Thinking about picking up a 3rd Gen 4Runner. Got a few questions.

[Road Bull]

From a fellow drummer, the 4runner is awesome for packing around drums and keeping them warm and dry. The carpet is nice to have as opposed to bed liner as it is softer and grippier. You can pretty much get any 3rd gen you want with 10K, the hard part will be finding it. There are lots out there, but not many for sale, and basically NO manuals. I'd say less than 10% were given a manual and thats only 96-00, after that its all autos. It took me about 2 years of searching to get a manual and it was basically luck that made me find one. Honestly, after having a 2nd gen, the 3rd gen is just better in every way. They basically just took the 2nd gen and made everything better without changing it too much. The engine is 10 times better, steering is waaay tighter, way more low end torque, way easier to work on, less noise inside, and just as reliable as the 2nd gen if not more. The 4runner truly hit its prime in the 3rd gen model. I have had mine for 3 months now and every time I drive it I am still giddy about how nice it feels, to step on the gas and feel immediate acceleration is a feeling I am not used to. Mind you I have a manual, not an auto, so I am not sure how similar they feel. I also feel that the 3rd gen is one of the best looking vehicles toyota has ever made. And one of my favourite facts about the 3rd gen is that it is still small. It isnt all bulky and plasticy like the following generations and is still a truck you can take up trails without high centering or scratching the crap out of the sides like all these huge boats they seem to think people want these days (not me!). You get a truck that feels way more modern and bigger inside but looks like a yota and is small on the outside, exactly what made Toyota's popular. I still like the newer toyota's better than whats out there, but I find myself looking at them and saying "what the hell happened?" Get a 3rd gen 4runner, you will not be dissapointed!

Right on. I think I agree in all points. The 3rd gen is by far my favorite configuration. Like you said, it was, to me at least, their high water mark. Good engine, great looks, not too refined, just a classic. I am not interested in fourth gens, and while the fifth gens look better than the fourth, it still gets closer to mini-van plastic than I care for. Every once in a while I will find a newer runner that looks cool, but only because someone poured a ton of money in aftermarket bumpers and whatnot to customize it. And at that point that's WAY more money than I have to put into a truck.

Always cool to talk to a fellow drummer. I picked up a new Ludwig four-piece in John Bonham sizes, minus the 18" floor tom. It has been forever since I picked up a new kit so I like to protect it. I have nice Protection Racket soft cases, but keeping them dry and ideally climate controlled is a big deal for me.

 

[Road Bull]

Looks decent, but the price is pretty high, and I am always unimpressed when people dont even try in their ads. If they cant be bothered to wash and clean out the vehicle to sell it, and post some decent pics, then they obviously couldnt be bothered to do it regularly during its day to day life. I got mine for $7800 canadian, and it has every option but the e-locker with 127K miles and it looked fully cleaned and detailed when I went and looked at it (just to give you some reference). They were asking $9000. Keep in mind most typical toyota owners know they can ask a lot and will typically start pretty high with a price. You could probably talk them down quite a bit.

Thanks for your info. I will never get why people put so little effort into representing their vehicle, or even bother washing it. Sometimes people will take two almost identical pictures and call it good. Maybe they don't really want to sell it at all.. Who knows. I would like to keep it around $6500 give or take, but we'll see.

Glad you found a good one.

 

[Southtwnr]

Those prices seem a little high in PNW! I was in you shoes a month and a half or so ago here in south florida. I ended up buying a 99 with 130K for $3900. I didnt get 4wd like i wanted but I didnt plan on taking it offroad (only wanted for trips to the Carolinas in the winter). I picked this one because it drove better than some with less miles. I did have to have the rear main seal replaced and did the valve covers/spark plugs but other than that it is reliable fairly comfortable transportation.

One thing i noticed about the 2000+ is that they dont seem to have a stock lift and seem lower to me. This is my first 4runner but I dont think mine has been lifted but has a nice stance.

One thig for sure though is that you will never have a question go unanswered here on this forum!

