Need advice on purchasing 94 w/v6

[1Dragonfly]

Hello to all. I'm a newbie. This is my first post. I'm interested in buying a 94 t4r 4x4 w/v6. Has 100000 mi exactly. Price is $2500. Everything is good except it doesn't pass smog! Owner says it's timing and a clogged cat. Here is a copy of the smog test. Is it worth buying this truck? Big problem or easily fixed? Thank you in advance.

 

[thatoneguy]

**** California, with 62 and 53ppm max on hydrocarbons. Here in Utah, it's 220... for the counties that even bother with emissions.

I wouldn't buy a truck that doesn't pass. If its so easy to fix, the current owner can do it. That's not necessarily the best policy - just my policy.

 

[broken wrench]

x2, if it's such an easy fix. The owner should do it or drop the price !Could be as simple as a tune up or cat to a sensor, but then again ? Be careful if you do think of buying it

 

[ryan4r]

x3, the last person whos advice you take on a fix should be the seller. i had a very similar problem a while back with a blazer. it wouldnt smog, i trusted the seller when they said that it was the cat and not a big fix. long story short i had to take it to the shop multiple times, it never ended up passing smog and i ended up donating it about 8 months later to get rid of the headache. what you could do however is make a deal with the seller that he gets it fixed, gets it smogged, and saves the receipts, and then just tack on the cost of the fix to the final price as long as its within the range of what he is saying its going to be. trust me you dont wanna deal with the headache of trying to pin point the problem from a long list of possible issues with emisions. thats not even a really screaming deal. either make a deal with him to have him fix it or keep looking. good deals on toyotas come up all the time if youre willing to wait

 

[KidVermicious]

$2500 is a decent price for a cosmetically and mechanically sound truck that can be registered. It's way too much for a truck that won't pass your state's emissions test. I'd walk.

 

[1Dragonfly]

Thank you for the replies. The seller didn't mention it to be easy to fix. I was wondering if it was easy or just a big headache. The truck is in excellent condition with extremely low miles. My first thought was maybe not buy it, but it's so clean! I thought I'd get other opinions from people that would know and what better place than here��Thanx again everyone! I guess I'll keep hunting

 

[KidVermicious]

If it's super-super clean, it might be worth buying at that price, but I'd take it to a Toyota dealership or independant mechanic of your choice and have them do a pre-purchase inspection. Let them know you're concerned about the smog numbers. For $100 or so they should be able to give you a decent idea of what's causing the trouble, and then you can make a little more educated offer to the seller.

That's assuming you have to have that truck. California seems loaded with clean early 4Runners, so if you don't want to risk getting into a money pit just keep looking.

 

[Red88TopangaCa]

I bet you could get this guy down a bit on the price. Super clean. I wish I was in the market.... 85 Toyota 4Runner - 4Sale

 

[Sharpie330]

In California the seller is responsible for the vehicle to pass smog.

 

[Ryros92runner]

If you are going to go the pre purchase inspection route if it were me I would have a leak down test performed too. The 3.0 is a good motor but has a reputation for failed head gaskets. Some people say it's from the poorly designed exhaust crossover, others say poor gaskets and not so flat engine blocks, or not maintaining your coolant correctly.You can look in to seeing if the head gaskets were ever replaced with the VIN from the smog check. The head gasket replacement campaign was the V06 Campaign.
The 92 I purchased only had 110K, the head gaskets were replaced by Toyota at like 35K and I am in the middle of doing them again. The gaskets' fire rings were split on the #1 and #6 cylinders next to coolant ports in the heads.
Anyway, a lot of people would walk away because of the smog test alone and I just wanted you to know there is a little more to the 3VZE than just passing emissions.
Hope this helps,
Jim S

 

[BudlightFred]

Talk him down say 1700 and go from there I bought my wife's 95 for 1100 from 1700 and also bought a 90 for 800 if you have cash in hand they usually take it. Fill him full of mechanic jargin like it could be o2 timing cat tune up and it could also have the egr sensor that is bad that sensor is 150 new or you can by pass it with a resistor from radio shack for $2 for a 5 pack.but before you by humor your self and do a compression check. Also is the check engine light on???