Thoughts on buying used 3rd Gen

[Candy Sack]

Have narrowed down some options. I am new here and would love some feedback. I live in BC Canada. It will be my daily driver as well as off-road transport-- nothing crazy- just old logging and mining roads.

1) 97 Stock Limited, private seller, 240,000KM, great body, new tires, mostly city driven, bit of oil leak around head-gasket (I think), sun-roof won`t open, antenna won`t rise, wanting $7500, my favorite color, records going back to original purchase with some gaps after 2011.

2) 98 Stock Limited, shady used car dealership, 249,000Km, great shape, 1 yr warranty, no history on the vehicle (yet), looks to be in really good shape. Dealers know (or are not telling) history of the vehicle at this point.

3) 99 SR5, private seller, 315,000KM, good body, not much recent work, bit of backyard mechanic work, my fav color, not much info on the vehicle. $4800.

Any opinions? Anything more than $5000 I have to go in debt.

 

[Candy Sack]

Bump... keeping it alive in case any of the experts here have thoughts.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Look at the brake pedal pad.

Seriously. You can tell a lot about a vehicle by looking at the brake pedal pad.

Look at the undercarriage.

I have seen some vehicles from the rust belt that are complete junk and should be crushed while a vehicle of the same age that spent it's life in a desert climate is spotless underneath. Do not underestimate the ability of climate to do significant damage or not do significant damage to a vehicle.

Maintenance records are huge. Somebody that keeps track of maintenance closely generally really cares about the vehicle. Some do, many don't. You want to avoid the dont's.

Run a VIN check. It's cheap and can tell volumes about the vehicles life. Where it lived, smog tests (fail or pass) and mileage patterns.

Just feel the vehicle out when you sit in it. A vehicle that was loved won't have 3 year old Dr. Pepper remains in the cup holder or blotchy carpet. You can tell a vehicle that was loved and cared for just by looking all around it.

In a hypothetical nutshell: I have two vehicles I am looking at. One has 50K miles and is dirty and smells and the other has 75K miles and is spotless. Which do you pick?

 

[liquidnails]

Keep looking; You will eventually find a good one. The majority of the 4runners in our area are overpriced, and those priced fairly don't last long. Keep your eye out province wide and check craigslist/kijiji/autotrader/any other classifieds several times a day every day and if you see one you like, don't wait to call. Keep saving in the meantime because the more money you have, the nicer truck you can get!

 

[Troutsrunner]

Have narrowed down some options. I am new here and would love some feedback. I live in BC Canada. It will be my daily driver as well as off-road transport-- nothing crazy- just old logging and mining roads.

1) 97 Stock Limited, private seller, 240,000KM, great body, new tires, mostly city driven, bit of oil leak around head-gasket (I think), sun-roof won`t open, antenna won`t rise, wanting $7500, my favorite color, records going back to original purchase with some gaps after 2011.

2) 98 Stock Limited, shady used car dealership, 249,000Km, great shape, 1 yr warranty, no history on the vehicle (yet), looks to be in really good shape. Dealers know (or are not telling) history of the vehicle at this point.

3) 99 SR5, private seller, 315,000KM, good body, not much recent work, bit of backyard mechanic work, my fav color, not much info on the vehicle. $4800.

Any opinions? Anything more than $5000 I have to go in debt.

Sunroof, antenna, and "im assuming" you mean valve cover leak, are easy fixes. I'd go with the 99 limited. Best interior out of the three and many more options. 2500 dollars debt isn't that bad, then again its not my money.

 

[SIN-Japan]

Just my opinion but option 1 and 3 both seem over priced.
Option 2 has no price but that possibly fits since it is from a "Shady" dealership.

Option 1) 240k and asking $7500, with broken sunroof and antenna, if there are not decent mods to help that asking price I would think it is a bit too high.

Option 2) "Shady" dealers commonly sell shady cars, and another high mileage vehicle to start with, there could be many issues just waiting around the corner that are not covered by the dealership warranty or will happen after that time. But you did not list a price for this or I missed it.

Option 3) 315k wow, should have been through 3 timing belt changes by this time, but with no real work history besides word of mouth that one is a gamble as well.


I agree with liquidnails, take more time and look for a better deal.
Again, these are just my opinions, maybe in your part of the world those are the normal prices for older vehicles with high mileage, they just seem overpriced by a large amount to me.

I wish you the best of luck with it.

 

[T4R2014]

Just my opinion but option 1 and 3 both seem over priced.
Option 2 has no price but that possibly fits since it is from a "Shady" dealership.

Option 1) 240k and asking $7500, with broken sunroof and antenna, if there are not decent mods to help that asking price I would think it is a bit too high.

Option 2) "Shady" dealers commonly sell shady cars, and another high mileage vehicle to start with, there could be many issues just waiting around the corner that are not covered by the dealership warranty or will happen after that time. But you did not list a price for this or I missed it.

Option 3) 315k wow, should have been through 3 timing belt changes by this time, but with no real work history besides word of mouth that one is a gamble as well.


I agree with liquidnails, take more time and look for a better deal.
Again, these are just my opinions, maybe in your part of the world those are the normal prices for older vehicles with high mileage, they just seem overpriced by a large amount to me.

I wish you the best of luck with it.

He is talking in kilometers, not miles.

 

[SIN-Japan]

He is talking in kilometers, not miles.

Oh I know.
So was I.

 

[T4R2014]

Oh I know.
So was I.

Those are pretty average figures when converted to miles.

