To buy or not to buy

[Mr. O]

Hey,

I posted a thread over in 4Runner Reddit, but wanted to get as much feedback from as many mechanically/4Runner gurus as possible.

Curious what y'all think. Is it a solid buy or pass? Ideally, I'd like no rust present, or is that mythical beast.

Diagnosis from photos- to buy or not to buy : 4Runner

 

[djpope09]

How is the front so rust-free while that back isn't? Not saying it's a bad thing, just that it's interesting. Overall it's really not that rusty, maybe the rust on the welds in picture 8 would be a concern? I would think you could just grind all that off and coat it with something.

 

[Mr. O]

How is the front so rust-free while that back isn't?

Haha, I had the exact same thought. I saw those front photos and was "like this looks great!" saw the back and thought "what the hell?"

Thanks for the input. Is there a particularly good rust stopper to use?

 

[4RunnerMexico]

Its clean enough... mine a south Texas truck looks same way. lean amen some rust on rear control arms and shock mounts. But id buy it

 

[Mr. O]

Thanks. Ya, I’m not sure if I need to lower my standards or not. I’ve definitely seen worst rust but I was expecting to see less rust since I’m in SoCal. This truck is from UT and AZ. Maybe I should lower my expectations haha.

 

[MikeinNH67]

That makes me jealous. Looks great to me.

 

[mikewhiskey]

Thanks. Ya, I’m not sure if I need to lower my standards or not. I’ve definitely seen worst rust but I was expecting to see less rust since I’m in SoCal. This truck is from UT and AZ. Maybe I should lower my expectations haha.

Don't lower your expectations, there's plenty of 4Runners around here that spent all/most of their lives here that are rust free and pop up for sale regularly. Plus the price for this one is a little steep imo. I'd keep looking.

 

[Mr. O]

Don't lower your expectations

Got to stay strong haha.

 

[montijo505]

Look for one in New Mexico. Rust doesn’t exist here in the southwest. A quick search on cargurus turned up a few promising one, including this one. Good luck, I’ll be following to see what you find!

Used Toyota 4Runner For Sale Albuquerque, NM - CarGurus

Edit: link goes straight to search results for some reason, scroll down and you’ll see a gold 06 V6 with 100k for about 14k.


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[hinmo24t]

?????????? it's rust free. most the east coast is laughing at the thought of it being rusty (coming from someone who spent time looking for one with little rust and found one after 4 t4rs) things looks clean!!

 

[mikewhiskey]

Compared to the east coast and rust belt this one looks good haha but compared to trucks where the op is located its not rust free (the literal sense of rust free)

 

[Mr. O]

I guess given my location I'm feeling like I can be more picky. Though I'd like the search to be over lol.

 

[schwein]

If your only concern is the "Rust" i would not worry about it for a second... all of that "rust" could be cleaned up with a wire brush and some paint. this being said... I like the V8's...

 

[djpope09]

Haha, I had the exact same thought. I saw those front photos and was "like this looks great!" saw the back and thought "what the hell?"

Thanks for the input. Is there a particularly good rust stopper to use?

People used to recommend POR15. Rustoleum also makes a rust converter. If you search rust on here you'll find plenty of threads about what people use.

I agree with some of the others on here. The price is pretty high, you could always use the rust and cv boot to talk it down. Or just wait and find a cleaner one at a better price. These trucks aren't rare so if you can take your time and don't mind waiting several months then you'll find a great deal eventually. It took me about 6 months (with 3 months of twice a day searching) to find the best deal and it was worth it.

 

[Mr. O]

I agree with some of the others on here. The price is pretty high, you could always use the rust and cv boot to talk it down.

Think it's worth 12.5K?

 

[MikeinNH67]

All it would take to clean that up is a wire wheel then spray some fluid film on it. Obviously living on the other side of the states I cannot tell if that's a good or bad deal in your area.

 

[L8Shift]

I have has success using 3M rust converter..

Mar-Hyde™ One-Step Rust Converter #3513

Mar-Hyde™ One-Step Rust Converter | 3M United States

BTW.. That is not rust..

Tho... maybe it's been back-up to the surf a few times...

 

[djpope09]

Think it's worth 12.5K?

That probably depends on your area. Looks like your in LA. I'm not familiar with the pricing of these things out there, but $1k off the asking price would be nice.

Have you looked around Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Autotrader etc to see what else is out there? That's a good way to determine how much it's worth more locally.