Possibly selling my 4...

ofthefront

ofthefront

New member
I'm contemplating selling my 4Runner and was just curious if anyone might want to weigh in on a few questions for me.
First off, I have to say I really do love my 4Runner. My only beef with it is the lack of power and I feel like I'm not giving it the life it deserves. It deserves to be lifted and taken off road. I would love to do all the "fun" stuff to it but I just don't see it happening. If I do sell it though, I want it to go to a 4Runner enthusiast. So the big question is, what is it worth?

It's an '02 Sport 4x4 in Stellar Blue with 131K miles. I bought it in 2006 with 28K miles on it from Toyota dealership. It has new pads and rotors, new radiator and thermostat two years ago. The tires are a year and a half old. Now the part everyone will give me hell about. I have not had the timing belt done. I don't buy into the 90K mile recommendation and I don't see or feel any negative effects from not having it done yet. The valve covers are leaking a bit as oil is visible. Some jackoff put a good sized dent in the passenger rear door. My rear wiper blade was ripped off at a car wash (I have a replacement), but the part it snaps onto is bent so the motor will need to be replaced.

It has been in the Midwest for it's whole life, so the undercarriage has some minor rust.

I'm basically trying to get an idea what kind of money I could get out of it. And on the flip side, maybe I'll just continue to drive my 4 and continue to enjoy the lack of a car payment.
 
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ofthefront said:
I'm contemplating selling my 4Runner and was just curious if anyone might want to weigh in on a few questions for me.
First off, I have to say I really do love my 4Runner. My only beef with it is the lack of power and I feel like I'm not giving it the life it deserves. It deserves to be lifted and taken off road. I would love to do all the "fun" stuff to it but I just don't see it happening. If I do sell it though, I want it to go to a 4Runner enthusiast. So the big question is, what is it worth?

It's an '02 Sport 4x4 in Stellar Blue with 131K miles. I bought it in 2006 with 28K miles on it from Toyota dealership. It has new pads and rotors, new radiator and thermostat two years ago. The tires are a year and a half old. Now the part everyone will give me hell about. I have not had the timing belt done. I don't buy into the 90K mile recommendation and I don't see or feel any negative effects from not having it done yet. The valve covers are leaking a bit as oil is visible. Some jackoff put a good sized dent in the passenger rear door. My rear wiper blade was ripped off at a car wash (I have a replacement), but the part it snaps onto is bent so the motor will need to be replaced.

It has been in the Midwest for it's whole life, so the undercarriage has some minor rust.

I'm basically trying to get an idea what kind of money I could get out of it. And on the flip side, maybe I'll just continue to drive my 4 and continue to enjoy the lack of a car payment.
Click to expand...



My vote!

I mean, its cheap and easy and you know it can last forever!
 
ofthefront said:
I'm contemplating selling my 4Runner and was just curious if anyone might want to weigh in on a few questions for me.
First off, I have to say I really do love my 4Runner. My only beef with it is the lack of power and I feel like I'm not giving it the life it deserves. It deserves to be lifted and taken off road. I would love to do all the "fun" stuff to it but I just don't see it happening. If I do sell it though, I want it to go to a 4Runner enthusiast. So the big question is, what is it worth?

It's an '02 Sport 4x4 in Stellar Blue with 131K miles. I bought it in 2006 with 28K miles on it from Toyota dealership. It has new pads and rotors, new radiator and thermostat two years ago. The tires are a year and a half old. Now the part everyone will give me hell about. I have not had the timing belt done. I don't buy into the 90K mile recommendation and I don't see or feel any negative effects from not having it done yet. The valve covers are leaking a bit as oil is visible. Some jackoff put a good sized dent in the passenger rear door. My rear wiper blade was ripped off at a car wash (I have a replacement), but the part it snaps onto is bent so the motor will need to be replaced.

It has been in the Midwest for it's whole life, so the undercarriage has some minor rust.

I'm basically trying to get an idea what kind of money I could get out of it. And on the flip side, maybe I'll just continue to drive my 4 and continue to enjoy the lack of a car payment.
Click to expand...

Lack of power..... supercharge it!

Edit:. Perhaps I should elaborate. Having a supercharger, especially on a stock setup, brings new life to the runner. You basically have a great vehicle that will last you a very long time, add a little more power and you're lacking nothing. I think you would be pleasantly surprised how great they are. MPG isn't really affected unless you use the charger a lot. Most of the time I'm not in boost all that much. Only under hard acceleration and hills, which is why I wanted the power(hills suck).

Unfortunately being lifted, bigger tires, and added a bunch of weight I still feel underpowered so I'm regearing. I did buy a 4runner that had the supercharger on it and it was fun to drive being bone stock. Put that charger on my rig and sold the runner to a family member. Only downside is paying premium gas which to me is a no biggy.
 
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Rust proof the frame, fix the dent, get the timing belt done & keep it! With the low miles you've put on her it should last another 15-20 years.
 
"And on the flip side, maybe I'll just continue to drive my 4 and continue to enjoy the lack of a car payment."

+1

If you don't feel like having a new car and to have car payments.. why do it?
Stick with it.
 
People will ask about the timing belt. Seeing that it has not been done almost every buyer will low ball you. Every. Single. One.
 
