Need Help! Is this normal body misalignment on a 5th gen 4 runner?

Hi all. I’m trying to buy a used 5th gen 4 runner. I found what I want but i’m suspicious as it seems to good to be true. Looking at these pics of the car i’m wondering if this is a sign of previous body work. I see misalignment above the wheel well between the rear quarter panel and the rear door. Is this a normal abberation or a sign of body work i’m not being informed of? Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

Welcome.

If you’re concerned, have a body shop do a pre purchase inspection. They will check everything for visible collision damage and use a paint depth gauge to check for repainting.

 

I really don't see what you're referring to. But this truck has plenty of panel gaps. Many of them are not perfectly aligned when they come from the factory. It's not an indication of body work being done.

P.S. Post better pictures or more information about the truck.

 

Seems slightly off to me but it'll probably be clearer in-person. Photo of a photo isn't ideal either.

 

A better photo of both sides would be most helpful.

 

Thanks for responding guys, really appreciate it. Here are some better pics. I see shadowing under tha rear corner panel too which looked weird to me

 

The first photo by the wheel-well/door is definitely NOT normal.... but it could be a very simple fix to better align it. A lot of these components are held together with cheap plastic clips that can pop out or break.

The second photo where the plastic bumper section meets the rear quarter panel looks fine to me. I've noticed many times on both of my 4Runners that there is a "bend" in the metal quarter panel that causes a bit of incongruity with the plastic bumper section.....and it's most noticeable along the seam between the two of them.

 

Thanks guys for the feedback. I’m a three hour drive from the car so it’s been hard to assess whether I should go all the way there. I’m pretty hot on the car so I don’t want to believe anything is wrong with it but i have this nagging feeling.

 

Trust your gut!

 

where in FL? ask someone on the forum nearby to it to eyeball it for you.

 

I'm going to have a Toyota dealership do a pre purchase inspection but that still requires a whole bunch of travel, money, time.

 

Listen to your spidey senses. That nagging feeling won't go away. I found my 4R on Cargurus the 1st night I started shopping. Something about it just felt right.(Heated seats, no 3rd row and no sunroof SR5) I looked every night for 3 weeks and bought the one I found the 1st night.

 

Here is another pic from straight on…these are screen shots of video so not the best framing of the subject matter

 

Well thanks for all the help everyone, hopefully I can make it happen at some point. Seems like a good community of car enthusiasts.

 

Run a Carfax report and see if anything shows up?

 

This.

 

You'll need the vin#

 

Trust your gut!

 

Well the dealer called me and said his GM was taking the car from me to give to his nephew or something despite having a reservation on the car. Different problem now…on the search again. Thanks guys.

 

This is BS cover up story as they realized you are onto them. You dodged a lemon.

 

As Sin4R said.
General managers will take a car away from their mother if they have a buyer.

 

Im finding it near impossible to find a clean vehicle with relatively low mileage and good maintenance history. I’ve been on the search non stop for 2 weeks. I’m only considering a 4 runner for my next car but I’m losing hope of finding something. I think the people who actually take care of these cars don’t sell them.

 

NGL the body panel fitment on my brand new 24 PRO leaves a bit to be desired.

 

I spent 18 months looking for my 4Runner. 2 weeks is nothing!

The good ones go very quickly. Often the dealer never even gets a chance to list them online. Be patient.

 

Normally patience is my virtue but my current car is out of comish so I'm trying to get it figured out quick. Thanks for the encouragement though.

 

You lucked out!

 

My 24 has almost perfect gaps.

 

That’s the story I’m going to tell myself…another will come up at some point.

 

Expand your search. I flew from St. Louis to Minneapolis to get my 23 Pro. It was worth the 9 hour drive home. I saved $3000 over the same truck in the St. Louis area.

 

You might luck out and find a new one. With the little price difference between new and used, if you can swing it, I’d buy a new one. The 4R depreciates so little, it’s a bargain. Good luck!