Out with the new - In with the old

[CamRunner]

I sold my 2008 4th gen that was in near perfect shape and bought a 3rd gen. People think I'm crazy (or hurting financially :heh but I love this thing. Just got back from the trail and it did great. It's a 1998 Anthrcite Grey Limited with The locking rear diff and 195k miles. I used to worry about beating up the 2008, but with this I could care less. Plus I pocketed $12k!

Curious to see what you guys think about the switch...

 

[ladywolf]

I sold my 2008 4th gen that was in near perfect shape and bought a 3rd gen. People think I'm crazy (or hurting financially :heh but I love this thing. Just got back from the trail and it did great. It's a 1998 Anthrcite Grey Limited with The locking rear diff and 195k miles. I used to worry about beating up the 2008, but with this I could care less. Plus I pocketed $12k!

Curious to see what you guys think about the switch...

Long as you are happy, thats all that matters.

I love the 3rd and the 4th gen's. the 12k in your pocket is a nice little bit of change that you can use to pay stuff off or Mod the 3rd gen and remain financially free!!

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

I could have bought a brand new 4Runner... (in 2014) but bought a used 1998 instead... why? I picked it up for $3000 with 86K miles... they are fun, easy to work on, and dont have a ton invested so I dont feel guilty about using it... on my base there are tons of guys who go spend $40K on a new jeep and never take it off road... its a shame.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

You'll miss the 4th gen- assuming it was a V8- but you'll love the 3rd too. I'm not sure I would have gotten rid of the V8 4th gen for a 3rd gen, but we can't keep em all!
Anthracite Metallic is a really great color though.

There is a REALLY clean one- even cleaner than mine was- that an employee at the local Safeway just picked up. I wanna leave a "when you want to sell this..." note on the window so bad.

 

[CamRunner]

I could have bought a brand new 4Runner... (in 2014) but bought a used 1998 instead... why? I picked it up for $3000 with 86K miles... they are fun, easy to work on, and dont have a ton invested so I dont feel guilty about using it... on my base there are tons of guys who go spend $40K on a new jeep and never take it off road... its a shame.

wow that is a hell of a deal on that. I got mine for $4k with 190k miles. It had a ton of recent maintenance and brand new suspension and tires, so i gave a little extra for that.

Thanks to those guys that spend $40k on their new jeeps we get to pick them up 20 years later for nothing and finally put them through what they were designed for. I have the original window sticker for my 1998 and it went for $38k back then. Woah. Depreciation is real.

 

[amalik]

I could have bought a brand new 4Runner... (in 2014) but bought a used 1998 instead... why? I picked it up for $3000 with 86K miles... they are fun, easy to work on, and dont have a ton invested so I dont feel guilty about using it... on my base there are tons of guys who go spend $40K on a new jeep and never take it off road... its a shame.

Yup, I like the mentality.

I can't imagine dropping $40k on a 4runner. What happens when you get keyed or a shopping cart causes a dent or etc?

Every imperfection has to then be 'perfected'

+ what you said about off-roading.

Who the hell is gonna take a $40k 4runner with perfect paint and tires/wheels/etc on the trail

 

[Scramble]

Who the hell is gonna take a $40k 4runner with perfect paint and tires/wheels/etc on the trail

Plenty of people.

 

[CamRunner]

You'll miss the 4th gen- assuming it was a V8- but you'll love the 3rd too. I'm not sure I would have gotten rid of the V8 4th gen for a 3rd gen, but we can't keep em all!
Anthracite Metallic is a really great color though.
There is a REALLY clean one- even cleaner than mine was- that an employee at the local Safeway just picked up. I wanna leave a "when you want to sell this..." note on the window so bad.

It wasn't a v8, which I always was bummed about. I may get another 4th gen one day...

The anthracite grey is awesome, but it is peeling bad on the roof and hood. Apparently that is common for this color, which is odd. I plan to fix it, possibly Maaco, not worth putting in too much $. I will cover the roof peeling with a gobi rack.

 

[ladywolf]

It wasn't a v8, which I always was bummed about. I may get another 4th gen one day...

The anthracite grey is awesome, but it is peeling bad on the roof and hood. Apparently that is common for this color, which is odd. I plan to fix it, possibly Maaco, not worth putting in too much $. I will cover the roof peeling with a gobi rack.

Hey, how do you like those Falken AT3's? I've heard really good things about them.

My truck needs some body work, and since it is my new "baby", I am going to have the body fixed on it then get it repainted.

 

[CamRunner]

Hey, how do you like those Falken AT3's? I've heard really good things about them.

My truck needs some body work, and since it is my new "baby", I am going to have the body fixed on it then get it repainted.

Well, coming from Nitto Terra Grappler G2's which I liked a lot, I was thinking I was downgrading. I was wrong. These handle better on the road, less road noise, and do great off road. I have had alot of comments from friends on the tires, they have great looking sidewalls that help the truck look more aggressive. They are "steel belted" I am not sure if that means they are tougher, but I was driving over sharp rocks for the majority of the last trail through creek beds and I had no issue. I was worried I would pop a tire while I didn't have the right size spare on me yet. I air them down to 30 psi which made the trail a lot smoother. Also, added plus is the snowflake logo making them great snow tire, but haven't gotten to try them out in the snow yet.

