HawaiianKong
New member
I've been a long-time lurker here and finally decided to buy a 3rd Gen, but I need some advice to whether this particular one is too shady or I should buy anyway:
It's a 1998 4Runner with manual trans, 4WD, and e-locker. It also has nearly new 31" tires on aftermarket wheels (similar to those Rockstar wheels, but not as gaudy). He advertised it on craigslist with 133k miles for $6500. I drove it and it drives great, little noise from the tires, no big deal for me. The 4L and 4H engage just fine, couldn't test the e-locker. The interior's a little rough...the black bezels around the gauges and switches have been painted like a riced Civic, and the brown leather's a little beat up. The brakes are bad -- pedal goes almost to the floor; either needs pads or bleeding. The speedometer needle also bounced around the 50mph mark, regardless of speed (had a similar situation with an old 240sx when I replaced the speedometer). But the big thing for me was the timing belt -- at 133k it's either way overdue or pretty fresh. He said it's been replaced, but being real vague about it -- "the timing belt situation is fine".
Now I go do a carfax, and the last registered mileage in July 2013 was 184k, which leads me to believe this is now a 200k mile truck. I'm fine with that, but the timing belt situation is still weird. Given all that, the lowest he can go is $5600.
I know the 5MT w/e-locker Runners are pretty rare and it's in otherwise good condition (no rust), so $5600 would be great for a truck with solid history. But are there too many questions and should I walk away? Or is this worth jumping on?
It's a 1998 4Runner with manual trans, 4WD, and e-locker. It also has nearly new 31" tires on aftermarket wheels (similar to those Rockstar wheels, but not as gaudy). He advertised it on craigslist with 133k miles for $6500. I drove it and it drives great, little noise from the tires, no big deal for me. The 4L and 4H engage just fine, couldn't test the e-locker. The interior's a little rough...the black bezels around the gauges and switches have been painted like a riced Civic, and the brown leather's a little beat up. The brakes are bad -- pedal goes almost to the floor; either needs pads or bleeding. The speedometer needle also bounced around the 50mph mark, regardless of speed (had a similar situation with an old 240sx when I replaced the speedometer). But the big thing for me was the timing belt -- at 133k it's either way overdue or pretty fresh. He said it's been replaced, but being real vague about it -- "the timing belt situation is fine".
Now I go do a carfax, and the last registered mileage in July 2013 was 184k, which leads me to believe this is now a 200k mile truck. I'm fine with that, but the timing belt situation is still weird. Given all that, the lowest he can go is $5600.
I know the 5MT w/e-locker Runners are pretty rare and it's in otherwise good condition (no rust), so $5600 would be great for a truck with solid history. But are there too many questions and should I walk away? Or is this worth jumping on?
