Some advice for buying a used '97

Howdy,

I've been in the market for a 3rd gen 'runner lately, and I found one in a tiny mountain town for an absolute steal ($2400 for 180k miles, manual tranny, good interior). However, it has some catches:

Most worrying is the fact that the frame rails have been replaced: is that a big red flag for 4runners? I've asked about getting some more pics of the undercarriage to make sure there isn't massive rust on other parts. Does anyone have any experience with rusting frames on a 3rd gen? The body has some minor rust where the passenger rear fender trim fell off, but I am pretty comfortable fixing that with a wire brush, sandpaper, paint, and a prayer.

I can deal with the cosmetic imperfections of a $2400 4runner, but that frame rail replacement has me a little paranoid that I'd be buying a truck that'll fold in two in a few years.

I appreciate any insight.

 

Yeah. Huge red flag. Where do you live?

Anywhere north of Viginia?

PASS.

 

I live in Colorado. Asked the seller, the PO replaced them as future proofing, not due to structural rust I guess. The rest of the undercarriage is fine, so I'm gonna go look at it tomorrow. For $2400 I'm willing to make a few sacrifices considering similar 4runners in my area are closer to 5 or 6 grand.

 

My first reaction is that he's full of crap. No one does that "just in case". Fiddling with frames needs to be done by an expert and is costly.

You need to really look at that "repair" and if there is ANY rot or bad welds, walk.

If it "looks" ok, then ask that you get it inspected by a body shop that knows what they are doing and if you get the ok, only then would I buy it.

If you get a repair estimate to fix his "fix"...then factor that in.

 

dicey. I would probably walk away from this ' deal '.....

 

Just wondering what they were replaced with? It’s either covering up a bunch of old rust, or you have no way of knowing how he lined it up if he cut it out to the subframes. If he’s a great restorer type, and a perfectionist it might be ok, but I’m like the previous others - big red flag. Why ask for trouble. There are good ones out there. Half the fun is in the pursuit. Life is a process.

 

Get it looked at. It seems too good to be true. If they are spending all that money at future proofing why would the let it go for so little.

 

Life is like a box of chocolates.