Uber Deal? 99 4runner:

[Schattenjager]

Just ran across a lady who had moved out of state in December and left a black '99 4runner V6 auto Limited with 116K miles and the e-locker(!) with a friend. She is not coming back for it and basically said I could buy it for around $5K. Is this too good to be true?!? I'm going to look at it this afternoon, and plan to give it the good once over - she said the paint and interior are great, had the 90K miles service done at the dealership, and the rig needs nothing in her estimation. After a long string of major challenges, this just might be a turning point!

Any words of caution regarding the gen 4Runner? If I recall, 99-00 are really good years and the e-locker offered a desirable gearing.

Thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Mr. Leary]

They are great trucks. There are a few finky issues with them, all of which can be fixed.

Gas guage. Uneven display and sometimes pretty far off. A new sending unit will help the problem, but not completely fix it. Don't worry about this until you have an issue with it (guage will stop working).

Rear axle seals. Install an extended rear diff breather right away. Trust me on this. Cheap and easy

Power steering is a generally weak area. Just accept the fact that you will be replacing steering components relatively regularly if you run oversized tires (I did not have problems until I started running 33s).

Brakes suck. Upgrade to Tundra 199 or 231mm calipers. Easy bolt on upgrade.

Pink milkshake. Install an external transmission cooler. Cheap and very easy.

Hope this helps,

Leary

 

[Go4Lo]

That sounds like a very nice truck and a good deal. Let me know if you don't want it......I'll buy it! :wings:

 

[Martinjmpr]

For a limited with the E-locker that's a screaming deal. If it's as described jump on it with both feet.

Easy fix for the gas gauge woes: Get an Ultra-Gauge and once you have it calibrated you can ignore the gas gauge, the Ultra-Gauge will give you a DTE (Distance to Empty) that is accurate to within + or - 5 miles or so.

 

[RusM]

5k is a pretty good deal.

 

[Schattenjager]

Truck was a used up dog. Leaks, poor body damage repairs and smelled of cigs. Would not have bought it for $1

 

[Go4Lo]

Truck was a used up dog. Leaks, poor body damage repairs and smelled of cigs. Would not have bought it for $1

That's too bad. It sounded like a nice truck on paper.

 

[4x4mike]

FWIW all Limiteds around here are auto (4.30 gears) and have the e locker. They also have leather that after 10 or 11 years is beat.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Truck was a used up dog. Leaks, poor body damage repairs and smelled of cigs. Would not have bought it for $1

The sad thing is, someone will probably pay $5k for that and think they got a good deal. And that buyer will probably pass up several non-Toyotas in better condition that they could have gotten for half the price.