Want to trade in my 4th Gen for a 3rd Gen...

[MtnT4R]

A lot of good feedback here, especially what Mojave said. I love my 3rd gen, but I've had to do ALOT of maintenance. Fortunately, I'm pretty handy and did most of the work myself saving me quite a bit of $$$. For that price tho, I'd suggest just going for another 4th gen. I know you said your budget is tight, but I've seen earlier year 4th gens go for not much more. You can't deny the benefits of a newer model. I'd suggest a 3rd gen if you're really into off roading or if you can get it for way cheaper than a 4th. I got mine for $2,500, but it took a bit of patience to find the right deal. If you can, wait it out if the dealer won't budge much on price.

You do bring up a lot of good points. So here's the deal: I just bought a house so I'm officially up to my eyeballs in debt for the next 30 years. I barely managed to qualify so there's just no cards in the deck for anything more than what I currently owe on my T4, which is $9k(4th Gens here just aren't sold for less than $10- the demand is too high and everyone knows it). Personally I am ok with swapping for an older model because in reality all of these vehicles are depreciating assets and we just won't see the money that we put into them ever again, but for the short term I am hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone- get rid of a T4 with a busted nose, and lower my monthly payments and insurance premium.

I love the idea of getting into a 5 speed, but have to cool my heels and make sure I do the due diligence on this one.

 

[mxer]

I would say that's very high even for CO. I would be interested what the dealer is will to lower it to. That's more of a 99-01 price. I would say 6500 tops.

I'm sure the green hood and roof are oxidized as well due to the intense UV here.

 

[MtnT4R]

^ That sounds about right- I want to keep within $6.5-$7 but I'm just not sure how strongly I can negotiate when I still owe $9 on my current truck. Thoughts?

 

[mxer]

^ That sounds about right- I want to keep within $6.5-$7 but I'm just not sure how strongly I can negotiate when I still owe $9 on my current truck. Thoughts?

About 3 weeks ago I saw a 01 SR5 with 95k miles on it with all maintenance up to date (timing belt) beautiful truck go for 7500 on CL. That's been my "benchmark" for pricing. Since then, all I see are people asking 7k+ for 200k mile + unmaintained beat to crap trucks.

There's even been a few 2wd 250k mile 4runners where people are asking 5 grand. They should have never legalized weed here I tell you.

 

[JayRolla]

About 3 weeks ago I saw a 01 SR5 with 95k miles on it with all maintenance up to date (timing belt) beautiful truck go for 7500 on CL. That's been my "benchmark" for pricing. Since then, all I see are people asking 7k+ for 200k mile + unmaintained beat to crap trucks.

There's even been a few 2wd 250k mile 4runners where people are asking 5 grand. They should have never legalized weed here I tell you.

LOL, people smoked just as much before.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

I honestly did think about flying/driving out of state to pick one up for waaay cheaper. One showed up in Montana that was spotless, had 120kish on the clock and was supercharged starting at 6k. Had lots of mods and improvements too. The downside is California's smog laws are so strict... they have all these extra rules for out of state vehicles and I'd probably have to take half the stuff off of it.

But then again, our wages are much higher out here so I suppose it evens out! I make more but I have to spend more for the same stuff.

I actually bought that in Los Angelas... haha. I am from CA so I know the pain. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure that 4runners are "50 state" cars, so you should be able to bring one to CA and pass smog with little issue (baring mods)...

 

[MojaveMadMan]

You do bring up a lot of good points. So here's the deal: I just bought a house so I'm officially up to my eyeballs in debt for the next 30 years. I barely managed to qualify so there's just no cards in the deck for anything more than what I currently owe on my T4, which is $9k(4th Gens here just aren't sold for less than $10- the demand is too high and everyone knows it). Personally I am ok with swapping for an older model because in reality all of these vehicles are depreciating assets and we just won't see the money that we put into them ever again, but for the short term I am hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone- get rid of a T4 with a busted nose, and lower my monthly payments and insurance premium.

I love the idea of getting into a 5 speed, but have to cool my heels and make sure I do the due diligence on this one.

The insurance on my 97 is the same as my 05....

 

[nevada]

don't the 3rd gens have balljoint issues also?
a design flaw right? the joint pulls apart when it fails, instead of pushing together. or some such ish.

 

[mxer]

LOL, people smoked just as much before.

It was more of a joke.

Just a testament of how crazy people think their stuff is worth. A 2wd 4runner is next to worthless here eep: and to ask more for that than the going rate of a 4wd is almost insulting as a buyer.

 

[cp99sr5]

New Member, just got mine in the SF Bay Area, 1999, SR5, 4WD with Auto, 169K miles, great condition, no oxidation issues with paint, absolutly no rust on the undersides, was originally purchased and has been in CA its life, I am the third owner - $5,300. I was looking for three months, most I saw with that mileage were runnning about $9K at dealers and even some private sellers asking that much. I have sunk about a grand so far, new rear shocks but the rest was raditor flush, tranny fluid change, differential and Xfr case changes, etc. Be patient, and ready because you will know it when you see it!

