New member, pre-purchase

Kung

Kung

New member
It is a foregone conclusion that we'll be purchasing an SUV; and having done homework, for me, it's also a foregone conclusion that we'll be purchasing a 4Runner.

All we're doing now is looking at the deals; we're pretty much narrowed down to between a 2000 to 2004 4Runner, with 4x4 and V6 being an absolute must. The 'guy' in me would like to at least get a 2003, considering the substantial bump in HP/TQ; but either way, they'll both be reliable, I'm quite sure.

Thoughts/suggestions? :)
 
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I would recommend a 3rd gen (anywhere between 1996-2002), but then again I'm biased :;):

The newer 4.0 V6 does have more power, but IMHO the 3.4 V6's were better built and so are the 3rd gen 4Runners as a whole.
 
I have to say I was starting to come to that conclusion the more research that I've been doing. Not that the 4th gen is worthless, but what I've seen seems to suggest that the 3rd gen was sort of the 'golden' period for the 4Runner.

And for the record - while I don't plan on doing any hardcore offroading with this, I WILL be modifying it. :)
 
I disagree... partially! I had a great 3rd Gen ('98 5-speed, OME suspension, TRD clutch, and a bunch of goodies) and loved it! As soon as I sold it, I knew that I'd eventually get another one. Three years later, I test drove my '06 Sport Edition and absolutely loved it! I've had it for 13 months now and love it a bit more every time I use it! Bigger, quieter, more powerful, lockable Torsen center diff, A-trac, 5-speed auto, timing chain vs. belt, and lots of creature comforts. It has been great all around! If you haven't driven one, you need to! Either way, you'll end up with a great vehicle, but the Gen3 being the "golden era"? Not so sure, but hey, I'm biased! ;-)
 
Ok, you got me there. But then again, I HAVE run across more than a few guys who have easily had 300K+ on their 3rd Gen 4Runners.

For us it's going to come down to 'need.' I do IT work for the government; and my wife is a diabetic educator for a nearby hospital. So we "can" afford the spiffiest 4Runner if we want.

But do we need it? Naah. I've got an '04 F150 with 145K miles that has been rock solid; and she has an '08 Fusion with 60K miles. What we do NOT have, however, is a vehicle that

a) has 4WD and
b) can tow the family plus possibly some gear and/or a small trailer (e.g., riding lawn mower) if need be.

Being as it most likely won't be a daily driver (more like 2x or 3x a week), it would be hard to justify spending a sizeable amount of money on it. Which is why we're focusing on the metrics I stated above; whether '3G' or '4G', either one will give you bang for your buck for not a huge amount of money, and are undoubtedly more reliable than any Jeep.
 
No doubt, both Gens are great vehicles! It is a little bit easier to have more miles on a Gen3 because they are older! :p Both are excellent Toyota products! There's a guy on this forum with over 240k on his Gen4. Based on your needs, a decent Gen3 sounds like it will fit the bill. I'm sure that you'll be able to find one that you'll be very happy with! Good luck and keep us posted! We love pictures!
 
.....aaaaand just like that, we've found 'the one.' Wife saw one online, and immediately said "Awh, that looked nice, but too bad it's 'broke.'" So I asked what the problem is...and she said "Check engine light." By that time, I'd done enough research to know it was probably either the O2 sensor or the MAF sensor.

Called the guy up; turns out his day job is as a salesman at a reputable dealership; he details cars on the side. Suffice to say that upon speaking to him, I immediately got the feeling that, at the least, this guy was not trying to pull the wool over on anyone.

We showed up today, and I had to wait on him for almost 3 hours beyond our normal meet time, though it was not his fault. (He told me closing time was 6 p.m.; and of course, someone waltzed in at 5:45. They wasted two hours hemming and hawing, only to find out that her credit rating sucked. LOL)

HOWEVER....it was WELL worth the wait. I told the guy that he misrepresented the '00 4Runner; but in this case, that is GOOD. He advertised it as a 2000 4Runner SR5 4x4. It's not. It's actually a 2000 4Runner SR5 SPORT 4x4 (I caught it when I saw the hood scoop and the alloy wheels).

I have never seen a vehicle with 130K miles on it as cherry as this vehicle is. (For that matter, I have trouble finding vehicles with even half that mileage in the condition this one is in.)

There are like one or two scratches on the vehicle; it was garage-kept (in a heated garage at that!) from 2000 to 2009. No rips, tears or gouges anywhere - the carpeting isn't even stained ANYWHERE. It has all original parts, including the manual, the floor mats, the 'back mat' (whatever that cargo area mat is called), and even that goofy little square-shaped plastic doohickey covering the hole in the gearshift base is there. Leaf springs were recalled and replaced, and it does not 'sag' in the back (unless my eyes deceived me - and that's possible, being as I've had 3 hours of sleep in the last 2 days).