10/10 rating from my experience. I would choose them over the nittos, which I think are 2 very comparable tires.

I'd be curious to know what you pay for the body work. Other than the peeling, my 4runner is in great condition mechanically and on the interior. I wish the outside represented her real condition.

 

[MossJenks]

I could have bought a brand new 4Runner... (in 2014) but bought a used 1998 instead... why? I picked it up for $3000 with 86K miles... they are fun, easy to work on, and dont have a ton invested so I dont feel guilty about using it... on my base there are tons of guys who go spend $40K on a new jeep and never take it off road... its a shame.

Well yeah, if somebody is going to practically give you a vehicle it's a really easy decision to make!

 

[ltho98]

I bought a 3rd gen 4R because I didn't want to beat the crap out of my JK Rubicon... so I can sympathize. That said, its super clean and still too nice to beat up for a 3rd gen. You need something with the paint flaking off to be fully liberated about giving a **** about losing paint.

 

[amalik]

Well yeah, if somebody is going to practically give you a vehicle it's a really easy decision to make!

lol. You're right about that! Here in CO, MossJenks and I would pay $12,000 for a 3rd gen with 86k miles.

 

[ladywolf]

Well, coming from Nitto Terra Grappler G2's which I liked a lot, I was thinking I was downgrading. I was wrong. These handle better on the road, less road noise, and do great off road. I have had alot of comments from friends on the tires, they have great looking sidewalls that help the truck look more aggressive. They are "steel belted" I am not sure if that means they are tougher, but I was driving over sharp rocks for the majority of the last trail through creek beds and I had no issue. I was worried I would pop a tire while I didn't have the right size spare on me yet. I air them down to 30 psi which made the trail a lot smoother. Also, added plus is the snowflake logo making them great snow tire, but haven't gotten to try them out in the snow yet.

10/10 rating from my experience. I would choose them over the nittos, which I think are 2 very comparable tires.

I'd be curious to know what you pay for the body work. Other than the peeling, my 4runner is in great condition mechanically and on the interior. I wish the outside represented her real condition.

I'll start getting quotes here in another few months. There was a previous body repair to the left rear quarter panel where the bondo has now cracked, and it needs a new front left fender thanks to a LBJ failure with a previous owner.

Other than that, it needs a new paint job.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

lol. You're right about that! Here in CO, MossJenks and I would pay $12,000 for a 3rd gen with 86k miles.

It was a good deal - BUT it was a 2WD model... so that killed a lot of the value - came from a family in southern CA - so no rust or off-roading in its history...

Fear not - I just started a build thread documenting my 5-speed and 4x4 swap. :focus:

 

[octanejunkie]

Congrats OP!

That's a ballsy move, but as long as the significant other doesn't roast you over trading new for old, you're golden!

FWIW, I love the look and lines of the 3rd Gens so I get it, plus 4WD - it's a no brainer.

BTW, did it come with clear corners or did you swap those out right away?

 

[CamRunner]

Congrats OP!

That's a ballsy move, but as long as the significant other doesn't roast you over trading new for old, you're golden!

FWIW, I love the look and lines of the 3rd Gens so I get it, plus 4WD - it's a no brainer.

BTW, did it come with clear corners or did you swap those out right away?

Yeah I mean sometimes I think it's because I grew up loving 3rd gens when I was in high school so I always deep down really wanted one. My 4th gen was 4wd so that wasn't a big difference, but the rear locker was.

Significant other (wife) is okay with it. She enjoys the money in the bank obviously lol but she also knows I like this rig a lot because I can play with it both on trails and "modding" it. I've noticed women think a lot about what they/you drive looks like for their image. What's funny though is that I live in a fairly affluent area and you wouldn't believe how many 3rd gens in great condition I see around here. She points it out all the time. It's not like we look odd driving around in a 1998. We fit right in. then again there are a lot of real nice cars here too.

I like to think smart people spend money on other things than a vehicle. Tell me how many $50k jacked up trucks you see owned by people living in shantys in the sticks, like ALL of them. How many homies in the hood drive escalades on expensive wheels? Expensive vehicles are the perfect route to look like you have money but truth is that any bank will let you take a loan. Suckers!

 

[CamRunner]

Sorry I got off on a tangent lol, but the clear corner and everything modded on it came as you see it there and in my signature. The guy I got it from just added a lot to the vehicle then sold it. He had 3 other land cruisers and a ram power wagons and Subaru sti and needed to make garage space so he ditched this gem. All new fluids and plugs, new radiator, new transmission cooler, tires were probably 1000k miles. Couldn't refuse. Also, I love this color!

 

[octanejunkie]

What's funny though is that I live in a fairly affluent area and you wouldn't believe how many 3rd gens in great condition I see around here. She points it out all the time. It's not like we look odd driving around in a 1998. We fit right in. then again there are a lot of real nice cars here too.

Same here. In all areas of Los Angeles I see tons of good looking 3rd Gens, mostly all stock. My neighbor has a 97 Limited that looks mint from 10 feet away, she keeps it tip top too. The truth is these are great cars and if you do the maintenance (which is not that difficult/costly actually) these things will run forever.
Good luck with yours!