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10 Posts
Hey guys. I need some 4Runner advice.
We've always been a Toyota car family because of the reliability. My in-laws have a 2003 and a 2008 Camry and my father-in-law can't bear to part with my wife's old 1992 Corolla or his 1987 PU. I've got a 1996 Camry with 237,000 miles on it and a 2004 Camry with 104,000 that my wife drives. I know that my car isn't gonna last forever so I've been thinking about finding something else with less miles on it soon. I just need something to get me back and forth to work every day (20 interstate miles each way). It would be nice to have the room and versitility of a truck/SUV.
Well, the other day as I was pulling into my neighborhood I saw a 1994 4Runner with 151,000 miles on it for sale for $2,500. It's a 2WD Automatic 3.0L V-6 and looks to be in pretty good shape. I called the lady and she said that she got it a couple of years ago from her mother who had it for a couple of years and bought it from the original owner. She said that when she got it from her mother she had to get some oil leaks repaired and while they were in there the mechanic kept suggesting more and more things to fix (she mentioned timing belt) so she's basically looking to get the money that she has invested in the repairs out of it. She said that she thinks she's still got all of the repair paperwork. Since they've had it they've only put a couple of thousand miles on it taking the kids camping.
From my experience 151k isn't a lot of miles for a Toyota. The 2004 Camry has never given me any trouble and the 1996 didn't start having any issues until 175,000 miles and then it was stuff that was a fairly easy/inexpensive fix (had the air conditioning worked on, radiator cracked, starter locked up, etc.). I've only been scanning the forum for a few minutes but I've seen some things that are making me nervous.
Is there anything else that I should be aware of besides the head gasket thing? I saw where someone said you could take the VIN and Toyota would tell you if it's ever been replaced. Can someone explain how to do that? I was flirting with the idea of getting a 1995-1998 Land Rover Discovery and the guys on that forum said to get one with more than 100,000 miles because the head gaskets go at about 80,000 miles and once they've been replaced you're good forever. Is it the same way with the 4Runners? When have the head gaskets been going out on these vehicles?
Any insight/advice you could share would be greatly appreciated.
We've always been a Toyota car family because of the reliability. My in-laws have a 2003 and a 2008 Camry and my father-in-law can't bear to part with my wife's old 1992 Corolla or his 1987 PU. I've got a 1996 Camry with 237,000 miles on it and a 2004 Camry with 104,000 that my wife drives. I know that my car isn't gonna last forever so I've been thinking about finding something else with less miles on it soon. I just need something to get me back and forth to work every day (20 interstate miles each way). It would be nice to have the room and versitility of a truck/SUV.
Well, the other day as I was pulling into my neighborhood I saw a 1994 4Runner with 151,000 miles on it for sale for $2,500. It's a 2WD Automatic 3.0L V-6 and looks to be in pretty good shape. I called the lady and she said that she got it a couple of years ago from her mother who had it for a couple of years and bought it from the original owner. She said that when she got it from her mother she had to get some oil leaks repaired and while they were in there the mechanic kept suggesting more and more things to fix (she mentioned timing belt) so she's basically looking to get the money that she has invested in the repairs out of it. She said that she thinks she's still got all of the repair paperwork. Since they've had it they've only put a couple of thousand miles on it taking the kids camping.
From my experience 151k isn't a lot of miles for a Toyota. The 2004 Camry has never given me any trouble and the 1996 didn't start having any issues until 175,000 miles and then it was stuff that was a fairly easy/inexpensive fix (had the air conditioning worked on, radiator cracked, starter locked up, etc.). I've only been scanning the forum for a few minutes but I've seen some things that are making me nervous.
Is there anything else that I should be aware of besides the head gasket thing? I saw where someone said you could take the VIN and Toyota would tell you if it's ever been replaced. Can someone explain how to do that? I was flirting with the idea of getting a 1995-1998 Land Rover Discovery and the guys on that forum said to get one with more than 100,000 miles because the head gaskets go at about 80,000 miles and once they've been replaced you're good forever. Is it the same way with the 4Runners? When have the head gaskets been going out on these vehicles?
Any insight/advice you could share would be greatly appreciated.