New Urban Runner

[coolpop]

I am picking up my new, Blizzard Pearl Urban Runner tonight (10/10/08) that I got, I believe, a steal of a deal on.

First of all, let me say that the pics in no way do the color justice. I'm not much of white vehicle guy, but this color is just gorgeous and has to be seen in person. It's like a metallic pearl, just beautiful, not a flat refrigerator white. Awesome.

The dealer was so easy to work with, very pleasant, we had a deal knocked out in 15 minutes. The MSRP was $35,670 including the BS dealer delivery fees and all. I got it (yes you are reading this correctly) for $27,173 with the dealer throwing in window tint AND swapping the crappy bridgestones out for the michelins. I also had them add XM satellite radio, which I paid for, bringing the total to $27,623 plus TTT. Out the door price was $30,489. Unreal.

I love this truck so much that this is my 4th 4Runner. Lots of factors influenced this decision to do this now. Toyota's $4000 rebate (has there ever been a time where toyota offered an incentive like this???), the fact that my 06 Runner was never really right after the f***ed up seat issue that went on for almost a year (see previous posts), and the 25 little dents on it now after a hail storm in June. Plus I got a friend to buy it for what I owe on it, bam, we're done.

Of course I am going to swap my 8000K HID system and Nokya hyper yellow fogs out of the old Runner and into the new one

I will post pics when I get a chance.

 

[Thai]

Very nice!! Pearly white color is just damn beautiful! Great deal...Toyota, like everyone else, is desparate to get rid of their inventory.

 

[Ron Helmuth]

sweet that is the V8? or V6

sorry I don't know the 4th gens all that well sorry if that is a stupid question.

Looking for some pics to try to do the paint justice.

I'm the refrigerator white and it is still a bit "pretty" for me for a truck... but it is growin' on me.

 

[coolpop]

It's a 2WD V6. I like to do my own oil changes and the filter on the V6 is right there on top, making it impossibly easy to change.

Yes, I will try to post pics this weekend, assuming I can get some pics that really show how great this color is.

 

[boostedprozac]

Very awesome! I'd love to have seen that color but my dealer didn't have that one in stock. NOTE!! Don't worry too much if the stock navi goes crazy in about a week. It has been known to corrupt the sd card. Just let them know and a new "fixed" card will fix the nav. OR...you can copy the contents onto another sd card and use that. Look it up on the forum if you have questions. CONGRATS on the new ride!

 

[alaskaman]

congrats. I would look for you in an Alaska snowstorm but with the color I might miss ya.:tongue:

 

[coolpop]

Thanks for the tip boosted. I will make sure to look for that.

Oops and thank you Thai and alaskaman for the nice sentiments

 

[leftyguns21]

It's a 2WD V6.

ah i was about to go crazy..but the 2wd's do sell a bit cheaper. i got mine for 32. otd so the extra cash for the 4wd is worth it.

you picked a great color good choice

 

[coolpop]

No doubt lefty. 2WD is a bit cheaper so don't go crazy, you still got a pretty damn good deal too And yes, what a fantastic color.

Also, get this. I just had my XM transferred and they now offer "the best of Sirius" on XM for a few bucks more per month. You get some extra channels including Howard Stern (who really sucks now compared to what he did in the 80s and 90s. His show is just awful and definitely not funny anymore), Sirius NFL Radio, all the NFL games, Nascar, etc. It's a great package.

Your pics look awesome. Congrats to you too.

 

[coolpop]

Grrrrrrrr....back to the dealer Monday. The tires are not balanced correctly even though I asked that it be done prior to me picking it up, and it pulls to the right very significantly. I called the service manager and he told me that he's had a good number of Toyota vehicles that have had balance and alignment issues right from the factory. That's fine. I have yet to get a 4Runner that was road ready right off the lot. No big deal.

The HID system is now in, the fogs are now in, the XM/Sirius package is strong. Time for some pics. If I can figure out how to do it, I will post them soon.

 

[leftyguns21]

it pulls to the right very significantly.

mine pulls to the right too...i keep a list of 'fixes' for when i take my car in for its first free oil change. this list is getting longer every week. i figure ive been driving it about 5 months now so all of its early quirks have been noticed.

 

[rx900]

Is it a really SIGNIFICANT pull to the right? Normally cars are designed that way to pull to the right (no matter how new and aligned they are). Two reasons. The roads are slightly slanted towards the right so when it rains, the water would slide down to the right side. Secondly (from a technician) they were designed for those who sleep and drive, so in case you do that and dont realize it, your car will hit a tree (or whatever is on ur right side) instead of oncoming traffic..

My 2 cents.

 

[coolpop]

Yeah, it was a pretty strong pull. They got it up on the alignment rack and one thing on the right side of the vehicle (toe? camber?) was way out of whack. All fixed now.

BUT...the tires have been road force balanced TWICE now and I still get a vibration once I hit 65. And the vibration is in the seats, not the steering wheel, which tells me it's a rear tire(s) issue. I am so picky about having no vibration that even a little bit really annoys me, but this is more than just a bit bc I really feel it in the seat, and the passenger seat shakes quite a bit.

I'm stumped. They've balanced the tires on the Hunter 9700 twice now. I don't know what to do next.

Suggestions?

 

[SdayRiverRunner]

I had the same balance problem. The dealer told me they had been having some problems with the bridgestones so they are changing the tires to Michelin Cross Terrains.

 

[coolpop]

I have the Michelins. That's why I just have no ideas here.

I'm heading back down there this morning. Yesterday when I spoke with the advisor, he said they'll try it one more time and if that doesn't work, they'll swap out the two rear tires.

I will keep everybody updated.

 

[SdayRiverRunner]

I didn't notice you already had the Cross terrains. My shake started in the front at 65 mph. they rebalanced, no change. Rebalanced rotated and changed one tire then the shake moved to the back at 45 mph. I'm hoping the Michelins fix my problem but now I'm worried.

 

[boostedprozac]

interesting. Mine came with michelins and they're great. No vibs at any speed. GL to you guys.

 

[coolpop]

OK here is the latest.

On the way down to the dealership yesterday (about 20 miles down I-95), I noticed that the vibration was almost gone. It was strange. I varied my speeds between 65-80 and there was very little. I thought maybe I had been imagining it all. Weird.

I decided to go talk to the tech anyway. The guy seemed very knowledgeable, and I told him that honestly there was very little vibration now. He told me why.

He asked how many miles were on the truck when I got it....I told him 8. He asked how long the truck had been on the lot....I told him since April 25th (I got it last weekend). He explained to me that since the vehicle sat on the lot for 5 months without being driven that it's likely that some of the tires had flat-spotted, and sometimes it takes up to 500 miles of driving to get the tires right again. I told him I thought flat spots disappear after 10 minutes or so of driving, he said not really when the vehicle has been sitting that long.

Well, so far he's right. I was driving last night, 75 mph, and practically no vibration anymore, very smooth. He told me to bring it back around 500 miles and they will road force them again, but the vibration seems to be disappearing.

Does any of that make any sense?

 

[SdayRiverRunner]

the dealer changed out my bridgestones for the michelins and the vibration problem seems to be solved.

 

[coolpop]

OK, I've now hit 500 miles and decided to bring it back to the tech, just as he asked.

After I told him that there was still some on again / off again vibration in the seats, he wanted to road force the 2 rear tires. Long story short, both of the readings were over 30, very unusual for Michelins. The dealer ordered 2 new tires without me even asking. Said they should be there next week.

I thought that was pretty cool of them - no excuses, no BS, just did it on their own. That kind of thing goes a long way with me.