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New Member - Advice Wanted for purchasing '06-'07 ...

Discussion in '4th Gen 4Runners (2003-2009)' started by F250, May 24, 2017.

  1. May 24, 2017 at 8:39 AM
    #1
    F250

    F250 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2017
    Member:
    #4082
    Messages:
    27
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    Searching for 4th Gen 4Runner
    Hi all. Long post, I know. Thanks ahead of time for your patience in reading through it.

    I'm new here, but not new to automotive forums, Toyotas, or automotive wrenching & modding. One son had a 98 4Runner for a while, and another one has a '99 4Runner SR5 right now, and we've done timing belts and water pumps on both. Not difficult, but I prefer the chain in the 5th Gens and not having to worry about it.

    The search for 5th Gen is for my 17yo daughter's first vehicle. She wants to stay away from cars, small SUV's, and any other "low ride height" vehicles. She's learned to drive in my '02 F250 Crew Cab diesel and my wife's '10 RX450h and handles both vehicles beautifully. Having been through VW, Infiniti, Subaru, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Volvo, Ford, and Lexus vehicles (all over 100K miles at purchase), I've settled on sticking with Toyota for my baby girl's first vehicle. The 5th Gen 4Runner seems to best fit our composite desires, goals, and budget (max $8K).

    Having done a lot of reading, review comparisons, forum thread scavenging, etc., I am left with just a couple of questions to which I wold be grateful for your input.

    Mileage: The model year options, vehicle age, and budget constraints have us looking at a potential '06-'07 with about 200K miles on it. I would much prefer lower mileage, but the budget constraints dictate either that level of mileage or an older vehicle. The potential for head gasket issues, though limit me to considering nothing older than '05. SOOOoooo... would you feel comfortable with a thoroughly vetted '06-'07 with 200K miles being entrusted to your 17yo daughter who wants to plan on keeping the vehicle for 5-8 years (@ average 10K miles per year)?

    V6 -vs- V8, pros and cons for both, but mostly pros for both. For my needs, I'm sticking with the V6 as my daughter will NOT need 4WD or tow anything at all, and being that she's saving for college, she needs the little bit of fuel economy gain offered by the V6 and 2WD combination.

    Head gasket issues on the V6 were limited to the '03-'04 year models... can someone confirm that again for me?

    Transmission issues: Haven't really read of any... have I missed something which I need to be looking for specifically?

    Curiosity question... I really prefer the overhead rear wiper which came out in the 5th Gens as opposed to the bottom mount rear wiper (beneath the glass)... has anyone seen or heard of modifying the rear hatch to relocate the wiper up top (complete with spoiler)? This is not really pertinent for the search for my daughter's vehicle, but I'm also considering getting an additional 4th Gen for myself as a DD so I can set my F250 aside and slowly build it up over time, and I would definitely be up for this modification on my own vehicle.

    Thanks ahead of time for any and all insights.
     
  2. May 25, 2017 at 4:47 AM
    #2
    RonT4R

    RonT4R New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #526
    Messages:
    584
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ron
    Virginia Beach
    Vehicle:
    2007 4runner SR5 4WD
    Not a whole lot other info to offer, hope it helps. I am sure others will chime in with their thoughts and opinions. Please click expand to see my replies to each question.
     
  3. May 25, 2017 at 6:26 AM
    #3
    F250

    F250 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2017
    Member:
    #4082
    Messages:
    27
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    Searching for 4th Gen 4Runner
    Thanks for the input Ron. I'm seeing the toughness of our price point, and it may well drive me back into the '05 year model. We are pretty committed to staying within our stated budget, though. The good thing going for us is that there is no short-term deadline. I'm trying to locate one within the coming 2-3 weeks, but if necessary, we can go through June, or even longer if we have to. This purchase does need to be made before summer is over, though.

    I've seen a few "cherries" over the past month or so through CL, but they really sell quickly and until right now, I've not been ready to pull the trigger when they hit the local market. I don't mind having to do some deep cleaning and a few labor-intensive maintenance things if necessary as part of the purchase, but if I'm not very careful, I'll end up at a spending where we would have been better off to just raise the purchase price limit to begin with. My daughter is paying for probably 80% of the purchase price and we're helping her with the balance, but all maintenance, insurance, and operating expense is on her once we have the vehicle in hand. That's where even a 3-4 mpg difference in economy would not be very friendly to her cash flow situation (V8 scenario). I have seen one '05 V8's advertised as being 2WD, though, which I did not think existed. Thinking that the ad was wrong, I just ran it's VIN through the Yotatech VIN Decoder, and it is indeed a RWD model with the V8..
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2017
  4. May 28, 2017 at 4:08 PM
    #4
    F250

    F250 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2017
    Member:
    #4082
    Messages:
    27
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    Searching for 4th Gen 4Runner
    UPDATE! Purchase Complete! If you don't want the full story, just skip down to #5 below.