 

[Troutsrunner]

Just my opinion but option 1 and 3 both seem over priced.
Option 2 has no price but that possibly fits since it is from a "Shady" dealership.

Option 1) 240k and asking $7500, with broken sunroof and antenna, if there are not decent mods to help that asking price I would think it is a bit too high.

Option 2) "Shady" dealers commonly sell shady cars, and another high mileage vehicle to start with, there could be many issues just waiting around the corner that are not covered by the dealership warranty or will happen after that time. But you did not list a price for this or I missed it.

Option 3) 315k wow, should have been through 3 timing belt changes by this time, but with no real work history besides word of mouth that one is a gamble as well.


I agree with liquidnails, take more time and look for a better deal.
Again, these are just my opinions, maybe in your part of the world those are the normal prices for older vehicles with high mileage, they just seem overpriced by a large amount to me.

I wish you the best of luck with it.

True, around my neck of the woods they wouldnt ask for more than 4500 for the first one. But 3rd gen 4runners are a dime a dozen around here.

 

[BlazeRunner]

I know how it feels when you just want to get into a vehicle as soon as possible, but jumping on something relatively quick has a large chance of leaving you disappointed. It's worth the wait to try and find that 'perfect' deal, and substantially reduce your chances of being disappointed, especially if you plan on keeping the vehicle for a while. Best of luck.

 

[SIN-Japan]

Those are pretty average figures when converted to miles.

I hear you, as I said not sure what they are like in different parts of the world.
Around my area over 200k Km would be priced pretty low if no obvious problems. With some of the ones list on his first option I would not pay more than $2,000.

My 1996 Hilux Surf has 117k Km, a 3" lift, auto starter with answer back and door locks and plenty of other nice things and I am selling for $5k obo.

I just bought a 1997 SSR-G Hilux Surf with 99k Km on it for $4k

But that is just how they are over here, if those are good deals then go for it but sounded a bit much to me.
Especially the last one, around here that one with 300k plus would be $1,500 or less.

 

[slides]

I really like my 4runner, got it with 112k on it from a 1 owner with all service records and the guy took extremely good care of it. If I were to do it again though I would find one cheaper with higher miles since millage doesn’t really matter on these trucks, or spend the same amount that I did and get a 4th gen with higher miles. Either way don’t be worried about the miles if it seems to be in good condition, all rubber components fail after time and have to be replaced its standard on all cars.

 

[T4R2014]

I hear you, as I said not sure what they are like in different parts of the world.
Around my area over 200k Km would be priced pretty low if no obvious problems. With some of the ones list on his first option I would not pay more than $2,000.

My 1996 Hilux Surf has 117k Km, a 3" lift, auto starter with answer back and door locks and plenty of other nice things and I am selling for $5k obo.

I just bought a 1997 SSR-G Hilux Surf with 99k Km on it for $4k

But that is just how they are over here, if those are good deals then go for it but sounded a bit much to me.
Especially the last one, around here that one with 300k plus would be $1,500 or less.

I get you. It's a different perspective. I would guess the KM's do not add up as quick in JP. I hear that vehicles inspections are far more stringent there as well. These things are far from dead at 300,000km's if maintained correctly so they hold their value very well.

 

[jeremyc74]

I hear you, as I said not sure what they are like in different parts of the world.
Around my area over 200k Km would be priced pretty low if no obvious problems. With some of the ones list on his first option I would not pay more than $2,000.

My 1996 Hilux Surf has 117k Km, a 3" lift, auto starter with answer back and door locks and plenty of other nice things and I am selling for $5k obo.

I just bought a 1997 SSR-G Hilux Surf with 99k Km on it for $4k

But that is just how they are over here, if those are good deals then go for it but sounded a bit much to me.
Especially the last one, around here that one with 300k plus would be $1,500 or less.

Can't really compare prices between North America and Japan for a couple of reasons. We don't have to deal with JCI here so there's less pressure to get rid of older vehicles, and we generally drive a lot more miles each year. My 2000 has 321k km on it, and would still bring around $5k US.

Also, I'm pretty sure he's quoting the prices in Canadian, so they'll automatically be higher than US.

I bought my old Town Ace with 115k km on it for $450, with a full year of JCI left when I got to Okinawa. You can barely get something that runs here in the States for that kind of money. :usa2:

 

[SIN-Japan]

I get you. It's a different perspective. I would guess the KM's do not add up as quick in JP. I hear that vehicles inspections are far more stringent there as well. These things are far from dead at 300,000km's if maintained correctly so they hold their value very well.

Yes the JCI inspections can make Mod'ing a vehicle difficult, some things you can get away with other things have to come off and be put back to stock for inspection time every 2 years then can be added back again.

I agree these trucks are built well and last far past 300k Km's

The island being smaller than California does help with lower mileage, and the transit system being freaking amazing does also.

 

[Candy Sack]

Thanks for those who contributed to this thread. I went with a 99 SR5, 216,000 miles, body in great shape, massive stereo/dvd player included.

I paid $4350 Canadian.

This weekend I did the following, as I knew very little about the history:

Timing Belt
CPU Valve
Oil Change
Coolant Change
Tranny Oil and Filter Change
Spark Plugs
Fuel Filter

One mechanic said the BJ's looked good, which was a relief. Seems to be some pull to the left when I brake hard, and some vibrations on the wheel when at highway speeds. Otherwise, I'm happy to finally own a 4Runner!

The downside... the jerk who sold it to me failed to mention that the gas gauge doesn't work! I've had a full tank since I bought it.... Buyer beware I guess...