Moral support -- is it time to move on?

[Brian.]

I am leaning toward keeping it, since I love the car and have not had to put anything into it in 8 years.

BUT I am not a mechanic. I can do some small stuff, but have no tools or space to do the work. So I think in LA I'd be lucky to get out under $4k here...

Where there's a Will, there's a Way.

Sounds like you think it's just too much work/effort, and if you believe that, you're right. But if you have any interest, any desire and you just can't see a way then say so. LOTS of folks who live in urban areas without a dedicated space of their own who work on their vehicles. There are a few different ways to deal with the situation, they all require effort on your part.

If you Want to save your 4runner, say the word. I can't help as I'm on the other side of the country, but there will be people near you who can, and will, offer assistance if you only ask and make some effort to help yourself. Those of us with experience almost all learned from someone else, and generally like to pay it forward and help those who are just starting out. All you need to start is have the desire and ask for help.

 

[BrianSD_42]

A 200k mile 4Runner isn't an ideal daily driver by any measurement unless you live in the snow or use 4wd every week.

Keep the 4runner. Buy a used DD.
.

 

[AntleredRuin]

I am leaning toward keeping it, since I love the car and have not had to put anything into it in 8 years.

BUT I am not a mechanic. I can do some small stuff, but have no tools or space to do the work. So I think in LA I'd be lucky to get out under $4k here...

What would you be looking at payment-wise if you got a new car? If you want a car, probably $300+/month. For a truck, probably $500+. That's not taking into account the higher insurance costs (most new cars require full coverage before you drive off the lot, which can easily be another $300/month). You would come out even in just a few months, even with a $4k shop bill.
I'd suggest taking care of the check engine light first, then everything else after as you see fit. That might only be a few hundred (could be just the O2 sensors)

A 200k mile 4Runner isn't an ideal daily driver by any measurement unless you live in the snow or use 4wd every week.

Keep the 4runner. Buy a used DD.
.

Slightly derailing this thread (sorry OP), but this isn't necessarily true. This is kinda like saying there's no point to a 2wd 4Runner. To each their own.
I think it's a great DD.
It's an super reliable, easy/cheap to fix truck that actually makes decent mileage (I can get 23+ HWY MPGs) and is completely capable of 300-400k miles with minimal attention. How do people rack up these crazy high miles? They DD it, and for a reason. Might not make 40 MPG HWY like an old Civic, but there's a lot more going for it than that.

I DD mine, and I love it. It's small enough that it slides through traffic easily, but large enough that I don't have other large vehicles tailing me constantly because they're bigger than me (my wife's old Rav4 was a tailgater magnet because it was so small; it just begged to be squished.) It also has metal bumpers which on 2 separate occasions have saved my truck from going to a shop with sideswipes, when the other person's car was completely destroyed. I just needed some paint touch-up; they needed a whole new fender and plastic bumper cap.

That plus the ability to haul tools and work equipment, make large Home Depot runs during lunch break to avoid spending an hour shopping during the weekend, etc.

 

[senor perfecto]

Where there's a Will, there's a Way.

Sounds like you think it's just too much work/effort, and if you believe that, you're right. But if you have any interest, any desire and you just can't see a way then say so. LOTS of folks who live in urban areas without a dedicated space of their own who work on their vehicles. There are a few different ways to deal with the situation, they all require effort on your part.

If you Want to save your 4runner, say the word. I can't help as I'm on the other side of the country, but there will be people near you who can, and will, offer assistance if you only ask and make some effort to help yourself. Those of us with experience almost all learned from someone else, and generally like to pay it forward and help those who are just starting out. All you need to start is have the desire and ask for help.

Taking Latin instead of machine shop in high school sure has gotten expensive over the years.

 

[JMat]

Sell it to me for $500:zoom:

 

[Sarki]

“Suum cuique"......to each his own!
Some of us like to turn wrenches and some don’t.
For me, I love it. Love the challenge and usually enjoy the end result. Have been wrenching since I was old enough to be my dad’s helper.....“hand me a 7/16 wrench, will ya”
For my son, no desire and never will......just the way it is.
These are great rigs for all the reasons people have said during this thread.
If you can identify a quality shop and can afford to pay their rates by all means keep it alive and enjoy the ride.

 

[suncoug]

I would say sell it if you don't enjoy working on it. Try to get as much as you can. Just be decisive.

As for myself, having owned many cars, having a car with a good frame and body is a great blessing. Other stuff including engine, transmission, etc. can be relatively easily dealt with. I think you can still buy a factory reman. auto trans. from Toyota for your 2WD 4Runner for less than $2k. What a great deal!

I bought mine with close to 200k. It's been a great vehicle and I put another 175k on it. It would have been pretty expensive to run it, had I not been able to work on it myself.

On other hand, I am just amazed at the array of new Toyota/Denso quality parts you can buy for very reasonable prices. I have had to deal with the following issues:

-Alternator
-TB/Water pump
-Rear Diff
-A/C condenser
-Starter

Conversely, had I not been able to work on it myself, it would have been many thousands of $$$. 3rd Gen 4runners are very easy to work on. The new parts are so reliable, but I still carry a spare starter and alternator, just in case and because they are so reasonable in cost. In most cases, you can rebuild your denso starter for like $10. I once swapped out the starter at a camp ground without lifting the 4Runner, because it had an internal short.

You can also get a rear factory Toyota shock for $43 for your 2WD 4Runner. I would say it is a pretty good deal! But, then, if you are like many women out there that don't understand these things, you would be better off just buy a newer car with warranty, overall.

In bigger scheme of things, knowing how to work on cars don't count for much, so you might as well work on developing your career and making more $. It's not necessarily a bad thing not knowing how to work on cars.

 

[Haybale]

I’d fix it if it was mine but I enjoy wrenching and learning.

 

[Brian.]

Taking Latin instead of machine shop in high school sure has gotten expensive over the years.

lol... don't worry, I had Zero interest when I was younger too. Dad bought a '52 Chevy truck as a "father son" project... that was never touched by me. My folks kidded me about putting on garden gloves to put the chain back on my bicycle.

My point was getting into motorcycles. I could afford to buy a used bike, cover the registrations, insurance, fuel, gear, etc... even the maintenance items, but paying someone else to do things like change brake pads, of the chain and sprockets, would mean that I got to ride less... as in, it'd be parked for several weeks while unsafe as I saved up money (I wasn't smart enough to plan ahead back then... was reactive instead of proactive).

Decades later, I'm reasonably accomplished with 4-wheeled vehicles (and have since retired with motorcycles out of boredom, well... getting married and wanting non-solo activities might have contributed). And it's not an all-or-nothing deal with working on vehicles. You said you have a CEL, so start with getting a code reader ($20 for bluetooth or wifi that works with your phone). O2 sensors bad? Those are a simple 20 minute replacement... you can buy the most Basic of tools to do that job (a 10mm wrench) for under $30 and just let them live in the 4runner. Every little bit that you do yourself is knowledge gained, money saved (even if you're buying tools, it's still cheaper) and guess what... if you break something, or get stuck... it's not something that can't still be fixed by someone else.

But, some people have Zero interest. I understand and respect that. Heck, I made a living off those kinds of people for a number of years. That's why I said that if you Want to learn, to do the work yourself, to just say the word. What I've seen in this forum so-far has reminded me of the closeness of the motorcycle forums I used to belong to. People who will gladly help someone. If you want to learn this kind of stuff, the 4runner seems like a great starting point. Loads of people who are into them, lots of parts, that are generally pretty affordable. Very robust platform too, can take a lot of "noob wrenching" torture without suffering.

Hows that for moral support? :tea: