Should I pull the trigger on this 2005?

John:
Just looked up Magnussen's Toyota in Auburn, Ca on KBB. ( I was checking the current value of my T4R).
They show 3 04-05 V8 limiteds (not id'ed as certified) for $18-22K
Carfax available.
Auburn is not as far as all that, and they are a respectable dealer.
Bill W
38N121W
 
Alright, I'm getting some good info out of this...

Certified...
How much stock should I put in the "Certified" status of a T4R? The thought of buying something with low miles (under ~50k) that drives like it's brand new is very desirable to me. Is this kind of condition not much more common or "guaranteed" in a Certified Toyota? Do a lot of you tend to stay away from the Certified label to save money and primarily rely on Carfax and service records?

I've been driving 150k+ mile vehicles for years so I don't have much reference for what a 50k mile T4R might drive like compared to a 90k mile T4R. I haven't determined the highest mileage I should consider or what the cost comparison should be for different mileages. (I am well aware of Toyota's quality and have been driving high mileage Toyotas and Hondas for years--with that said, I want something with lowish miles)

Regarding my search range... I am using Oakland with a 250 mile radius. I'm not sure I can find the time to make it all the way down to Southern California for a vehicle that might not pan out. I'm still not finding any of these great deals you guys are talking about. I think a lot of the savings you guys realized can be attributed to the high gas prices of the last few years.

Here's some comparisons from Magnussen's in Auburn....
Vehicle A:
A very similar 2005 V8 Limited 4WD for $22k but with 85k miles. That's $4k less than the one I checked out for 40,000 miles more, no X-REAS, and not Certified. Does that sound right?

Vehicle B:
Another 2005 V8 Limited 4WD for $24k with 70k miles. That's similar to vehicle A with no Certified, X-REAS, etc...


I guess I just need to be more patient... but I'm not finding these great deals. Thanks for everyone's input! Let's keep this discussion going! I really value this up to date info.
 
I thought the price was high too but I live in Alabama and the cost of living is pretty cheap. I got my 04 SR5 v6 2wd for right at 10k but it had 64k on it and I had to put tires on it and have the brake rotors resurfaced.
 
That does seem a bit high but Im not sure where some of the people on this board are buying their 4Runners for UNDER wholesale?!! Seriously some of these prices people SAY they paid are downright unbelievable.

I looked for 6 months for mine and did not find ONE 4Runner in Colorado priced under retail unless it had 100k+ miles or an unclean title... Im sure Cali is worse... As far as the interest rate 7% is about right for about a 700 credit score.

One option is to look all over the country and have a vehicle shipped but the downside is you will have to buy sight unseen and pay $500+ for shipping.
 
The land of commuters with SUV's

mahabali said:
That does seem a bit high but Im not sure where some of the people on this board are buying their 4Runners for UNDER wholesale?!! Seriously some of these prices people SAY they paid are downright unbelievable.
Click to expand...

Maha - My '05 V8 Ltd was a smokin' deal at the time and still is:thumb3:. In addition to the gas crunch, I bought it in an area that doesn't get much snow and is full of heavy stop and go commutes (4Runner drops to ~ 15mpg). I'm betting the original owner dumped it thinking gas prices were here to stay. At the same time, Toyota and every other major dealer had new SUVs and trucks aging and depriciating on the lots.

I would think Colorado, where 4X4 SUV's get used for more than an occasional dusting (although this year we got our share of snow) - the prices didn't see as much of a drop.

That's my best at why I got such a good deal (that and a great amount of time spent looking for a great deal...). Patience if you can afford it, pays of when buying cars (and location helps).

J - Good luck with the search,

Gordo
 
mahabali said:
One option is to look all over the country and have a vehicle shipped but the downside is you will have to buy sight unseen and pay $500+ for shipping.
Click to expand...

And, don't forget that California is an unforgiving state when it comes to sales/use tax. When you bring a vehicle in from out-of-state, you had better have owned it for six months before declaring residency in CA. Harsh--you better believe it. But, it is the way it is. They get you at registration time. Also the sales/use tax is figured on the county/city of residency, not of purchase. Just bought a truck in Placer County, but had to pay tax based on Sacramento County rates (higher). Something to factor in the purchase price.
Bill W
 
Yogi4 said:
And, don't forget that California is an unforgiving state when it comes to sales/use tax. When you bring a vehicle in from out-of-state, you had better have owned it for six months before declaring residency in CA. Harsh--you better believe it. But, it is the way it is. They get you at registration time. Also the sales/use tax is figured on the county/city of residency, not of purchase. Just bought a truck in Placer County, but had to pay tax based on Sacramento County rates (higher). Something to factor in the purchase price.
Bill W
Click to expand...

:iagree: in CA it doesn't make sense to drive super far away to save on sales tax with car purchases. If an out of town dealer is selling for less, have the local or near by dealer match the price. I heard of people driving from the Bay Area to rural parts of CA to buy their cars. Little did they know, they paid the sales tax of where the car is registered.
 
