strider3700
Adventurer
I recently moved from a place in the country to the middle of suburbia so I've developed a desire to be able to get away from it all. That feeling led me here.
I currently drive a 96 suzuki sidekick 1.6 which is rusting pretty badly, leaks and burns a little oil, could use some new brakes, and the real killer - is getting too small for my growing family. I can't tow a trailer, so fitting the camping gear means I have to leave behind the baby. Hence I haven't been camping in far too long.
I'm looking for a vehicle that will tow a small trailer, hold two baby seats and still have space in the back, not kill me on gas as this will be my daily driver and be reliable. It also has to be affordable which means used.
my wife had a toyota corolla that she beat on for years without it complaining then she traded it in for more then I paid for my suzuki and bought a matrix that has been great. I'm sold on toyota reliability.
So I started looking around and decided I liked 60 series land cruisers with the diesel. I then found that the newest one would be 22 years old and they are either beat to death or restored and way too expensive. they are also not overly common around here. So I started looking at 4runners.
Today I saw the following ad for a 92
Having seen the vehicle in person I'd say the tires are new nothing special All seasons, the interior looked good, out side had normal scratches but the driver front fender had some bubbling from rust in the wheel well and the same for the rear. the passenger side seemed normal. Talking to the owner he seemed flexible price wise. It had a trailer hitch in place.
I also saw this ad
I haven't seen the 95 in person yet but it looks very nice in the photos.
I guess my question is would it be worth paying the extra 7000 for a rust free vehicle with a new engine and tranny compared to a nice truck with a possibly tired engine and tranny and a little rust starting?
$13000 is pushing my budget and would leave me with little to nothing for mods. $6000 is fine and I can still go shopping after words but may have nothing left over after fixing the rust, and getting a new engine and tranny. Although maybe I can swap a diesel in? reliability is key for me in the long run, anything less may result in a divorce
Is the rust an easy fix or signs that things could be really bad elsewhere? I'm assuming either replace the front fender if it's bad enough or simply grind-fill-paint then cover with a fender flare would be relatively inexpensive. The rear isn't a simple bolt on fix but I'd assume the grind and cover with a flare method would fix it.
Are engine rebuild/replacements expensive on these trucks?
Which way should I lean or should I just keep on looking?
Are mods easy to find or will it be custom everything? I tired of owning vehicles where you have one choice for something or build it yourself.
Thanks for any help
I currently drive a 96 suzuki sidekick 1.6 which is rusting pretty badly, leaks and burns a little oil, could use some new brakes, and the real killer - is getting too small for my growing family. I can't tow a trailer, so fitting the camping gear means I have to leave behind the baby. Hence I haven't been camping in far too long.
I'm looking for a vehicle that will tow a small trailer, hold two baby seats and still have space in the back, not kill me on gas as this will be my daily driver and be reliable. It also has to be affordable which means used.
my wife had a toyota corolla that she beat on for years without it complaining then she traded it in for more then I paid for my suzuki and bought a matrix that has been great. I'm sold on toyota reliability.
So I started looking around and decided I liked 60 series land cruisers with the diesel. I then found that the newest one would be 22 years old and they are either beat to death or restored and way too expensive. they are also not overly common around here. So I started looking at 4runners.
Today I saw the following ad for a 92
Having seen the vehicle in person I'd say the tires are new nothing special All seasons, the interior looked good, out side had normal scratches but the driver front fender had some bubbling from rust in the wheel well and the same for the rear. the passenger side seemed normal. Talking to the owner he seemed flexible price wise. It had a trailer hitch in place.
I also saw this ad
I haven't seen the 95 in person yet but it looks very nice in the photos.
I guess my question is would it be worth paying the extra 7000 for a rust free vehicle with a new engine and tranny compared to a nice truck with a possibly tired engine and tranny and a little rust starting?
$13000 is pushing my budget and would leave me with little to nothing for mods. $6000 is fine and I can still go shopping after words but may have nothing left over after fixing the rust, and getting a new engine and tranny. Although maybe I can swap a diesel in? reliability is key for me in the long run, anything less may result in a divorce
Is the rust an easy fix or signs that things could be really bad elsewhere? I'm assuming either replace the front fender if it's bad enough or simply grind-fill-paint then cover with a fender flare would be relatively inexpensive. The rear isn't a simple bolt on fix but I'd assume the grind and cover with a flare method would fix it.
Are engine rebuild/replacements expensive on these trucks?
Which way should I lean or should I just keep on looking?
Are mods easy to find or will it be custom everything? I tired of owning vehicles where you have one choice for something or build it yourself.
Thanks for any help
