Prospective owner requests buying advice!

K

Kniq

New member
Hi everyone,

I've looked through that buyers' guide and decided there's a lot more to 4Runners than I'll know for a long time and this is probably a good place to find advice on my first purchase. I've already decided on the third gen and the following links looked pretty nice for my price range (can afford to go higher than 6k but dont really want to). I know there's a lot more I have to look at in person with these vehicles, but I'm wondering if there's any glaring discrepancies that should rule these out before I make the initial drive.

I'm not looking for a daily driver or rock crawler. More of a general adventuring vehicle for hauling toys and gear around with some minor-to-moderate offroading here and there.

Also, I'm leaning towards the green one.

1997 4Runner Limited 4x4

1998 Toyota 4Runner | SR5
 
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... But i'm wondering if there's any glaring discrepancies that should rule these out before i make the initial drive.
Click to expand...

:)

They both look nice to me but with so many miles I would be really cautious.
 
On the first one, those "lights" its missing in the front bumper are the blinkers... Kind of important.

Also unless that "Limited slip" was installed aftermarket, he is blowing smoke up your a$$.

Looks clean though..



On the second one..
Lol, fram filters are junk. But other than that, this blue one is the best of those two, IMO.
 
I'd say the blue one is better but for that price I'd look for a better car or one with lots of maintenance.
For reference I paid 5k for my 99 limited with 113k. It was in great shape but needed the basic maintenance like brakes, timing belt, fluids.
 
If everything checks out with the blue one...offer him $4300. If he doesnt bite i would walk. There are better out there. An "adventure" vehicle you are looking for tends to get put into some sticky situations.. paying an extra $1k may give you the piece of mind that you can trust your 4R.
 
One more thing ... do NOT pay more than KBB private party value.

Neither one of those trucks are worth more than KBB.

High miles with probably a lot of future maintenance, no supercharger, no aftermarket suspension, nothing to put them above KBB.

If KBB is $4000 then offer $500 less and negotiate up. If the guy doesn't want to sell then tell him his truck isn't worth more than KBB and he can scam someone else but that you are an honest buyer if he is willing to be reasonable.

Good luck.
 
well the blue one sold already, i got some more pictures of the green one and the underbody is completely rust-free. looks quite nice.

what in particular did you guys like more about the blue one?

by the way, those prices as pretty standard for my area apparently.

kbb has the "good" private party value of the green one at $5100 and without the fabtech lift. i was going to take it to my super-mechanic to have it checked out.
 
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Because if someone is going to take the time to put in a limited slip, they more than likely will have bumper lights in them, and not trying to mask a bigger problem.

But not being at the 4runner physically, we can only make assumptions, which can be bad. If you like it and the mechanic says its OK, then buy it.
 
ok guys, I kept looking at found another candidate:

1996 Toyota 4Runner-Manual Transmission

I feel like everyone is going to like this one more than the green one (46k less miles, 5spd) but what I want to know is...

what do you think would be a good offering price? kbb says "good" condition private party value is $4100.

also, what are good things to check besides what's listed on the 4R buyer's guide if I go see it in person?

fyi I couldnt tell from the photos whether it was 4WD so I contacted the seller and he confirmed.
 
Didn't get a reply last time but I'm trying to avoid making more posts for this topic.

1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited


This one is awesome except for the miles (and that they put big items in the storage behind the seats :p)

How much can a high mileage vehicle really cost me versus one with say, only140k? This vehicle is not going to be a daily driver or anything, so over time, it would probably drop down to below miles.

The issue I'm facing is that the other 4Runners I find that meet my requirements AND have low miles are generally over $7000 and I still don't have any guarantee that they won't need just as much work done on them to get them running like new.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks, guys.

Also, the blue book on this one is about $7,200 in my area.

http://www.kbb.com/toyota/4runner/1...tion=very-good&pricetype=private-party#survey
 
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If this isn't going to be a daily driver, its a great deal. Look it over for rust, but it looks real clean...especially the engine bay. I'd offer $5k cash, and see where he goes.

Helps that you don't have to worry about tires, but you may need a TB/WP soon, which still would not be a bad deal.
 
Kinda high miles but very nice truck overall. If you could get it for between $5000 - $5500 that would be ideal.

The question you should ask yourself with older higher mileage vehicles is: how mechanically inclined are you? Can you replace a head gasket if required? If your answer is no, maybe you should continue looking at lower mileage vehicles. Paying someone to do that kind of work would be around 2K. It's still expensive and time consuming even if you were to do it yourself.

IMHO, once you get over 200k it would not be uncommon to have to do things like pull the heads, valve job, etc.
 
jakknz said:
Kinda high miles but very nice truck overall. If you could get it for between $5000 - $5500 that would be ideal.

The question you should ask yourself with older higher mileage vehicles is: how mechanically inclined are you? Can you replace a head gasket if required? If your answer is no, maybe you should continue looking at lower mileage vehicles. Paying someone to do that kind of work would be around 2K. It's still expensive and time consuming even if you were to do it yourself.

IMHO, once you get over 200k it would not be uncommon to have to do things like pull the heads, valve job, etc.
Click to expand...

That is true, but since he isn't using it as a DD, if something does happen, he can take the time to fix it himself.
I wouldn't buy with miles this high if it was my DD, but for a secondary vehicle, in a heart beat.
 
My 97 4r has 308k and only engine work done persay is timing belt and pulleys & water pump
Other than that a starter and reg Maint

I'm the only owner

Now I would drive mine to Cali and back without a ?

Last one is nice but see how many owners
Chk vin
Take to ur insurance see how many reported wreaks

I wouldn't pay more than 5500 for it

If ur not handy with a wrench or have the cash flow I would pony up
The cash and find a nice low miles ride less than 150k
Or someone who has a list of everything done to it
Including gas fill ups

Oh FYI -- my 4runner has been in two headons and I still have it -thou I'm fixing it now --I have done all the work myself and know that when (if I ever) sell it --it will be safe for any of my kids to drive
 
Thanks for the replies, guys; that's all very encouraging.

I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I'm in the coast guard and work with a lot of people on my boat who love to work for beer and I've learned to do things like swap out exhausts, change oil, replace brake rotors and balance tires from said individuals and would love to learn more.

Kenjan: how do you get your insurance company to check for accidents?
 
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