Maintenance vs Price - Which is More Important

[TravisS4]

I found 2 4Runner that are in really good condition. I have decided that I will just sale my S4. I can always get another. Anyways I found 2 4Runners that are in good condition. However, they are priced in two different ball parks. One has all the maintenance done and up to date. While the other one maintenance is unknown. Maintenance is more important to me but not worth an extra 4k IMO. Just curious as to what you all think.

1999 4Runner Limited w/ 158k miles
Cars for Sale: 1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited in Louisville, KY 40258: Sport Utility Details - 324270519 - AutoTrader.com

Pros: I feel its priced well with room to negotiate . The interior is almost in mint condition. It ran and drove really well.

Cons: Maintenance is really unknown. They provided a Carfax but its just real basic stuff oil change here and there no signifanct work or repairs such as lower ball joints, timing belt etc..

2002 4Runner SR5 w/138 miles
Cars for Sale: 2002 Toyota 4Runner SR5 in Louisville, KY 40222: Sport Utility Details - 323161687 - AutoTrader.com

Pros: The maintenance on the vehicle is all up to date. The Carfax shows all work done since 6 miles. New timing belt, lower ball joints, transmission flush done at 98k miles. Oil change every 3k. The vehicle is a 1 owner if you don't count the dealers as owners. Little to rust on the undercarriage or rear bumper.

Cons: Its priced relatively high. They really didn't want to work on price with me. Passenger rear window did not work but said they would fix it for me. Also VSC, TRAC and Check Engine Light were on. They said they would fix it before I bought it. No sunroof or leather

 

[4-Ripcord]

If you can get the 2nd one for around 9, that would be awesome. Forget the first one IMO, no maintenance, no deal. Unless they can confirm when the important stuff was done and agree to change all the fluids or something..

When the CEL, TRAC & VSC lights all come on at the same time, it is usually a p0420 code which is usually fixed by a new O2 sensor.

 

[chimpy]

[/QUOTE]2002 4Runner SR5 w/138 miles
Cars for Sale: 2002 Toyota 4Runner SR5 in Louisville, KY 40222: Sport Utility Details - 323161687 - AutoTrader.com[/QUOTE]





Well they are throwing in a new BBQ grill with this one.:cowboy:

 

[masphx]

Try to buy from the owner instead of the dealer. With these higher mileage rigs I would only buy from owner unless it was a super deal. My Rig came with very little history. Only thing that showed up on Carfax and Toyota service history was timing belt and spark plugs at 128K. I bought the Rig with 168K on it with only that one maintenance service in the history. The guy had a nice house and seemed to do his own work. You can read a lot about a person and how they treated their truck from meeting them personally. Can't do that at the dealer. BTW, I have put 10K on my rig in the last nice months and no issues besides a CEL.

Mason

 

[TravisS4]

I prefer to buy from a private seller vs a dealer but all the ones around me seem to be at dealers. Seems like nobody on Craigslist is serious about selling there 4Runner as I have replied to several ads with no email back.

The grill is actually pretty nice too bad I don;t need a new one.

 

[Dark Lord]

The first one has higher mileage, but it also has a rear locker and is a lot cheaper. No maintenance records kind of sucks, but the Carfax actually doesn't show EVERYTHING. It's kind of weird actually. The Carfax that came with my truck didn't show the timing belt records, but I saw the sticker inside the engine bay. I registered the VIN on the Toyota Owner's website, and it showed records on there for a timing belt replace as well as all the dealer service done for the vehicle. The lower ball joints probably isn't going to show up on a service record anyways. That doesn't seem like something normal owners look at. Pretty much timing belt and water pump.

I prefer the vehicle with less rust, but in reality I like to go with my gut on picking vehicles. I was stuck between two 4runners when I bought mine, and I ended up going with my gut. I like the vehicle that seems like it was taken care of the most. When I bought mine, I was between a 4runner with 114K miles for about $1400 more than one with 124K miles (not a whole lot). I ended up paying the extra money simply because the 4runner I bought was just in spectacular condition. The other one seemed like it was neglected...

How long have you been searching? If you don't get a great feeling about either of these then pass on both. The only downside I had about my 4runner was I felt like I was paying too much, but I knew it was "the one."

 

[PitbullRescuer]

1st one without a doubt. 2nd one is over priced and with all the lights on I wouldn't touch. Wether they fix it or not. Also, the interior in that one looks a little rough. If you're down to just these two, buy the first one.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Oh, and I sold my B5 S4 back in '04, they're not that easy to pick up again. Most of the ones out there are beat at this point. Hold on to it if you can.

 

[TravisS4]

I've only been searching for around a month. I'm in no rush to buy anything. Just trying to see what every thinks regarding price vs maintenance. My friend works at the sister dealership for the 2nd 4Runner listed and he told me how much they bought it for and there is no wiggle room in that price at all.

Yes, all my friends think I'm crazy for selling my S4 but I fell it's time to let it go. It is a Stage 3 TIAL 605 so there is not much left to do other than a meth kit.