 

[Road Bull]

Those prices seem a little high in PNW! I was in you shoes a month and a half or so ago here in south florida. I ended up buying a 99 with 130K for $3900. I didnt get 4wd like i wanted but I didnt plan on taking it offroad (only wanted for trips to the Carolinas in the winter). I picked this one because it drove better than some with less miles. I did have to have the rear main seal replaced and did the valve covers/spark plugs but other than that it is reliable fairly comfortable transportation.

One thing i noticed about the 2000+ is that they dont seem to have a stock lift and seem lower to me. This is my first 4runner but I dont think mine has been lifted but has a nice stance.

One thig for sure though is that you will never have a question go unanswered here on this forum!

Yeah, all the prices around here are on the high side. They are popular for a reason. That and AWD Subarus. And while it might be fun to drive a WRX, they are even more expensive, and are not something you want to drag out on the trails. LOL.

I do like how active this forum is. I am also a member of yotatech, but people are very friendly and super helpful here.

 

[Joelev]

One thing i noticed about the 2000+ is that they dont seem to have a stock lift and seem lower to me. This is my first 4runner but I dont think mine has been lifted but has a nice stance.

One thig for sure though is that you will never have a question go unanswered here on this forum!

'99s have a single-year 1-inch spring lift. You're not high! (Or at least not wrong.)

 

[foskco87]

Right on. I think I agree in all points. The 3rd gen is by far my favorite configuration. Like you said, it was, to me at least, their high water mark. Good engine, great looks, not too refined, just a classic. I am not interested in fourth gens, and while the fifth gens look better than the fourth, it still gets closer to mini-van plastic than I care for. Every once in a while I will find a newer runner that looks cool, but only because someone poured a ton of money in aftermarket bumpers and whatnot to customize it. And at that point that's WAY more money than I have to put into a truck.

Always cool to talk to a fellow drummer. I picked up a new Ludwig four-piece in John Bonham sizes, minus the 18" floor tom. It has been forever since I picked up a new kit so I like to protect it. I have nice Protection Racket soft cases, but keeping them dry and ideally climate controlled is a big deal for me.

You bet, I had an 83 1st gen pickup and when I sit in my 2000 4runner I can still feel the similarities, Certain little things about the interior, the way it drives, and just the overall way you sit in it. Still feels like the classic yota lives on through it. I sit in my dads 2014 tacoma and I struggle to get that feeling.

I actually dont really mind the looks of the 4th and 5th gens, compared to everything else out there for the same time period. But they do seem to have gotten away from what a Toyota 4x4 meant. They can look good in certain circumstances, like you said. But it seems like if I got one, right off the bat I'd have to lift it 3 inches and give it bigger tires just to make it have the classic stock proportions, due to its much larger overall size. And it annoys me that they just stopped making manuals all together. Its almost disrespectful to a loyal part of their market. I dont even really care for the sake of having a manual, it's just lame to think that they do not even exist, period, in the newer models. As for the 3rd gen, I'm sure if they had put more manuals on the stealership lots, there would have been way more sold, but it seemed like Toyota specifically wanted them phased them out, as there weren't many available to buy, even if you wanted one.

Thats unreal about the Lugwig kit. Always been a huge John Bonham fan. His drums always sounded so big and beefy. Especially for the 70's. I've actually been thinking about buying a supraphonic snare . Definitely safe having them in a 4runner. Keeps things more dry than a canopy, and you've got the back seat heater. Im sure you know how much it sucks leaving drums in a cool damp area (rusty hardware sucks).

 

[Joelev]

 

[Road Bull]

Luckily for me, I don't play Rush's drumset. It's hard enough to load four drums in just about any vehicle.

Man.. Everyone wants close to $10k for anything less than 150K miles.

 

[Road Bull]

Going to check this one out before the game. >>2001 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4 For Sale | Northwest Motorsport

The color is not bad, maybe not my first choice. And I am not the biggest fan of leather and what it ends up looking like, but I figure I will go take a look. I don't think wouldn't pay anything close to that either.

I am becoming more fond of Millennium Silver a the Thundercloud colors. Or maybe black. But these are mostly secondary or tertiary considerations.

 

[Road Bull]

Glad I found this forum. The interior looked, OK... The driver's side had the usual cracking and tear. But, the undercarriage had some tell-tale rust. The vehicle's carfax indicated that it lived in PA. Pass on this one.