, boring.
Camry/ Accord/ Corolla/ Civic= cheap insurance, cheap tires, cheap oil changes, low maintenance, great gas mileage.

But hell, if you want to drive a sweet rig, go for it if it's not rusty underneath and the PPI is good. If you had said I have a great job, cash money, and am sick of driving econo boxes... I'd say 100% do it.

I completely agree with what you said, but you have to respect OP for not going out and signing a 8 year finance at 18% interest on a brand new 4runner haha. I can't tell you how many kids I know get their first accounting job and go out to buy a brand new Audi A4 on a 8 year loan.

 

[John in NC]

OK I amend my stodgy frumpy cranky old man advice given your new info.

Go for it if the underside isn't crusty and it is in good shape. If it's rusty I'd pass.

That's a good price and a vehicle that has some style to it vs. a Highlander, and I have seen what people want for WELL used Highlanders, it's nuts.

Congrats on the new job!

 

[Birddriver]

just bought

Hello everyone,

I need to own a car by the end of this week and after looking through a variety of 3rd gens, none in my area were all that great in my price range. Then, I stumbled upon this 4th gen. Planning on taking a look at it today and getting a PPI before purchasing.

Used 2003 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4WD for Sale in Crestwood IL 60445 Bose Motors Inc

Carfax:
CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 2003 TOYOTA 4RUNNER LTD: JTEBT17R438004113

Anything stand out to you as concerning? I checked the service records on toyota's website and that carfax and it all seems to check out nicely. Someone owning the vehicle for only 2 months is kind of weird but the previous owner drove it for 50k miles and replaced/maintained a lot.
Only thing I imagine I'd have to take a look at is when the timing belt/water pump was changed (since it's a v8).

Your thoughts? If the frame is solid and the timing belt/water pump were recent, this looks like one of the best priced 4runners in the country to me. I'm struggling to think of points to negotiate price with. Am I missing something obvious?

I just bought a 2008 SR% V6 4X4 in Ohio for $11300. It had 127,000 miles and was clean and well maintained. Looked at a lot of them from 06 to 09 and now that spring is here there are very few left for sale. Major banks don't wan to finance something more than 10 years old with over a 100K on it.

 

[DiracSea]

OK I amend my stodgy frumpy cranky old man advice given your new info.

Go for it if the underside isn't crusty and it is in good shape. If it's rusty I'd pass.

That's a good price and a vehicle that has some style to it vs. a Highlander, and I have seen what people want for WELL used Highlanders, it's nuts.

Congrats on the new job!

Thank you! Dealership claims rust is minimal/typical for a 16 year old car, finally able to check it out today before hiring Lemon Squad to look at it as well.

I just bought a 2008 SR% V6 4X4 in Ohio for $11300. It had 127,000 miles and was clean and well maintained. Looked at a lot of them from 06 to 09 and now that spring is here there are very few left for sale. Major banks don't wan to finance something more than 10 years old with over a 100K on it.

I was able to get preapproved for 6000 at 7% interest from an online institution and am going to hear back from a credit union today. I'll be paying it off by my 2nd month of employment so it's actually not a big deal, I just needed the money to actually acquire the vehicle to get to work so that I can immediately pay it off.

Taking a look today, hopefully I'll be a 4th gen owner within a few days.

 

[AuSeeker]

Thank you! Dealership claims rust is minimal/typical for a 16 year old car, finally able to check it out today before hiring Lemon Squad to look at it as well.



I was able to get preapproved for 6000 at 7% interest from an online institution and am going to hear back from a credit union today. I'll be paying it off by my 2nd month of employment so it's actually not a big deal, I just needed the money to actually acquire the vehicle to get to work so that I can immediately pay it off.

Taking a look today, hopefully I'll be a 4th gen owner within a few days.

No where that I saw did you mention the asking price...BUT if I looked at the correct area at the website it's for sale at... the price appears to be $5495, if so then you will not find another V8 4WD at that price or even close to that price IMHO, the V8 4WD 4th Gens are in high demand!!

That being said you know to check for frame rust and that a big no go if it's got bad frame rust, even at the price they're asking for it you can't fix the frame without replacing it with another complete frame and come out OK, cost prohibitive for sure, you would have more in it after replacing the frame than it would be worth.

The Carfax didn't mention a timing belt, so I would count on getting that done since it should of been done at least once already and now it's due for the second belt to be replaced, you can look under the hood for a sticker that should of been applied each time the timing belt is replaced, hopefully if you find one it has info on mileage and or date on it, be sure to look on the underside of the hood as well as everywhere else in the engine compartment, when I bought mine I didn't see a sticker when I bought it but about a month later I just happened to look up at the underside of the hood and there was the sticker, you should be able to find a Toyota dealer to do the belt for around $850 to $1100, only go with OEM parts on this an make sure they include doing the water pump, all timing belt ider pulleys, etc. basically any part with moving parts/bearings they have to touch when doing the timing belt, it's best to do all of those things so you don't have to worry about opening the front of the engine/timing belt cover for another 90,000 miles when it's time for another belt.

There's another BIG issue I haven't seen mentioned and that is to check the 4WD drive system to make sure it will go into 4WD LO especially, if not it's a big cost to get that fixed, it would be a stuck actuator and cost around $3000 to $4000 to have a garage replace it, it should go into 4WD High as well and also be able to lock the transfer case also if the 4WD system seems to be working fine make sure you put it into 4WD LO especially as well as the other positions at least once a month or you risk the actuator becoming stuck.

 

[DiracSea]

make sure you put it into 4WD LO especially as well as the other positions at least once a month or you risk the actuator becoming stuck.

Thank you for your input! You are correct I am looking at that one for 5495 but definitely planning on negotiating it down (you'll see why below). I spent a whole hour looking at it today and wasn't able to test drive because of other time commitments, but depending on what this forum says, I will have someone from Lemon Squad go and inspect it and test drive it on my behalf (and I'll test drive it too).
But let's see if it's worth dropping $150 for an inspection in the first place; I was able to take pictures today, it's in worse condition than I thought, but unless you guys see something catastrophic in the engine or underneath, it's something I could live with and afford to fix over time. I also don't have a good understanding of how the average 16 year old car should look:

Anything here catastrophically bad? Overall the interior is GREAT for 16 years old but there are some serious red flags elsewhere.

Timing belt was apparently done at 163k miles. That's kind of concerning right? Because they either did the 2nd belt early or made the first last until 163k where it could have caused damage.


Vin: JTEBT17R438004113
Frame
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
I'm not good at telling whether or not the frame is too far gone and cannot be rust removed + prevented with spray. Can someone tell me if this frame is "walk away" bad? I didn't bring a screwdriver/hammer to tap anything. I don't think I saw anything vital perforated. In some areas it looks better than most frames in the north but in other areas seems like it could be a serious weak link but I'm not entirely sure. I would like to remind those of you from Cali and the south that this car is from the North lol and before IL it was in Atlantic ocean air Rhode Island. We have different rust standards here :haha:
What is that "--> FR" plate and why is it cut on one side and borderline missing on the other?

Engine/Hood
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Cracked engine cover? How would that even happen? But the v8 sounded fine, was surprisingly quiet.

Wheels
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
How do you even get your wheels to look like this? If I can drive on these for 2 months the car will be paid off and I can get new wheels.

Damage/Other Red flags
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Front drivers side mud flap is indeed missing a few screws/bolts and therefore is loose as someone mentioned before. Also as someone mentioned before
Rear bumper is cracked and so is the tail light on one side. Panels on that side are no longer aligned because of it. Causes gas tank cover to not open as easily (back side of the gas tank cover rubs against the inside).
None of the running board lights work. Left turn signal rapidly flashes, right turn signal is fine. Missing left turn signal in the front.
Rear right trunk speaker doesn't work, and panels on the inside arent as tight fitting (this is on the OPPOSITE side of the rear left side fender bender).

Dash Lights
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
One pic is with key half turned (not sure if anything is missing)
Other pic is with engine running (looks all good)

Interior
https://imgur.com/a/Gciw0dr
The highlight of this vehicle.

Edited Picture of Recent Service
https://imgur.com/a/JTbZ17m

It's been raining here, so I know for sure there's no leaks. Interior looks like it's from a totally different vehicle haha. What do you guys think? I really need a vehicle like this but can settle for a cheap highlander if this is "walk-away" bad. As I've said before I plan to pay this thing off within 2 months and can make whatever typical upgrades to keep it in shape to hit 300k+. But is that possible given this frame and engine? If the frame is doable I plan on removing the rust and spraying it down. Replacing the wheels eventually, and getting some sort of replacement engine cover (low priority I would hope). I can live with the exterior damages and can repair/get them running boards, lights, etc eventually.
Scratches I don't mind because my company (Aitex) commercial wrap is going to cover the panels.

So what do you guys say? Worth having the inspector take a look and test drive or is this a lost cause? The service record from 20k miles ago has a previous owners contact so I'm going to give him a call as well.

Really appreciate everyone's input so far and hoping this car gives me a real reason to be on this forum haha. I'm pretty unemotional about the car, but would be very happy if I drove it home and could build it into great shape 6 months from now within reasonable spending.

To put this car in perspective, it's listed at 5495, an almost identical car (same year color and mileage) but without the damages and unknown frame condition is listed at 9k 140 miles from me in michigan.

 

[tom4416]

The wheels alone would have made me walk away - that's a lot of corrosion for aluminum wheels, even neglected aluminum wheels. The frame rust is bad, not catastrophic but bad enough that I'm not sure you can grind and preserve it and if you can, set aside a lot of time to accomplish it. While it's an attractive price, I see it as a potential money pit that will eat up more of your salary than it should.

You're just starting out - get a more frugal vehicle (yes, Highlander fits that category very nicely). Work a few years, make some bank, and then go buy what you really want that is in excellent shape and will cost significantly more dollars but be a solid driver. Sometimes buying cheap is the most expensive vehicle you will ever buy - believe that might be the case here.

As far as the timing belt - it either went the distance and everything is fine, or it didn't and it would not be a smooth running engine at all. However, the sticker seems awfully convenient to the current mileage. Most people trading in a vehicle don't put $1,000 in it before trading.