Now that I can finally create a new thread, I am pasting the write up from my website 
Yesterday, I drove to Fresno, CA to pick up our new rig! It was about a 2.5 hour drive doing mostly 80mph to get there, with some slow areas. It felt like it was a 6-8 hour trip. Why? Well, the journey began 2.5 months previous…
2.5 months ago, it was decided it was time to look for a 3rd Gen 4Runner. Naturally like with all things to purchase on Craigslist, it would be checked a couple of times a day. About a week later, the details of what a 4Runner would cost, the condition, etc. were realized. The average 3rd Gen (1996-2002) 4Runner 4X4 would have an average of 200K – 250K miles on it, costing on average around $5,500 and with limited options, such as color, interior color / condition, etc. I saw very few standard transmissions, only 1 supercharged engine, only around 4-5 black exterior paint jobs, very few gray interiors, not many front hood scoops, not many rear differential locks.
If a deal was good, such as 170K miles or below with a good price, such as $5,500 or below, universally they were gone within 12 hours. The fastest selling good deal I found sold 3 hours after the listing on Craigslist. Wow, so now the search had to be expanded beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. This initially led to searching in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Reno, Las Vegas, Sacramento and LA. OK, getting some better results with the search expansion. But once again, the good deals were mostly gone within 12 hours.
Trello was being used to manage this project in all that it would entail, so because my head began to swim with facts and figures in all these searches, the search job became documented, complete with a picture, mileage and cost, all ranked in priority of what was preferred. There was another list that was created called potentials, but those were links only. Eventually, the priority listings were thrown onto the potentials list, in order by city as the amount of time spent creating the priority listings were too much for how little time the 4Runners were available. At this point, the search has become checking Craigslist 5+ times a day…
It gets worse. Somehow all these extended markets started getting almost, but not quite, the same kind of pricing and inventory as the Bay Area. More so, the cost would also require a one-way plane ticket, an Uber / Lyft ride and then a drive back. Buying the ticket would require a 3-5 day leeway time, which at the rate these 4Runners were selling, was an eternity. If I buy the ticket and then a couple of days later the 4Runner sold, I was screwed. Additionally, any part of this process also pretty much guaranteed negotiating price was practically out the window. In this process, I came close to booking tickets around 6 times. The last time was going to be to Seattle, but the 4Runner there sold the next morning.
I am now checking not only the major markets, but all the smaller markets listed on Craigslist under “nearby CL”. This list for the SF Bay Area has 30 locations, which did include the major CA cities. I am now up to 10+ times a day checking. I am really reaching a point of being exhausted because it is ALL I am thinking about.
FINALLY, I find one that is not only a pretty good deal, but WOW, I LOVE this rig! It has a lot of bonus features that I did not dare to wish or dream for until AFTER I bought it, knowing I would make those changes myself. I texted the guy the night before, made an offer and chatted for about an hour. Next morning, got on the road and didn’t stop for anything. I wanted to get there before something happened!
I was lucky enough to truly land a unicorn rig – 2002 4×4 4Runner with 172K miles on it. Let the adventures begin!
Yesterday, I drove to Fresno, CA to pick up our new rig! It was about a 2.5 hour drive doing mostly 80mph to get there, with some slow areas. It felt like it was a 6-8 hour trip. Why? Well, the journey began 2.5 months previous…
2.5 months ago, it was decided it was time to look for a 3rd Gen 4Runner. Naturally like with all things to purchase on Craigslist, it would be checked a couple of times a day. About a week later, the details of what a 4Runner would cost, the condition, etc. were realized. The average 3rd Gen (1996-2002) 4Runner 4X4 would have an average of 200K – 250K miles on it, costing on average around $5,500 and with limited options, such as color, interior color / condition, etc. I saw very few standard transmissions, only 1 supercharged engine, only around 4-5 black exterior paint jobs, very few gray interiors, not many front hood scoops, not many rear differential locks.
If a deal was good, such as 170K miles or below with a good price, such as $5,500 or below, universally they were gone within 12 hours. The fastest selling good deal I found sold 3 hours after the listing on Craigslist. Wow, so now the search had to be expanded beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. This initially led to searching in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Reno, Las Vegas, Sacramento and LA. OK, getting some better results with the search expansion. But once again, the good deals were mostly gone within 12 hours.
Trello was being used to manage this project in all that it would entail, so because my head began to swim with facts and figures in all these searches, the search job became documented, complete with a picture, mileage and cost, all ranked in priority of what was preferred. There was another list that was created called potentials, but those were links only. Eventually, the priority listings were thrown onto the potentials list, in order by city as the amount of time spent creating the priority listings were too much for how little time the 4Runners were available. At this point, the search has become checking Craigslist 5+ times a day…
It gets worse. Somehow all these extended markets started getting almost, but not quite, the same kind of pricing and inventory as the Bay Area. More so, the cost would also require a one-way plane ticket, an Uber / Lyft ride and then a drive back. Buying the ticket would require a 3-5 day leeway time, which at the rate these 4Runners were selling, was an eternity. If I buy the ticket and then a couple of days later the 4Runner sold, I was screwed. Additionally, any part of this process also pretty much guaranteed negotiating price was practically out the window. In this process, I came close to booking tickets around 6 times. The last time was going to be to Seattle, but the 4Runner there sold the next morning.
I am now checking not only the major markets, but all the smaller markets listed on Craigslist under “nearby CL”. This list for the SF Bay Area has 30 locations, which did include the major CA cities. I am now up to 10+ times a day checking. I am really reaching a point of being exhausted because it is ALL I am thinking about.
FINALLY, I find one that is not only a pretty good deal, but WOW, I LOVE this rig! It has a lot of bonus features that I did not dare to wish or dream for until AFTER I bought it, knowing I would make those changes myself. I texted the guy the night before, made an offer and chatted for about an hour. Next morning, got on the road and didn’t stop for anything. I wanted to get there before something happened!
I was lucky enough to truly land a unicorn rig – 2002 4×4 4Runner with 172K miles on it. Let the adventures begin!
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