Newbie shopping for a '06 + Sport Edition

[THEREED]

Hi all,

I am bummed as I just lost out on a 2006 SE V6 toyota certifed runner I had my eye on at a local dealer. While negotiating on it Saturday someone purchased it over the phone so I lost out on that one. There are plenty more out there though..

I am looking to buy a 2006 or newer (don't care for the 05 styling - no offense 05's) Sport Edition. I don't have a preference on engine other than I am leaving a 2001 Yukon with a 5.3 V8 so I am leaning toward the V8 if I can find one. Most used Sport Editions I find have the V6. I am looking around $18-$24k with less than 50 thousand miles. A lot of the ones I am finding are not at Toyota dealers so I don't think the sales force will have the info I want. I have found that the best deals are when you find one at, for example, a chevy dealer but then again they are not certified and do not have Toyota mechanics looking them over.

A couple questions that I have from all my research:

1) With the known reliability of Toyota would you spend $1500-2000 more to get a certified Toyota?

2) Is the V8 in AWD and then has a 4hi and 4lo option or is it considered to be in 4hi all the time?

3) Are chrome door handles an option on the 2006 sport edition? I have seen 2 separate ones both the same year, edition and color and one has chrome handles while the other doesn't

4) From all of your reviews to TIre Rack it is safe to say the stock Dunlop tires are junk. Have any of you ever negotiated new tires (preferably of your choice) into a deal. I do not know what the markup is on tires but I would assume a dealer can get them a lot cheaper than I can. I am basically talking about replacing tires that are not in need of replacement, just need to be replaced since i don't want them!

5) I only get around 11.5-13 mpg currently as I am mostly "city" driving. Is it realistic to get 16+ mpg with the V8 with city driving? I have read threads on this topic but would like some more reassurance on mpg

6) Most of the 2006 used runners coming into the market are 1 owner lease returns. Most seem cherry with low miles 25-40 but I have heard some horror stories of lack of maintenance. With mileage that low would you be concerned about a lease return?

Thanks for reading and any feedback is welcome....

 

[T4RSpectreSix]

Sorry to hear you lost out on what sounds like a nice 'runner. I am certainly not THE authority on all things 4Runner, but I can try to address some of your concerns from a Certified Pre-Owned 4Runner's situation.

1.) I don't think you'd need the truck to be a CPO by any means, so long as you be sure to have it independently inspected and everything is in order - kinda basic car buying advice I know, but you'd be surprised how many people never look into wear and tear, buy a car, and then lose their minds when their rig has an issue they didn't think to get checked out. My truck had a 160 point inspection, came with roadside assistance, an additional CPO warranty/guarantee by the dealership, and had all of it's relevant fluids changed out, and the dealership had replaced the original floor mats I guess because they were rather worn out.

My advice on this is to simply take a look at what you get as a CPO owner and weigh it accordingly. For me, when I had my truck independently inspected, everything checked out - so it turned out to be redundant as the dealership had done it's job and come through on it's CPO guarantee.

2.)As a V8 SR5 owner, I can tell you the V8 has no 2WD option. It's always in 4WD, but you can change it from the default 4HI to 4LO, and it has a locking center diff. you can toggle with a switch.

3.)I don't know about this because I have body colored handles, but I know you can buy aftermarket chrome hardware and the snap on junk for the grills, mirrors, and handles if that's your thing.

4.) I can't comment on the "doneflops" because I got Bridgestones with my rig.

5.) With the V8, MPG (touchy subject, heh) is going to vary according to your locale and driving habits. However, 16 mpg or higher isn't totally unrealistic, all things considered - but taking into account some of the ranting and raving going on about V8 mileage I can tell you not to expect a whole heck of a lot more than 16 on the average. I average more than that at about 17 MPG currently.

6.) Honestly, my 4Runner is an '04, was a leased vehicle by a local corporate exec (probably was a company car), and was basically "cherry" when I got it. One thing you can always do is ask for maintenance records, or rifle through the maintenance booklet that should be in the glove box with the manual and check for stamps/service records. My truck has every routine maint. appt. stamped by a toyota dealership and is still under both the factory warranty, and the CPO warranty, so it wasn't too sketchy in my case. Just be sure you get the truck inspected and have some peace of mind.

Hope that helps. I know I didn't answer everything to the fullest extent, but that is my experience with the whole process.

In my case Certified Pre-Owned actually meant Certified Pre-Owned, just be wary of dealerships that don't have good customer service ratings, as they might just slap a sticker on it and leave it at that.

 

[THEREED]

I appreciate the info. I already get horrible mpg so 16 would be a 4-5 mpg upgrade. I am sure the V6 would be fine but I like knowing I have a bit more under the hood especially is I get back into boating and have to trailer more.