Driving it is fantastic. No squeaks or rattles anywhere. Wheel turns nice and free, and when one gets on it, the shifts are silky smooth.

As far as maintenance goes, I can track that all the way back to original purchase, because the original owner kept them WITH the vehicle. Oil changes were done every 4K or so; and in 11 years, it's had

- MAF cleaned
- O2 sensor replaced
- water pump replaced
- starter contacts replaced
- antenna motor replaced

and that's it, other than standard maintenance - and this guy paid for EVERY SINGLE recommended maintenance (e.g., 15K, 30K, 45K, etc.)

Last but not least, the tires are brand spanking new. He's asking $8K; but we both know (as he stated such) that it'll come down to at LEAST $7750, due to the MAF or O2 sensor repair. (I'm having a local dealer check it out to make SURE I know exactly which one it is, as well as any other problems, of course.)

Without discussing it with him, I believe that I can get him down to $7500, and possibly a bit lower. Maybe not the bestest deal there ever was, but considering just HOW well this has been taken care of, I'm not worried in the least. Pending a successful inspection completion and a bit of haggling, we'll be the new owners on Monday. :)

Assuming all goes well, I will post pics Monday or Tuesday.
 
Welcome! At least your conclusion ended with a 4runner, no matter what Gen. Good luck in your search!
 
On Tuesday I take delivery of our 'new' 2000 4Runner SR5 Sport 4x4. :D

The report came back from the Toyota dealership; they said it does need the valve cover gasket replaced (which I'll either have done, or do myself once I get the time), but other than that, it's all BS stuff (e.g., MAF needs cleaned or replaced, they 'recommend an alignment' and brake pads needs replaced soon).

Final purchase price is $7300, and based on its condition I'm more than happy with that price. :)
 
Kung said:
I've got an '04 F150 with 145K miles that has been rock solid; and she has an '08 Fusion with 60K miles. What we do NOT have, however, is a vehicle that

a) has 4WD and
b) can tow the family plus possibly some gear and/or a small trailer (e.g., riding lawn mower) if need be.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase, no doubt you'll love it! But I'm really curious, seeing as you appear to be a Ford fan, why didn't you get a 4x4 F150 or Exploder, oh sorry I mean Explorer :biggrin2:
 
Actually, believe it or not, while I've got nothing against Ford, I'm not all that brand loyal.

The deal with the F150 is that I bought it to get out of my 2003 Ram 1500; after the seventeenth time in the shop, I'd had enough. I could have pursued the whole lemon law thing (it definitely qualified), but suffice to say that mentally and physically, I was not (at that time) at a point in my life where I had the resources to pursue it. The only real recourse I had was to get a new truck.

Wasn't going to get another Dodge; there wasn't a Toyota dealer anywhere near; and I didn't know the Chevy dealer from Adam. However, my dad knew and recommended the local Ford dealer, as did numerous others.

So we bought one, and it just turned 145K. Here's the list of repairs I've done so far:

- driver's rear view mirror
- right rear blinker light

That's it. lol

As far as the '08 Fusion goes, I wanted a Camry. HOWEVER...

a) it's the wife's car, and
b) we got it right in the middle of the whole Toyota acceleration recall last year.

Turns out that the Fusions in general have been extremely reliable; and our local Ford dealership is one of the best dealerships, bar none; whereas the local Toyota dealership is NOT a place I will take my 4Runner. (I'll go to the one in Columbia, Springfield, or Jeff City, MO.)

Anyways, that only answers why I have 2 Fords. As far as why I didn't buy an Explorer?

Simple. While I can afford a brand new vehicle, I don't want to. I wanted a used vehicle with plenty of life left on it, for not too much, etc. Most importantly, this will be our 'winter' vehicle - the one we drive when we HAVE to go somewhere but need 4x4.

So I set out to do research on which vehicle would be best. I'm an IT guy by trade so when I research something, in general, I try to research the absolute crap out of it.

Research on the Explorers and the Sport Tracs reveal their own set of problems, which are worse (IMHO) than any problems the 4Runners might have. Driveshaft, weak trannys, weak timing chain tensioner guides on the 4.0L V6 in the Sport Trac/Explorer ('00 through '02), and I could go on. In short, while my F150 has been rock solid, I'm not at all confident in their other vehicles.

Meanwhile, I know tons of people who own 4WD vehicles; and those who are SERIOUS about it buy 4Runners. The problems I see here all either have easy solutions or workarounds, or aren't big deals.

SO...long answer, but hey, you asked. :) For the record, my next truck will most likely be a Tundra or Tacoma.
 
Hahaha well I'd like to ask another question but I think you answered all of them lol. I know lots of people who like Ford so I don't have anything against them except the only Ford my family has owned was crap but it was an 89 Tempo, so they've most likely improved since then haha. Oh and your Dogde wasn't a lemon, you know what the problem was, it was a Dodge hahahahahah. No offense to you, I just have a personally thing against them.
 
