What to ask prior to 10hr drive for 4th gen purchase

[judoant]

So I have found an 06 Limited V8 w 45k for $22k about 10 hours away from me. I have already seen 45 online pics and I have asked for carpet, under side, engine pic and any dint or scratch pics. It is a 1 owner.

Should I negociate before hand? (I have a 99 Limited I need to sell/trade)
Should I contact the previous owner?
What else should I ask for prior to making the journey?

 

[STAYGOLD]

start with the basics.

ask about any maintenance items (and proof).

i would at least figure out your total with taxes/plates/fees and make sure you are comfortable with that FIRST so you do not drive to them expecting to get it for $2k cheaper or whatever it may be,


lastly, don't let them know you're driving from 10 hours away. they know that if they get you to come to them, you're not going to want to leave empty handed. make it seem as if you're casually passing by, not that you hunted it down.

 

[judoant]

Crap! I already told them I wanted all this information because I was coming from so far.

It's a good point but there is part of me that feels that if they know they will be willing to give me all the details up front. I would be really pissed if something was not correct after a 10 hour drive and would not hesitate to leave empty handed.

 

[DC runner]

This is a bad idea if you NEED to SELL your current vehicle to get it. I say it is better to wait for one in your area to pop up. If you place yourself on the artifical timeline, then you are going to mentally force yourself to be ok with it.

Then, in 2 months, when the shine has worn off and you notice all the things that are not OK with it and you start *****ing on here, you will get a lot of people commenting on how you should have waited.

Also. If this is to be your daily driver and you really need to rely on it, why would you buy it sight unseen? The problem for you is you need to sell your current truck to afford the new one, that means you will be in a bind if this goes south.

So. MY personal opinion? There will be one, closer, and better at some point. Don't rush.

That said. You have missed all the important stuff, so gonna assume you are young and new to this.
You said NOTHING about a 3rd party inspection. I mean a serious, YOU PAY FOR IT, inspection to find any and ALL issues. You can pay the nearest Toyota dealership about 150 bucks to give it as complete an inspection as possible. Make sure they have a body shop and throw it up on the rack to look for body damage.

Second. Have you PULLED all the records you can for it? From Toyota and from Carfax? If you haven't, then how can you EVEN be thinking this is a good idea. Someone on here just discovered from the Toyota site that a truck they recently bought doesn't even have the original transmission.


Do you DUE DILIGENCE and slow down.
As for what you ask him, you ask him everything. It is against the law for him to LIE to promote a sell, that is called Fraud. So, you type of a sheet with a bunch of questions.
1. Ever been in an accident?
2. Any large issues ever popped up?
3. Have you ever neglected maintenance (a.k.a gone over the Oil interval)
4. etc,etc.etc.

Then you have him SIGN and DATE it at his nearest notary...


Also. You never EVER negotiate price before you see it.. that's just dumb. If you don't care, then sure...

But.. again. I think these long distance, sell your own first, desperate plans are a BAD IDEA.

 

[robhurlburt]

Also. You never EVER negotiate price before you see it.. that's just dumb. If you don't care, then sure...

what? why? Its a good idea to negotiate on price by what he has told you. If he has lied to you about the condition than you can walk, OR go LOWER on the buy price.

 

[SAC]

Especially driving 10 hours to pick one up. I drove 3 and pre negotiated, then busted him for another couple hundy.

 

[judoant]

DC while I appreciate your response you are coming off quite condescending. That said. I will not defend my age or used car buying experience. I am simply looking for ideas about what to cover over the phone with the seller.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

A professional inspection is a good idea, it will help give you a better idea of the vehicles condition. Carfax and records would be a good idea a well, even though as was pointed out, a forum member found out his Trans has been replaced even though he had records provided by the dealer at sale.

Ten hours is a long way to go for a car, but I know how much of a pain it can be to finda V8 4WD in the color and trim you want for a good price.

 

[Sungod]

Negotiate all you can up front because I know if I were selling something and the guy drove 10hrs, I wouldn't budge a penny off the price. That screams of desparation.

 

[Atlanta_man]

If you are driving north, 1/ frozen front calipers ? 2/ look for rust underneath and around the tailgate with it up.

Sunroof ? operate it a few times

All three keys ? Do the remote door lock (beep)/ unlock functions work ?

