Looking to buy a 4Gen 4Runner!2004

Looking for some advice on things to look out for on the 2004 4runner Limited. It has the V8 it is a 2wd 132k just had the t-belt done at 116k. She looks like she was well cared for and not driven to much. It has all the maintenance records done at the dealership. I believe the t-belt was done at a small shop has the sticker on the air filter box but Toyota said they have no history of it I do understand some people rather save a little money at a smaller shop. Anything else I should be looking out for? It's listed at 10,500 which for the condition it's in I do not mind paying 2k above book value knowing it was taken care of.
Thanks for reading.

 

Get underneath and look for rust. Depending on what part of the US and how long it was there it can be substantial. Especially near LCAs and near the rear tire carrier.

And welcome to 4runners!

 

Thank you so much! It's been in New Mexico its whole life that's where I live and am purchasing it from. I did look at the car fax and it has two steering and suspension checks back to back. Is this something I should worry about?

 

Price seems a little high to me, but I’m east coast. I paid a bit less for a 4wd, same model year, less miles 4th gen, at a dealer.

Suspension probably getting checked because it’s worn out, maybe dealer trying to up sell the PO.

What you need to do is register on Toyota owners website if you already haven’t and then punch the vin in as your vehicle and look at the detailed service history.

 

Yeah it's a little high but really clean and had the t belt done 15k ago so I don't really mind the price just hoping to get another 100k out of it or another 10 years. It books 8k here in NM so I figured add the timing belt parts and labor to that. If I really like it and all checks out I am going to offer $9500 hopefully they take it.
I will definitely do that before I go test drive it and look into the maintenance a little more.
Thanks for your guy's help!

 

I wouldn’t even add in maintenance costs to price actually. Reason being, the dealer isn’t going to subtract if you try and ding them on maintenance (diff fluids, coolant changes, filters, etc) that will need to be done so why should they add to the price either? But I definitely see where you are coming from as far as factoring it in to your own potential costs. I did the same with my v8. TB and water pump were done within good time interval. If they hadn’t been I would’ve had them add it in to the deal or I would’ve walked.

I think 9500 is fair at least for what a dealer sale would be, maybe start at 9 and get to 9500. In all likelihood they probably didn’t pay more than 6500 if it was a trade in or auction vehicle.

 

Jay;

You drive the 2004 yet? If you don't need 4WD, 2WD is the way to go. Any towing on the 2004? Any codes on the dash? Were they ever erased and reset? Check out everything - hatch, key entry, locks... Pull the dipstick. It shouldn't be black or low.

Doesn't look like it has rust, but get underneath and check. A rusted out frame is worth nothing.

Bring a mechanic to check it out before you buy.

I have 2WD 2005 SR5 from new with 144,000 miles. It runs and starts and shifts perfect, and I've NEVER had a check engine lite code - or any codes for that matter. Only superficial rust on mine. Make sure yours does not come from the northern rust belt. Worth nothing IMO! Warning.

Good luck. Drive it on the highway at 70 mph. Bring a mechanic to check it out before you buy. That 4runner is 15 years old. Dealer doesn't care once they get your $10 grand.

I had tranny fluid changed by dealer at 100,000 miles. I do the oil myself now (conventional) every 5000 miles. I did coolant myself. Had a good shop do my brakes at 135,000 miles - probably the second or third time for brakes.

I had small off the highway/back street AC shop replace an AC compressor for $195 from Amazon (a Denso made I brought them). Cooling great for a year, so far.

Tom

 

Check for rust if you don't know for certain it's spent it's whole life in NM. I saw an absolutely MINT condition 2006 recently but the underneath looked like it'd been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for 25 years.