    We looked at 6 different 4Runners in the north Atlanta area yesterday, all '05-'06.

    1) '05 Blue SR5 2WD with a reported 144K miles, asking. BOGUS... if it really only had 144 K miles, it had been run WAY to hard and hung up wet for WAY too long. It had some type of aftermarket welded headers on it which looked horrible, and the amount of filth was amazing. We didn't walk away... we ran!

    2) '06 White SR5 2WD with leather interior, exceptionally clean, 232K miles. Battery was 3 years old, DS mirror was cracked, the rear tailgate wiper was completely shot, front brake pads were very thin, and there were dry-rot cracks between the treads on the thin tires on all four corners. I worked a dealer down from "$7995 plus $599 doc fees" down to "$7000 out the door", but I then told him I needed to look at the others on my list before closing the deal. Everything was dry underneath the vehicle with no signs of leaks anywhere. The steering had an exceptionally light feel to it, almost like it was not even connected to anything, but there was no play in it. Some slight brake pulsation and slight tire vibration at 60 mph.

    3) '05 White Sport Edition 4WD with 212K miles. Very clean, battery was 2 years old, PS finder flare was loose from one of the bottom clips, cargo area had lots of scrapes and deep scratches on the plastic, plastic exterior trim needed touching up where it was chipped in a few spots, tires were not great. I got the dealer down to $7000 out the door rather quickly, and then put him on hold like the other dealer s we could see a few more options. Brakes were on the thin side.

    4) '05 Gray SR5 2WD with 200K miles. Dirty inside, dash was cracking. Plastic interior door panels were bubbling. I walked away quickly even though he was asking only $5700.

    5) '06 Black SR5 2WD with 210K miles. It was the only one of the bunch which looked better than the pictures. It's beautiful. Private seller. Exceptionally clean. Drove like a dream. Rides wonderfully. The throttle and brakes are butter smooth. Steering is tight and responsive. The engine purrs softly like a well-fed cat who's almost asleep. Battery is less than one year old. Brakes might be a tad thin, but good for the short term. The tires are on the thin side and will need to be replaced before winter. One caveat... there was one accident in 2010 with "extensive damage to passenger front corner", but no airbag deployment. I did a thorough investigation through the underside and front corner area, and there are no signs of any issues or cut/weld frame component repairs, all engine bay components looked clean and in original shape, and all exterior lines and joints and spaces between body panels and hood were even and perfectly matched. The damage must have been limited to exterior panels and painting. If there were any other problems from this accident, they would have shown themselves by now and would have left evidence of problems, but there are none that I can find. The couple were asking $7500 and said their lowest price was $7200, they agreed to accept my offer of $7000. I believe we got a decent deal and what appears to be an extremely well-cared for vehicle. My daughter absolutely loves the vehicle!

    06 4Runner SR5.jpg
     
    RonT4R and Jean T like this.
  5. May 29, 2017 at 2:44 PM
    #5
    wnelax04sr5

    wnelax04sr5 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2014
    Member:
    #12
    Messages:
    2,580
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ethan
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2004 SR5 4X4 Galactic Gray
    congratulations!
     
  6. May 29, 2017 at 3:13 PM
    #6
    4Runner_Patrick

    4Runner_Patrick New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2016
    Member:
    #2541
    Messages:
    215
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2023 TRD PRO Black
    :hattip: Nice!
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2017
  7. May 30, 2017 at 4:58 AM
    #7
    RonT4R

    RonT4R New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #526
    Messages:
    584
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ron
    Virginia Beach
    Vehicle:
    2007 4runner SR5 4WD
    Very nice looking 4Runner!!
     
  8. May 30, 2017 at 6:38 AM
    #8
    F250

    F250 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2017
    Member:
    #4082
    Messages:
    27
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    Searching for 4th Gen 4Runner
    Thanks. The pictures truly do not do it justice. The front headlights really do look hazy, and I was not happy about seeing it in person, but it turns out that they just are not very photogenic when taken at a side angle and they are almost perfectly clear. The inside is completely spic-n-span clean at the core and looks virtually brand new, and just needs a light vacuuming and wipe down at the moment.
     

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