Year 2000, how's this look?
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Ghostrider
Registered User
Dirt can be washed away... How many miles and what service was done is much more important
nomoreFord
New member
i was actually able to read the entire carfax report... no issues, ever. 86,000 ish miles. asking 10,990, which scares me, cuz it's under the value of the truck... I have to drive about 50 miles to go take a look at it, but it seems like such a steal.
Dirt doesn't scare me, Just rust.
Dirt doesn't scare me, Just rust.
Ghostrider
Registered User
Yep I looked closer - what looked like dirt is some rust. No idea on what to say since I live in the South and don't fight road salt. You need someone to look underneath - rust down their is a lot more of an issue
Nunyabiz
New member
I would NOT by any means go solely by the Carfax report, those are just as deceptive as they may be revealing.
Carfax will miss just as much as it catches and on occasion will give a totally bogus report.
On my Jeep I just sold, a person that wanted to buy it ran a Carfax on it and it came back saying it was involved in an accident.
Problem was the Jeep was NEVER in any accident, we bought the Jeep from good friends we have known for 37 years.
What actually happened was the driver (friends daughter) "caused" an accident by pulling out in front of another car which swerved to miss her, never got close to the Jeep and only very minor damage was done the other car, think it hit the curb or clipped a sign or something cant remember but was just a scratch and tiny dent on bumper.
But the Jeep was never touched, yet Carfax says it was involved in an accident which is BS.
Also there are cars that have been virtually destroyed and carfax says they are clean.
Bottom line do NOT trust carfax, have it checked out by a good mechanic you trust.
Carfax will miss just as much as it catches and on occasion will give a totally bogus report.
On my Jeep I just sold, a person that wanted to buy it ran a Carfax on it and it came back saying it was involved in an accident.
Problem was the Jeep was NEVER in any accident, we bought the Jeep from good friends we have known for 37 years.
What actually happened was the driver (friends daughter) "caused" an accident by pulling out in front of another car which swerved to miss her, never got close to the Jeep and only very minor damage was done the other car, think it hit the curb or clipped a sign or something cant remember but was just a scratch and tiny dent on bumper.
But the Jeep was never touched, yet Carfax says it was involved in an accident which is BS.
Also there are cars that have been virtually destroyed and carfax says they are clean.
Bottom line do NOT trust carfax, have it checked out by a good mechanic you trust.
nomoreFord
New member
dang.. welp, that's what i get for assuming anything that i can check for free is at all completely reliable. I was absolutely going to negotiate having it checked out by my mechanic, he's awesome. Is there anything known about the 2000 4runner's that I could have specifically checked out, either by me or mechanic?
PS: your truck is gorgeous.
PS: your truck is gorgeous.
LittleCaesar
New member
It looks pretty on the outside; everyone here I am sure has judged a book by its cover and regretted doing such. Fifty miles is not far, go see it, take some pics yourself, and post them here.
Leaking rear axle seals, bad lower ball joints, and strawberry milkshake are the three non maintenance killers for the 4 runner. Check the fluids and look under the oil filler cap.
Negatives:
1. The rust is everywhere, including the clips to the air filter and on the fuse box. Rust Aid, found at the Home Depot, would help clean it up. How the undercarriage looks is the key. Ask Nelsonmd.
2. The coolant resevoir cap is off.
3. Is that a new radiator I see or a bad camera shot.
4. The brake fluid came with the 4 runner over from Japan.
5. There is a big WARNING sticker by the AC sticker. Never seen that.
Positives:
1. There is a sticker on the timing belt cover saying the belt has been changed I think.
Leaking rear axle seals, bad lower ball joints, and strawberry milkshake are the three non maintenance killers for the 4 runner. Check the fluids and look under the oil filler cap.
Negatives:
1. The rust is everywhere, including the clips to the air filter and on the fuse box. Rust Aid, found at the Home Depot, would help clean it up. How the undercarriage looks is the key. Ask Nelsonmd.
2. The coolant resevoir cap is off.
3. Is that a new radiator I see or a bad camera shot.
4. The brake fluid came with the 4 runner over from Japan.
5. There is a big WARNING sticker by the AC sticker. Never seen that.
Positives:
1. There is a sticker on the timing belt cover saying the belt has been changed I think.
nomoreFord
New member
hmm.. you have a keen eye. how helpful. do you think that coolant cap off means it was flushed and replaced.. could be a good thing? or most likely.. a "pink milkshake issue?" hm. From what I've read around these forums, I can address that issue fairly cheaply as long as i know it was/is an issue..