Yeah, I learned about the CA sales tax issue when I went to calculate my payment. Regarding the comment(s) about buying new... I think it's safe to say here on the 4th Gen forum that I'm NOT A FAN OF THE 2010.. The 4th gen took a little while to grow on me but I'm not sure if the 5th Gen ever will...

Does anyone have any input on the value of Certified?

Gordo: You seem to have caught the perfect storm for buying. Maybe prices will go down around Memorial Day Weekend...?
 
Do these following dealer's exist? I've been out of CA for a decade now. LOL
Maita Toyota, Roseville Toyota, Carmichael Toyota, and some Toyota dealer on Hwy 50 (i forgot). :confused:
 
Regarding whether certified is worth it...I think the answer is one of those annoying yes/nos.

I bought a certified vehicle (though I was under a time crunch to get a replacement truck, so there wasn't much looking around going on). On the one hand having certified gave me some kind of piece of mind that they had done a bunch of checks and the vehicle conformed to something more than carfax. It also meant I got the benefit of bumper to bumper coverage for a certain period of time (I think it was 3 months? I need to check on that). This came in handy when a usually rather expensive piece of the brake system needed replacing.

That said...you need to be careful. The dealer I bought the truck from tried to argue that the new brake pads and skimmed rotors the truck needed were as a result of stuff that happened after the certification process (so, if they declared it a certified vehicle in January but it sat on the forecourt till April, they tried to argue it wasn't their problem that the rotors/brake pads got rusty/cruddy in the interim period). Seems to me that if something is being sold as certified then that should mean it's certified as of the day you buy it - and that sort of dealer behavior might be something you want to bear in mind when you are weighing the pros and cons of paying extra for certified.
 
MikesToy said:
Do these following dealer's exist? I've been out of CA for a decade now. LOL
Maita Toyota, Roseville Toyota, Carmichael Toyota, and some Toyota dealer on Hwy 50 (i forgot). :confused:
Click to expand...

Mike: We've still got Maita Toyota in Sac, Roseville Toyota, Folsom Lake Toyota, and added Elk Grove Toyota, but the last Toyota Dealer I knew of actually in Carmichael was during the late 50's and they sold "Toyopets". Perhaps you were thinking of Carmichael Honda. I bought my 09TE at Maita, and they are taking very good care of my wife's 89 Camry (257K and counting).
Bill W
 
wombie said:
Regarding whether certified is worth it...I think the answer is one of those annoying yes/nos.

I bought a certified vehicle (though I was under a time crunch to get a replacement truck, so there wasn't much looking around going on). On the one hand having certified gave me some kind of piece of mind that they had done a bunch of checks and the vehicle conformed to something more than carfax. It also meant I got the benefit of bumper to bumper coverage for a certain period of time (I think it was 3 months? I need to check on that). This came in handy when a usually rather expensive piece of the brake system needed replacing.

That said...you need to be careful. The dealer I bought the truck from tried to argue that the new brake pads and skimmed rotors the truck needed were as a result of stuff that happened after the certification process (so, if they declared it a certified vehicle in January but it sat on the forecourt till April, they tried to argue it wasn't their problem that the rotors/brake pads got rusty/cruddy in the interim period). Seems to me that if something is being sold as certified then that should mean it's certified as of the day you buy it - and that sort of dealer behavior might be something you want to bear in mind when you are weighing the pros and cons of paying extra for certified.
Click to expand...


Wow, thanks for the tip. Is there some sort of Certified document that states when the certification begins? Is that standard policy or is it something you need to address at the time of purchase to ensure your certification begins that day?
 
Re the certification start date - I think what that particular dealer told me was a load of garbage - but they tried to argue that route and I had to spend time figuring out the situation so I think it's worth mentioning. I like to think my experience was the exception to the rule, but I think I would have been better prepared to deal with it had I asked a few more targeted questions about the certification process and coverage to begin with.

I hope this is helpful - I also should say that I think my experience was certainly the exception to the rule, and that I would err on the side of getting a certified vehicle on the future.
 
Certified starts from when the car was originally put in service for a period of time and a certain miles. Most certifications are 7 years from the initial service date and 100,000 miles. For example, if you buy an 05 certified, it will have a certified warranty for 7 years from the original purchase date and/or up to 100,000 miles. If the original buyer put the car in service in sept 04, then it would expire sept 2011. Make sense?

I have bought certified and non certified. The certified basically gives you DRIVETRAIN only warranty for 7 yrs/100,000 miles.

I bought a used 02 Camry with only 45k miles on it a year ago from a local Toyota dealer and I added a 5 year/100,000 bumper to bumper warranty with no deductible for 1000.00. It was a little steep maybe, but with a car that was 7 years old when I bought it, I was thinking maybe electronics issues or things like that. Not necessarily the engine or tranny, but power window motors and seat motors, etc. So I added the warranty.

Certified vehicles are more expensive, usually in my area, 1000-1500.00 more.

Hope this helps,
 
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