 

[viceversa]

don't the 3rd gens have balljoint issues also?
a design flaw right? the joint pulls apart when it fails, instead of pushing together. or some such ish.

correct and there was a recall for some 2001 models for the ball joint premature failure. Either way, its scary and most will recommend replacing even before any wear becomes noticeable and use only OEM ball joints.

 

[bpowa]

I just moved from my 3rd gen to 4th gen. I like the ruggedness of the 3rd gen. However I would not go back after the 4th gen. Power and comfort.

 

[viceversa]

I just moved from my 3rd gen to 4th gen. I like the ruggedness of the 3rd gen. However I would not go back after the 4th gen. Power and comfort.

I really wanted a 4th gen (2005+) when I was looking for my first 4runner but man they really do hold their value because it would have been twice as much as what I paid for my 99.

MtnT4R If I were you...I would keep your 4th gen and instead try and fix any issues you currently have with it. You are asking for more trouble by trading for an older vehicle (no matter which vehicle) ESPECIALLY since you mention you are on a tight budget. I say slow you roll and compare cost to what it would be to fix your 4th gen.

 

[BlackCat914]

FWIW, I just found out that during my ownership of my truck, there was a front AND rear collision reported to Carfax that my truck has never been in. Just food for thought. I had a minor (IE: Less than 5mph incident with a drunk pedestrian) and that's what Carfax shows.

 

[MtnT4R]

I really wanted a 4th gen (2005+) when I was looking for my first 4runner but man they really do hold their value because it would have been twice as much as what I paid for my 99.

MtnT4R If I were you...I would keep your 4th gen and instead try and fix any issues you currently have with it. You are asking for more trouble by trading for an older vehicle (no matter which vehicle) ESPECIALLY since you mention you are on a tight budget. I say slow you roll and compare cost to what it would be to fix your 4th gen.

I would tend to agree with you except for the fact that I've had a few really good body shops tell me that they can't fix it my front end. It's all body work, the headlights are cross eyed and the passenger side is flexed weird.

I can fix anything that doesn't require specialized equipment so regular mech issues don't bother me. I want to keep a T4 for a long time, past my daily driver and turn it into a trail rig when I start making more money, and the 3rd Gens are much better suited for that.

 

[bpowa]

A good body shop can fix anything for the right price. But how much would it cost. Also if you hate it that much. Sell it and get another 4th gen. It will likely cost you the same as getting a 3rd gen and fixing it up.

 

[infamousRNR]

2000+ cars = all plastic... they just don't make things like they use to....


can we all please band together and have toyota make a throwback to the 3rd gen????

kind of like how mustang and camero have there new cars look like the old ones

 

[1985taylor1925]

A few things about that truck that Im surprised no one has mentioned yet . . .

-Those are not oem fender flares. They look similar to the oem sr5 flares that I have, but are wider and have a slightly different shape. I believe those are Xenon flares, which I don't think are available any more. They were pretty expensive though

-The tires are either one size up from stock (265 75 16), or just look big because they are A/Ts. But they look bigger than stock 265 70 16s.

-The back end has a small lift from what I can tell. There was a recall on the 98 rear coils, so maybe the rear coils were replaced and the fronts are original making the back look much higher. But it looks more like a small lift to me. Either way, you can still use that recall to get new rear coils on a 98 if they haven't been replaced with oem

As far as what everyone is saying about carfax, accidents, etc, you would have to look into that. Even if it was in an accident, if I looked it over and everything looked good and it drove nice, I would still buy it. I think its a pretty good deal in CO if you can get it for around 7k, being a manual. Tires look pretty new also, which is a big plus.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Compare the flares. Those are Xenons. Much wider than mine

 

[Scramble]

A few things about that truck that Im surprised no one has mentioned yet . . .

-Those are not oem fender flares. They look similar to the oem sr5 flares that I have, but are wider and have a slightly different shape. I believe those are Xenon flares, which I don't think are available any more. They were pretty expensive though

-The tires are either one size up from stock (265 75 16), or just look big because they are A/Ts. But they look bigger than stock 265 70 16s.

-The back end has a small lift from what I can tell. There was a recall on the 98 rear coils, so maybe the rear coils were replaced and the fronts are original making the back look much higher. But it looks more like a small lift to me. Either way, you can still use that recall to get new rear coils on a 98 if they haven't been replaced with oem

As far as what everyone is saying about carfax, accidents, etc, you would have to look into that. Even if it was in an accident, if I looked it over and everything looked good and it drove nice, I would still buy it. I think its a pretty good deal in CO if you can get it for around 7k, being a manual. Tires look pretty new also, which is a big plus.

You're right, he has some kind of small lift on there. Maybe 99 springs?
I was running 275/75/16's AT's for years on my stock 99 springs.