I can post more pictures, but they'd just but of the exterior and interior.. none of undercarriage. and only that one of under the hood.
I can post more pictures, but they'd just but of the exterior and interior.. none of undercarriage. and only that one of under the hood.
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nomoreFord
New member
tires SUCK!
cfranck1
New member
50 miles?? Thats nothing. Just last year, flew down to S.C. with friend to pick up a Taco and drive back to CT. So 50 miles is nothing in my book. If I was in the market for a 4runner, I would def take a 3 hour ride up to Boston or where ever its located.
:iagree: You can look at all the pictures you want and read all the carfaxs you can but it all comes down to, how bad do you want this one, are you willing to travel just 50 miles to look at it? If not I'm sure someone else will. When you go look at it and it turns out to be a bone, you might find one on the way that is even better.
That WARNING sticker is most likely for a Remote Starter.
Blue sticker on top of radiator should mean it's a new one. The coolant over flow cap probably doesn't stay latched anymore or when they did the Rad they never latched it back down.
nomoreFord
New member
oh i'm definetly making the drive. That's a definite. I just feel like it's such a nice model with such low miles... $10,990 seems sketchy to me. I've researched the dealer quite a bit, it appears they 're just such a small place that they're able to keep prices low cuz of low overhead, but it still seems many other places local to me are charging this much for runner's with well over 100k on them... I'm just sorta hoping that driving down there, it won't have a half inch of rust covering the entire undercarriage. i've tried contacting the dealer, they've made no effort of contact. annoying.
Also... new radiator, that makes me happy.
Also... new radiator, that makes me happy.
cfranck1
New member
I just found it on CL and went to the dealers website.
It's one of those "Buy Here, Pay Here" places.
Don't like dealing with them but you can probably get them down on the price.
If you click on the "Photos" link on there page and the large pictures come up. The truck is very clean outside of actually looking under it, but thats what the 50 mile drive will confirm.
2000 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD - Cars For Sale Canton, MA
It's one of those "Buy Here, Pay Here" places.
Don't like dealing with them but you can probably get them down on the price.
If you click on the "Photos" link on there page and the large pictures come up. The truck is very clean outside of actually looking under it, but thats what the 50 mile drive will confirm.
2000 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD - Cars For Sale Canton, MA
nomoreFord
New member
cfranck1, assuming the reason the truck is not above blue book value is because of the 'strawberry milkshake'... is it still worth buying?????? I have to assume that the dealer bought this truck at auction on account of the driver not knowing about the strawberry milkshake and stopped making payments once it happened, hence it being put up at auction. I'm a little weary about who put the new radiator in and all that jazz, but if i get a good deal, and just immediately make the changes that 4-Ripchord thoroughly mentions in his post, costing about $200... is it still worth it??
nomoreFord
New member
I've looked at all the pic's on their site....
what do you mean by "buy here, pay here"? please explain...
so that means like... you don't go through a bank... and if anything ever goes wrong, they can re-po it? what are your qualms with those kind of places?
what do you mean by "buy here, pay here"? please explain...
so that means like... you don't go through a bank... and if anything ever goes wrong, they can re-po it? what are your qualms with those kind of places?
cfranck1
New member
Go look it over good and drive it, make sure everything works to your satisfaction. After that, what does you gut tell you to do? If that's saying don't buy it, then don't. Just don't buy it because someone says it's a good deal or something to that extent. But in the end no one but you can make the decision for yourself.
Here, Auto trader can explain it more in detail then I could. Me personally would not go thru one. I usually try to pay cash for the used cars I buy and from private sales and if and when I go to buy a new one I will use a bank. But thats me, I can't speak for anybody else but me. So you can do your own judgment when you go there.
Buy Here Pay Here Financing Basics - AutoTrader.com
Nunyabiz
New member
I would be real wary of used car dealers.
About the only place I have seen that has good used cars on a regular basis is Carmax but they charge and arm and a leg for them because they do not except anything with over 115K I believe so the lowest price 4Runner usually start around 13K with them.
BUT they at least do not seem to be crooks like most used car dealerships, they do go through the car and actually fix what needs to be fixed to put it in excellent condition.
Every one here has already picked out what can be from photos, but cant really judge a car from photos.
When I was looking last month I saw a 4runner that looked great on the dealership website but my gawd when I got there I swear the car was not even legal to drive on the road it was in such bad shape. The guy handed me the keys and I literally handed them right back to him.