I have seen a couple dealers put the OEM dunlops on the used vehicle as the others were toast at around 30k miles. I am going to try to negotiate to see if I can get them replaced with a better quality tire (currently have BFG AT KO) or something with better traction. we'll see how that goes down...

Everything points to a "buyers market" but I find even with the economic situation dealerships are quite busy and used runners are being swept up quickly. We'll see if I can work some magic and get one below book value while getting them to give me high end trade value on my Yukon...

 

[T4RSpectreSix]

Yeah, I know it's a hot topic, but I can say the V8 is the smoothest, quietest V8 I have driven besides a couple on very high end luxury sedans. It's certainly the most refined engine I've owned in one of my trucks.

Can't say much about the V6 other than it certainly has it's draws as well. Either way, on an 06+ you're getting a VVTI engine with ample power and quality - but I just happen to prefer the V8 since it's MPG isn't terribly different than the V6 and it's such a decent engine.

I know most dealerships will work with you on getting various options/parts out of the transaction, it's a tug of war for sure, but they usually accommodate if they think they're on the cusp of a quick sale with profit in the mix.

I know the Toyota dealership next to my house only had 1 used 4Runner on the lot when I was at my last service appt., and it has since dropped off their website. I too found it odd that the runners seem at least slightly rare, but I guess that says something about the desirability of the vehicle.

Good luck, and if you make the purchase, congrats on an awesome rig.

 

[jsward12]

To me the big benefit of the certified program was the financing special. I bought my 06 Sport from a Toyota dealership that generally does not do certifications. However after some negotiating I paid $500 to have it certified. The benefit here, 3.9% financing and 4 brand new Yokahamas. They said the Dunlops on there were too worn to sell. I did buy a full warranty for $1000 to cover the electronics and everything else the certified does not cover. I learned with a 05 Xterra Brand new to always have an extended warranty!

 

[bigdon]

I too took advantage of the Toyota Certified Used program, specifically because
they were offering 3.9% financing for 66 months on the 4Runners.
I picked it up about a month ago. I also prefer the 2006+ models.
I bought a 2006 SR5, but it was ordered with lots of options by the original owner,
because it has leather, the "gel" heated seats, the tow package, the 17" aluminum wheels.
The tires were a bit worn, so they put 4 brand new ones on at no charge.
It has some other stuff too, I forget, but basically everything but the sunroof and nav.
I don't nav, because if I was traveling, it wouldn't be in this vehicle, and I specifically
picked one without a sunroof because you lose 2 inches of headroom, and being 6'6'' I need all I can get, haha.

 

[Nuke]

If it's any consolation, because of the present car industry problems, I just paid $28.5K in mid November on a new '08 V6 Sport leftover that stickered over $34k (NO trade-in). And I feel I could have done better. You may want to consider raising your price range a few grand.

 

[Ducman]

Good choice

You've picked a great truck to upgrade to. I've driven my buddies Tahoe and aside from being smaller, these are an upgrade in every way.

When it comes to engines, I always opt for the highest power output possible so even though I think the V6s are good motors, I had to have the V8. And they have gobs of torque, very fun to drive as it pushes you back in your seat with power to spare.

As far as V8 4wd trucks go, these get very respectable mpg too (if you care about that considering it's an SUV).

I have a buddy with an 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee and I always get quite a bit better milage than him even with my lead foot.


I've had mine for almost 2 months now and I have been extremely happy with it.

I'd say skip the warranty, after all you are buying a Toyota 4Runner.

 

[RHINO-99]

.

 

[RHINO-99]

Purchased an 06 Sport 4WD, CPO'd, 34K miles, leather, sunroof, JBL, mint, from dealer w Xtended Warranty, I did negotiate 4 new tires and a full detail and engine clean. $21,300 OTD. I love it.

 

[RHINO-99]

Sorry about the double post. This server they use seems very slow???

 

[TC3racerM11]

my 06 v8 4wd sport gets about 14-15 city and about 16 -17 on highway. Depends also on how much you baby that gas pedal. Hope this helps with mpg questions.

 

[THEREED]

thanks

Thanks for all the info.

I ended up getting a 2006 Sport Edition V8 4x4 with 38k and 75% life Goodyear Fortera Triple Tread Tires (not certified) for $18,999.

I love the vehicle as it is like a sports car on the road and a beast offroad. I have been "testing" the V8 and also it is in the teens temp here and still been getting around 14 mpg.

I highly recommend the V8 to anyone as it is velvet smooth compared to a GM 5.3 L V8. The Toyota has much more midrange grunt but low revving.

I already added an additional 12v plug:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45651

put in new floor mats and some other gear and am ready to roll! Thanks for all the info it helped me immensely.