TRDCal said:
I know lots of people who like Ford so I don't have anything against them except the only Ford my family has owned was crap but it was an 89 Tempo, so they've most likely improved since then haha.
Click to expand...

Yeah, to semi-paraphrase Renee Zellweiger from Jerry Maguire, "Stop...just stop...you had me at Tempo." ;):

Most people I know have been of the opinion that Ford is a truck company; their trucks overall haven't been all that bad. Cars, however, were another story, up till the Fusion debuted. I've owned an F250 that I sold to my dad at 250K miles, and he's still driving it, and there's my F150. I mean, 2 repairs totaling less than $100 in 145K miles? Can't beat that. Same with the Fusion.

HOWEVER...we got the Fusion to get OUT of a '97 Taurus, the single biggest P.O.S. vehicle I've ever owned. It was even worse than the Dodge was. Was on the way to get 'scoped' (to see if I had an ulcer in my stomach or just plain gastritis), and the electrical system went batty. I got upset as I was getting some coffee, and got back in the car, pulled on the door panel to close the door - and it came off in my hand. Looked @ DW and said "That is IT. New car. TODAY." lol

Oh and your Dogde wasn't a lemon, you know what the problem was, it was a Dodge hahahahahah. No offense to you, I just have a personally thing against them.
Click to expand...

Oh, you're not offending me in the least. I'm right there with you. I can't count the number of times I've looked @ vehicles and remarked how nice they looked...and EVERY time it ends with "....yeah, but it's a Dodge." :D

Anyways, this'll be my first Toyota, but I've owned a Saturn, a Chevy, 3 Dodges, 2 Fords, and a Toyota. Based solely on my (short) experience w/this 4Runner, and the experiences of all others I know, I can definitively say my next truck WILL be a Toyota. :)
 
Only reason the Fusion is any good is because its the old model ''Mazda 6''..! I'm as conservative as they come, but I do not buy American. Lol. And most ''foreign'' companies are as American or more American than the big 3... Must look at where parts are sourced from too, not just assembly...

Sorry, might be off topic, but just wanted to say... lol


- Sent via Tapatalk for Android
 
That can go both ways. With Ford, you have a vehicle 'made in the USA' but sourced from all over, most of it probably overseas. lol With Toyota, you have a vehicle made in the USA as well, also sourced from all over, most of it probably overseas.

So in the end, for me, what I buy comes down just as much to 'local support' as it does to the vehicle, where the parts are sourced, etc. The local Ford dealership is phenomenal - one of those dealerships that will often support you out of warranty, will give you decent deals even when they aren't 'supposed' to, etc. I've put 35K on my Fusion, and I can trade it in for MORE than I bought it for. That's pretty tough to do on any vehicle.

The local Toyota dealership absolutely sucks....but the vehicle is reliable, and there are pretty good mechanics around here, and I don't foresee many problems with the 4R, so hey. :)
 
Actually...I was mistaken on the type of vehicle it is.

Now that I've actually taken delivery, I realize that what I have is the '00 4Runner SR5 Highlander with "Millennium Silver." Whoopie! lol

Having seen it in broad daylight, I did catch a few things that I didn't the first time (a VERY small rust spot on the sill, a dent no bigger than my pinkie finger), but nothing that would at all even affect the price of the vehicle. If anything, if it wasn't for the fact that the guy that sold it to me did so at a decent price 'to help a brother out,' I'd almost feel like I was taking HIM for a ride. This thing is tight as a drum. The only things it 'has' to have are

a) external tranny cooler mod and
b) valve cover gasket replacement.

Both of these are going to be done at our local Ford dealer (yes, I know, I said Ford; but bluntly put, we know the mechanics there, and I trust them with any vehicle - plus we get HUGE deals on work we get done there) on Friday, so we're good to go. I'll take much better pics tomorrow and post them.
 
Thanks for the laughs man

For the most part the "heated garage" part

I am glad some people are as trusting as you are. You would be surprised the kind of "stains" a professional automotive carpet cleaner/detailer can get out and the amazing things detailers can hide with a little magic and trade secrets.

Maybe it is where you live, but the majority of Toyota owners take care of their autos much better than other brands.

I have been working for Toyota for 12 years so I kind of know.

130,000 is pretty much on par for 10k a year, I just bought a 1994 in the same condition you are explaining with only 170,000, and thats less miles per year average than yours and I got mine for $3700

I don't understand how much of a "HUGE" deal you could be getting on service at your Ford dealership. FORD is commonly accepted in the industry as the one who yields the least on price breaks on service especially. They have to pay their mechanics and make some money for their time.
You go on about how much you can afford $, so I don't understand why you would take a risk and not using brand specific mechanics.

It's funny when people think they have gotten the deal of the century is all.

Even if this fantasy of a "heated garage" was true, dude its a truck in a garage not an animal or a mink coat.
 
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