Best follow Ripcords excellent guide for generally what to look for and take it to a trusted mechanic.
Odds are good though that you will find your best deal by far from a private party.
About the only place I have seen that has good used cars on a regular basis is Carmax but they charge and arm and a leg for them because they do not except anything with over 115K I believe so the lowest price 4Runner usually start around 13K with them.
BUT they at least do not seem to be crooks like most used car dealerships, they do go through the car and actually fix what needs to be fixed to put it in excellent condition.
Every one here has already picked out what can be from photos, but cant really judge a car from photos.
When I was looking last month I saw a 4runner that looked great on the dealership website but my gawd when I got there I swear the car was not even legal to drive on the road it was in such bad shape. The guy handed me the keys and I literally handed them right back to him.
Best follow Ripcords excellent guide for generally what to look for and take it to a trusted mechanic.
Odds are good though that you will find your best deal by far from a private party.
Nelsonmd
New member
Welcome to another Bostonian. I bought my 2000 here in NE (VT) last year. My take on this one is that the price will probably have to come down significantly to make it a good deal, unless it has very very little rust on it. Based on what I see around here, $11k is what a 2000 with about that mileage would go for in the south.
Read the link in my sig for some of the problems that a life in new england will give it. You should look closely at the undercarriage for severe rust, specifically:
The rear axle housing from the back - if it is rusty, scrape it and see if the rust flakes off, how thick the rust is (bring a flat head screwdriver with you to scrape), and see if the rust on the diff cover area looks wet. If it looks wet, then you probably have an oil leak. You might be able to smell it too if you know what gear oil smells like)
The gas tank/filler pipe - Just make sure there is nothing more than little patches of rust on the tank, squeeze the filler pipe to make sure it hasn't rusted through.
The frame - check around where the rear lower control arms attach to the frame, check both the inside side and the outside side of the main frame rail there. Surface rust is ok, but if you have any holes, don't get it.
People have mentioned the rear axle seals - This doesn't worry me as much because it is fairly easy and cheap to replace these, and I don't think they are likely to empty the diff the way a housing or diff seal leak will.
For comparison, mine is seen in my build thread in my sig, and I paid $7600 with 100kmi. I feel like I overpaid for what I got. I had to drop a quick $1G just to fix the rusty fuel filler pipe, new rear axle, and other small parts and supplies just to get it drivable. I will need to replace the front brakes as one of the bleeder valves is frozen in, so I can't bleed it. My suspension was shot, most likely primarily due to the rust damage. A big kicker was that my frame is actually pretty good. It is bad in the spare tire area (not really structural). It didn't come with a spare tire (got stolen the week before I bought it.
Anyway, feel free to message me if you want to know more. Is this thing located down on the cape? Mass has some pretty good used car buyer protection laws; beware if it is a different state.
Read the link in my sig for some of the problems that a life in new england will give it. You should look closely at the undercarriage for severe rust, specifically:
The rear axle housing from the back - if it is rusty, scrape it and see if the rust flakes off, how thick the rust is (bring a flat head screwdriver with you to scrape), and see if the rust on the diff cover area looks wet. If it looks wet, then you probably have an oil leak. You might be able to smell it too if you know what gear oil smells like)
The gas tank/filler pipe - Just make sure there is nothing more than little patches of rust on the tank, squeeze the filler pipe to make sure it hasn't rusted through.
The frame - check around where the rear lower control arms attach to the frame, check both the inside side and the outside side of the main frame rail there. Surface rust is ok, but if you have any holes, don't get it.
People have mentioned the rear axle seals - This doesn't worry me as much because it is fairly easy and cheap to replace these, and I don't think they are likely to empty the diff the way a housing or diff seal leak will.
For comparison, mine is seen in my build thread in my sig, and I paid $7600 with 100kmi. I feel like I overpaid for what I got. I had to drop a quick $1G just to fix the rusty fuel filler pipe, new rear axle, and other small parts and supplies just to get it drivable. I will need to replace the front brakes as one of the bleeder valves is frozen in, so I can't bleed it. My suspension was shot, most likely primarily due to the rust damage. A big kicker was that my frame is actually pretty good. It is bad in the spare tire area (not really structural). It didn't come with a spare tire (got stolen the week before I bought it.
Anyway, feel free to message me if you want to know more. Is this thing located down on the cape? Mass has some pretty good used car buyer protection laws; beware if it is a different state.
