First time poster. New to the wonderful world of 4Runners, but I think I'm going to like my stay, so to speak.
Interest in the 3rd Gen Sports editions, which are harder to come by, I'm now finding out. Live in Kansas City, MO, but willing to travel for a better option (including Dallas, Nashville, Denver, any place that's within 8 hrs. or so). Found a 2002 Sport 4WD, cloth interior, single CD player listing at $7,900. I'll probably offer around $1K less than that, for reasons I'll describe in a little bit. Reading the very helpful 3rd Gen Buyers Guide on the forums here, I knew that other than the Strawberry/Pink Milkshake issue, I needed to watch out for rust on the vehicle (as with any vehicle of this age). This here are some photos I took of the rear axle, wheels and frame. What do you think? Too much rust? Something to pass on? Or really okay, for what it is?
Additionally, while there doesn't seem to be any accident history, this car was bought by the small husband & wife dealer at auction, so the only vehicle maintenance I've been able to ascertain is through Toyota's website, where the local dealership reported doing two things: lower front ball joint replacement (one of the other major flagged items in the buyers guide) and bulb replacement for the rear tail lights, both happening in 2006 in the low 80,000s, mile-wise. Other than that, I'm in the dark about what has happened with the vehicle, as far as maintenance. Was the radiator replace and the transmission flushed around the same time (points to the strawberry milkshake issue)? I don't know. Has the coolant been flushed at all? Haven't a clue. Have the timing belt and water pump been replaced (after all, the car is nearly 150,000 miles old)? Beats me. Regular oil changes? Hope so.
So... let me know what you think. I was also a little underwhelmed by the car's condition, interior and exterior. Definitely had its share of scrapes and scratches, though no dents that I could tell, even on the bumpers. Interior wasn't the cleanest either, but what can you expect from a 10 year old car? (Actually, that wasn't really a rhetorical question.)
Interest in the 3rd Gen Sports editions, which are harder to come by, I'm now finding out. Live in Kansas City, MO, but willing to travel for a better option (including Dallas, Nashville, Denver, any place that's within 8 hrs. or so). Found a 2002 Sport 4WD, cloth interior, single CD player listing at $7,900. I'll probably offer around $1K less than that, for reasons I'll describe in a little bit. Reading the very helpful 3rd Gen Buyers Guide on the forums here, I knew that other than the Strawberry/Pink Milkshake issue, I needed to watch out for rust on the vehicle (as with any vehicle of this age). This here are some photos I took of the rear axle, wheels and frame. What do you think? Too much rust? Something to pass on? Or really okay, for what it is?
Additionally, while there doesn't seem to be any accident history, this car was bought by the small husband & wife dealer at auction, so the only vehicle maintenance I've been able to ascertain is through Toyota's website, where the local dealership reported doing two things: lower front ball joint replacement (one of the other major flagged items in the buyers guide) and bulb replacement for the rear tail lights, both happening in 2006 in the low 80,000s, mile-wise. Other than that, I'm in the dark about what has happened with the vehicle, as far as maintenance. Was the radiator replace and the transmission flushed around the same time (points to the strawberry milkshake issue)? I don't know. Has the coolant been flushed at all? Haven't a clue. Have the timing belt and water pump been replaced (after all, the car is nearly 150,000 miles old)? Beats me. Regular oil changes? Hope so.
So... let me know what you think. I was also a little underwhelmed by the car's condition, interior and exterior. Definitely had its share of scrapes and scratches, though no dents that I could tell, even on the bumpers. Interior wasn't the cleanest either, but what can you expect from a 10 year old car? (Actually, that wasn't really a rhetorical question.)
