Newbie to 4Runners - 2004 purchase advice Needed

[neocacher]

I am thinking of buying a 2004 4Runner Limited with 135,000 miles on it. 4WD, Engine is a V6. Body- the gold color and is in good condition with a few dents that probably could be removed with dentless repair. Also Original wheels are scuffed up. Leather interior looks in pretty good condition , all accesories appear to work. Price is $13,900 from a dealer. I am not good at negotiating and I really dont care for the salesperson, but it is a family owned business and all employees are in the family. I would like to negotiate a better price. This seems like pretty high mileage. How long can I expect an engine to last. Should I go for a newer , lower mileage unit? Thanks for advice.

 

[Shifty]

Neocacher,

I have an '04 SR5 4WD with 117K on it. I can tell you that the only things I've had to replace on it are the usual wear-and-tear parts. I've kept up with regular maintenance, oil changes, etc and it still runs just as strong as it did nearly 7 years ago when I bought it. It is not unheard of these engines going for 250-300k miles or more if you keep them maintained. That said, I would look at the Kelly Blue Book value for it's condition/mileage and negotiate around it. Of course a dealer purchase will usually be more than if you bought from a private seller. I don't think you would be disappointed or let down by any 4runner purchase. I hope this helps some

 

[jbmccul]

Seems a tad high IMO, I would offer them right at 13k and see how they respond to that. They may say no, but on the flip side they might have been trying to move the vehicle for a while now and are willing to deal. You never know until you ask. Also, is it 2wd or 4wd. That could affect the vehicle price as well. Good luck and welcome to T4R

 

[Burt]

Suggest a third party inspectiion be done AND request CarFax from the dealer.

 

[WestCoastBestCoast]

I spent the past month and a half shopping for 4th gen 4runners and one thing I have noticed is that gold ones are generally 1-2k cheaper than any other color. One of the salesmen I talked to last week talked about how hard it was for him to get rid of 4runners because of the "stick around brown" color.

I dont know what the market is like in your area, but I would say that 4runner is overpriced. Have you checked out the carfax or anything like that? Based on the fact that you dont like the salesman, if I was you I would probably just keep looking.

 

[neocacher]

I bought it today for $12k. So far ,so good! Dealer repaired half dozen hail dents no charge. I am very happy and excited!