2016 SR5 Prem Purchase Advice

Hi!

New to the forum and 4Runners. I have a 2005 Tundra with 240K on it so needless to say I love my Toyotas. Also have a 2013 Rav and 2019 Highlander.

I am in need of a 4th vehicle due to some family issues and am looking at this 2016 4Runner. It has 200K on it and is SR5 PREM trim package. The carfax has regular maintenance on it. Assuming that it is clean (I havent seen it yet) and the maintenance has been reasonable, will I be able to get another 100K+ on the vehicle? They are asking $19K and we would not be financing. Would value some opinions and understand there are many other factors that could play into this. Thank you! - Rodd

 

Make sure the underside (frame) doesn’t have a lot of rust. This depends on the geographic location of the truck.

Might consider having a component mechanic familiar with 5th gens look it over.

 

Welcome. Rust (depending on location) and make sure things that you want to work...work. Like 4x4, window motors etc.

Getting a toyota familiar mechanic might be a good idea. 100$ for that may save you thousands down the road.

 

The 4runner will do 300k miles easy.

 

I can't help feeling like 19k is a lot for something with 200,000 mi, then again the values of these are insane.

I checked my local Marketplace out of curiosity, found a lot of 2010 to 2013 models with much less mileage in the 15k range. Not sure how you feel about those model years. I also found a 2014 TRD off-road with 120-ish k on it for 22.5.

Like was said above, make sure you check the undercarriage if you are in an area that is humid or gets wintery road salt conditions. That does a number on these things. I would wager more Toyota 4x4s die because of corrosion than mechanical issues.

I'm nearing 150k on my 2013, I'm fully expecting to get 300K easy out of it. However, I'm not sure what I'll be needing to replace once I start hitting the 200k in above mark.

That's a time when things like axle seals, wheel bearings, alternator, suspension and steering parts ,etc can start to go. None of that stuff is 4Runner specific, just things that eventually will need to be replaced due to age and mileage. I haven't had to replace any of that yet on my 2013 yet, so as soon as the parts gets here I am replacing the springs and shocks, and will probably do all the tie rods and ball joints as well.

Depending on how much you're going to drive this thing, you may start replacing parts within months, or maybe you still have a few years before you start having to do these repairs. If you do drive a lot, it would probably be worth it to find one with less mileage for a little more money. It could be the previous owner of this one decided to trade it in before they had to deal with any of those repairs.

Also, if you need a fourth vehicle, why specifically a 4Runner? If you simply just want one, that's fine, they're great vehicles. But just curious if you have a specific need for one? If you just need something to get from A to b, you can find something nice for this money with way less miles and more features/better fuel economy.

 

Thank you for the help! I live in Pittsburgh so I am seeing that the older ones can usually have rust issues. I found a nice 2005 with 130K for $16,000, but it had the orange undercarriage with the start of frame corrosion. I have spent alot of time under my 2005 Tundra battling this so know what it looks and tastes like I am tempted to fly to florida and pick one up there. My Tundra is hanging on by a thread (I had some framework done last inspection) so am thinking that the 4Runner will be the replacement for the truck when it goes. Do you do your own work on yours?

 

I think 16k for an '05 is still way too much, in fact, that's even crazier than 19k for the 16.. If you have the time and resources to fly down south to get one, I would definitely do that. I'd be a little concerned with Florida, could be a lot of flood cars down there.

 

https://maxmotive.com/vehicle/2008-toyota-4runner-v1368/

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...2GZV2hSohVsNz9tl_r30iYafZPYyoa02YU-7geFZuKYuI

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...rivedpriceASC&numRecords=25&clickType=listing

The struggle is real!

 

That red one actually looks pretty nice. Yeah, prices are just insane. I'm so glad I bought mine in 2019. Toyota tax is out of control lately.

 

If you're willing to travel then the carolinas or Florida are probably your best bet for no rust. Or even here in Texas. But our resell here in TX is astronomical.

 

Being from Pittsburgh, this isn't a deal killer for me, but would take some work. Would anyone else be very concerned with this?

 

My neighbor has a 2004 with 470k miles on it. He is the worst at maintaining it. The damn thing looks amazing though.

 

Or better yet, find one out west. We don’t have rust issues where I’m located, thankfully.

 

All of the skids look pretty rusted. I’m not used to seeing that much rust.

 

I agree. That doesn’t look like much rust. I live in the Midwest I’d actually say that wouldn’t concern me. It all looks like surface rust.

 

I would love to buy my next vehicle from out west. Honestly, I want to go out there, purchase the vehicle, and then just stay put and never leave lol. I'm so sick of being boxed in on the coast, I have been yearning to be out west more and more lately.

 

That doesn't look bad for a 7-year-old east coast vehicle. My 2013 looked about like that when I bought it, I crawled around underneath it at the dealer and I didn't think it was that bad.

What I did on mine that first year was wire wheel all the surface rust off that I could, clean it, paint it with rust bullet top coated with satin black rustoleum, then fluid filmed the whole thing. If I were to do it again, I would just skip the paint treatment, and just wire wheel the surface rust and then spray with fluid film or similar.

If you do have the means to purchase one from a dry climate, that is the best way to go. Just make sure to have it treated as soon as you get it back here.

It's ashamed Toyota didn't do a better job of designing these to be corrosion resistant.

Just for contrast, here's an undershot that I took today of my 2007 Volvo that's lived it's whole life in the Northeast without ever having any bit of rust prevention done, including even an undercarriage wash in the winter. Yeah there's a little bit of oxidation and some surface rust on bolt heads, but nothing extreme. That piece in the top left is part of the subframe. Zoom in a bit and gaze upon the wonder of a fully intact heat shield, lol.