It is easy to install the timing belt on these 5vzfe.
My car (toyota sprinter) had its original timing belt at 177K miles! Had lots of cracks and was running fine. I am not asking you to go up to 177K, but get it done soon. On the other side, the 5vzfe is non-destructive engine, meaning nothing will happen if timing belt breaks. We have a thread I think TX-Ric's son's 4runner snapped the T-belt, but nothing happened to the engine other than it stalled.

Don't sell the runner: It will serve you for ages. You'll regret once its gone.
 
If I were currently on the market, I would definitely make you an offer...that's kinda my dream setup right there, and low miles to boot. Perfect color, 02, 4x4, Sport.

In all seriousness though, I think you'll regret it. Especially with your setup. While not a unicorn, it definitely seems to be rarer than average, and the Stellar Blue is a much lusted after color.
 
I agree with you. I would never drive an N/A 4runner as a daily driver. I felt like a soccer mom till I got it lifted and even then it was not enough.

If you never offroad or plan on building her up you are driving an old, uncomfortable vehicle (hard seats, small arm rests, narrow interior, low head room) thats under powered and gets pretty bad mileage for the power you get from it.

Search the local craigslist and price accordingly to others being sold. Dont try to price it high to rip off a toyota guy because its clean.

Then get yourself something more comfortable, more power and better mileage.
 
Bird in the hand, worth two in the bush. If you are sure that it's solid, make darn sure you really check out it's replacement.
 
Do not sell the 4runner.

I had a 2013 4runner limited before this one

Sure, new car, more technology, it was faster, handled better, but overall, I like this old piece of junk more than my 2013.

It is less complicated, WAY CHEAPER (no more payments, less insurance), I don't care as much about dents and scratches, maintenance is easier with all the DIY and cheap parts. All the fixes you have to do, even if done by the dealership, is not even worth 2 months of payments I had to do on the 2013.

Also, I had the liberty to add a complete sound system in this one, where I would not venture do it on the fancy 2013 (wanted to keep it stock), which is the top reason why I like my 1998 better.

There are lot of advantages of having an old, paid, reliable TRUCK.
 
ofthefront said:
I'm contemplating selling my 4Runner and was just curious if anyone might want to weigh in on a few questions for me.
First off, I have to say I really do love my 4Runner. My only beef with it is the lack of power and I feel like I'm not giving it the life it deserves. It deserves to be lifted and taken off road. I would love to do all the "fun" stuff to it but I just don't see it happening. If I do sell it though, I want it to go to a 4Runner enthusiast. So the big question is, what is it worth?

It's an '02 Sport 4x4 in Stellar Blue with 131K miles. I bought it in 2006 with 28K miles on it from Toyota dealership. It has new pads and rotors, new radiator and thermostat two years ago. The tires are a year and a half old. Now the part everyone will give me hell about. I have not had the timing belt done. I don't buy into the 90K mile recommendation and I don't see or feel any negative effects from not having it done yet. The valve covers are leaking a bit as oil is visible. Some jackoff put a good sized dent in the passenger rear door. My rear wiper blade was ripped off at a car wash (I have a replacement), but the part it snaps onto is bent so the motor will need to be replaced.

It has been in the Midwest for it's whole life, so the undercarriage has some minor rust.

I'm basically trying to get an idea what kind of money I could get out of it. And on the flip side, maybe I'll just continue to drive my 4 and continue to enjoy the lack of a car payment.
Click to expand...
A Sport in good condition with no dents or major scratches and low miles (like yours) will bring somewhere between 9-10K in my area. I can't tell you about Indy because I don't know the market.
 
The point I would make is similar to diverscale in the sense that for 3 average car payments you could put in maintenance and be great. Even if it required $300-$500 in repairs each year it's far less expensive than purchasing another new one. TBH I like my 99 limited more than my 2015 Corolla in every aspect except the head unit and Bluetooth (which can be installed if I wanted)
If I totaled my Corolla I wouldn't even buy another vehicle I would just keep the 4Runner.


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PWD4R said:
The point I would make is similar to diverscale in the sense that for 3 average car payments you could put in maintenance and be great. Even if it required $300-$500 in repairs each year it's far less expensive than purchasing another new one. TBH I like my 99 limited more than my 2015 Corolla in every aspect except the head unit and Bluetooth (which can be installed if I wanted)
If I totaled my Corolla I wouldn't even buy another vehicle I would just keep the 4Runner.


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Click to expand...

About bluetooth, I loved that aspect of my 2013, so I installed a pioneer AVH something head-unit that has bluethoot integrated. Music stream directly from cellphone and I can talk in that mic that was included with the head unit. That is one thing that I would have missed but ... I don't :D
 
Another vote to keep it here.. But hey, you must have expected that - you are in fact in the 3rd gen portion of a 4Runner forum. Hah. Of COURSE we are going to tell you to keep it.

That all said.. I do agree with a lot of the points here. They are great cars. Easy to work on, fairly inexpensive, and known to last a long time with regular care.

I say put some money into refreshing a bunch of new OE parts that may be on their last legs.. And then just enjoy the thing! Roll the windows down and go for a nice long drive. [emoji16]
 
I bought a 4runner this spring after looking for several months. I used several different methods to search, and searched a 400mi. radius of southern Indiana. I can't tell you what your truck is worth, but I can tell you that you are very unlikely to ever find one like that again. And if you do find one, there's probably a 50/50 chance that its a clapped out nightmare of a vehicle.

I would have loved to have one in that color but they seem to be super rare. Also, 131K miles would be considered low to very low mileage to me.
 
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