Condition of tires ? Brakes ? They both could be original with that mileage

Cd player function

 

[JohnnyT]

A professional inspection is a good idea, it will help give you a better idea of the vehicles condition. Carfax and records would be a good idea a well, even though as was pointed out, a forum member found out his Trans has been replaced even though he had records provided by the dealer at sale.

Ten hours is a long way to go for a car, but I know how much of a pain it can be to finda V8 4WD in the color and trim you want for a good price.

Amen to this.

A coworker was about to pull the trigger on an 09 4runner with 41k and had it professionally inspected. Found that the frame had been bent and then bent back to sell it. Must have been mauled at some point off road and yet it looked perfect otherwise inside and out.

 

[needsmoresalt]

Get the VIN, and register it on the Toyota Owners site. NJShadow93 discovered that he had dealer maintenance performed that was not disclosed to him. It is free and worth a look.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

If you can get the BIN, I could run it through the TIS and see what history it has sale dealer wise

 

[judoant]

What is TIS?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Toyota Information Service, its the network Toyota dealers use to repair, communicate with the factory, and find information for Toyota vehicles and technology.

 

[calikev]

DCRUNNER quote: Do you DUE DILIGENCE and slow down.
As for what you ask him, you ask him everything. It is against the law for him to LIE to promote a sell, that is called Fraud. So, you type of a sheet with a bunch of questions.
1. Ever been in an accident?
2. Any large issues ever popped up?
3. Have you ever neglected maintenance (a.k.a gone over the Oil interval)
4. etc,etc.etc.

Then you have him SIGN and DATE it at his nearest notary...

NO DEALER in the world is gonna sign anything like this...NONE


<> Get inspection---check toyota site for vin info---pull carfax too

<> Let him know you are testing SEVERAL in the area and coming to him 1st...you can always get up and walk away saying " thanks for the offer but gotta go see the other 2 vehicles I will let you know"

<> Keep your trade OUT of the deal for sure. Finance all, then send the bank the money you got for the old Runner in the form of monthly payments...EX. I bought mine put 5k down...kept 10k and sent 20 payments of $500 online 1 at a time each day (They have to post them individually instead of taking it off the balance like they would if I sent the whole 10k in one payment) ---my truck is prepaid til 2014 and only has a few thousand left to pay in full. I'm only accruing about $20 a month interest and have the security of having a loan balance. If it's totalled/stolen Toyota is involved with my insurance company making sure I get top dollar for value instead of them trying to swindle me knowing it's paid in full----PLUS I'm driving with NO PAYMENTS AT ALL due monthly while keeping the other few thousand in the bank for me to make more money on AND they're even giving me a good credit rating as paying every month on time AND the whole loan balance shows in my credit so it looks like I borrowed $17k with taxes and paid it perfectly and quickly instead of just paying cash----That's a WIN< WIN< WIN in my book!!! Done this for many car purchases.

 

[CAN-03runner]

My issues:

Cracked exhaust manifold.

Rear window; the attachement on the rear hatch window, that holds the glass, and pushes up and down. Water gets in there into the hatch area, that attachment rusted, and split apart. So then the window would slide up and down slanted. Brought it to Toyota who then proceded to break the glass....:ybrick: and then told me sorry...here are your keys, and have a nice day.

The front cross member, right under the radiator. The one that the front tow loops are welded on to. That part rusted. Right in the middle of the loop and along the welds and folds of that corner. Going to have to patch that soon.

Transfercase seal, on the rear, where the drive shaft connects leaked. That was a quick fix, no big deal.

Maybe feel the carpet for wetness. Lift the carpet if you can. It easy to do int he trunk, and see if there is water accumulated underneath, or if you see white stains of dried up water.

 

[earthrealm]

i wudnt drive 10hrs to get a car.if you are patient..something good will always pop up in your neighbourhood..register on autotrader set up alerts.i hv been searching since feb and hv had like 5 cars slip away from me due to inexperience/hestitation...but i count it all as part of the learning process..i know THE ONE is waiting for me out there...and am gonna get her soon!...lol.

@ post..between carfax/toyota website and an independent inspection by another toyota dealership...i think u got all ur bases covered.good luck

 

[judoant]

calikev I like your financing/payment method. That is something I have never heard and will take advantage of that.

 

[judoant]

I just received some additional pictures and this one of the engine strikes me as odd. Something about the block does not look right and the manifold is all rusted. Do all the 4th gen blocks have this color and texture? To me it looks like it has been sitting in water.