Might buy a 4th gen

Hey all, thanks in advance for the help
i have an opportunity to buy a 2008 SR5 v6 with 130k miles for no more than 4,000
it needs a new rear bumper, windshield, and sunroof repair(dont have all the details but i think it needs a whole new unit)

i know who has owned it all along, a high school vehicle bough brand new in 2008 and driven through multiple kids in the same family.

what should i expect here? is this a no brainer? ill be trading off a newer truck to the dealer walking away with a lot of cash for mods/wheels/ect

how reliable are these? any maintenance coming up the vehicle would need ?

my first car in high school/college was a 1999 4runner limited that i drove to like 350k miles, so i trust these things

 

i should add. i drive about 10 miles per day. i bought my wife a nicer newer vehicle for the family. and i want something more affordable(paid off) that i can drive to work and the gym, but take fishing camping lake trips and things like that maybe 5 times a year

my brother manages a body shop and my other brother is a mechanic. so maintenance is going to be very reasonable

 

The only thing a mechanic can't fix is rust, so make sure to look at the frame and undercarriage.

Since you have the body shop/mechanic hookup... those aspects i wouldn't worry too much about then.

 

Check the frame rust and be sure the 4WD works in all modes if so equipped. FWIW, I’ve owned my 2007 Sport V6 4WD for 10 years and I’m at 271K miles. Hands-down the best vehicle I’ve ever owned and I’ll keep it forever.

 

im somewhat ignorant on all things mechanical, as far as the rust goes, i have seen/heard this comment plenty.
im sure there will be some surface rust on the frame, where is the line drawn with with it being too far gone? is it something that could be lightly sanded and then put some primer on to slow down any further rust

 

What part of the country are you in? Surface rust is fine if it’s what you mentioned, where you could wire brush it and put some Rustoleum Rust Reformer paint on it for example. On the other hand, if you have pieces that have almost rusted away, like the front brake dust shields, or bolts that are so crusty that you wouldn’t be able to get a socket on them, or worst of all, there are places where you could poke a hole in the frame with a screwdriver, that’s what you want to stay away from.

The frame rust problem originated with the frames not being properly coated prior to leaving the factory. I think that got better as the model years went on. My 2007 frame is clean, though it helps of course that it was a North Carolina truck (i.e. no road salt) for its first 7 years of life and it’s been garaged here in Georgia ever since.

Is the one you’re looking at a 4WD? If so, it should have that badging the front doors. And if you have the VIN, the fourth character will be a B if it’s a 4WD.

I hope this works out for you and feel free to reach out to me if you have any specific questions I can help with.

 

the vehicle was in Northwest Arkansas for the last 4 years, in central KS before that. we get some snow that gets treated with salt. but i can remeber many years where there is never snow at all around here
im hoping i dont find anything crazy this evening.

it is 4wd and have ready what i need to look for

thanks for the help!

 

You’re very welcome. Full instructions for operating the 4WD system should be on the back of the driver side sunvisor. It’s not all intuitive; for instance, you have to be in neutral to shift from 4HI into 4LO.

 

That's a decent price for that truck, unless you find an ugly surprise. You may want to check the ball joints, but they're usually fine until 200k. These are really overbuilt, easy and cheap to repair and maintain. Made of the same stuff as Toyota's most reliable work trucks.

I recommend you check out The Car Care Nut on Youtube. He has an excellent video giving the perfect checklist when buying a 4th gen.

The secondary air injection foam filter can disintegrate and hurt that system, which will throw a cel, get noisy and fail emissions. Many owners use a relay or a kit to keep that system from running. I think the V6 allows you to replace the filter with something better, but the V8 models have the pump hidden under the intake manifold, so the disable kit it is the preferred choice.

My truck retained a lot of nasty smells, which didn't emerge until it lived in my humid climate for a month. If you're buying it from a dry hot area like I did, don't underestimate minor smells. I had to refresh and replace all the fabric and foam in my interior, no amount of detailing could cure 20 years of funk.

 

The 4th gen are pretty bulletproof especially if it has the 4.0 1GR-FE v6.
130,000 miles is nothing really, tons and tons of these with 300,000+
Check Fb Marketplace just type in 4Runner and put the search out at 500 miles. All you gotta do is scroll about 20-30 listings and look at the mileage and i will bet over half of them are 200,000+ and about one in twenty will be 300,000+

I can find you no less than 5 within a 200 mile drive of me right now on marketplace that look GREAT and would be a great looking vehicle and have well into the 300,000 mile range. You can also look at CoPart and type in 2003-2009 4Runner and search the listings. You can see dozens with high mileage that get totaled out by a tiny fender bender or small hail storm. Once the mileage gets super high the resale value comes down and they get totaled out for practically nothing. You can see them that have the trailer hitch bent but the rear bumper still intact and drivable, totaled, 425,000 miles. I see them all the time and its a great indication of how well they are built and how many miles you will be able to potentially rack up on them.

I have a 2008 that i daily drive with 265,000 on it today. Its so stupid reliable and easy to drive. I am currently looking for a match to mine for my daughter cause she is about to start driving. She wants mine but i dont wanna get rid of it so i am actively looking for a match to mine for her.

 

Welcome

 

You're going to enjoy this rig...check for rust, like all have said...surface rust is fine, make sure you aren't flaking scabs of rust off...brakes, suspension, and do your oil change every 5k miles and you'll be happy for a loooooong road ahead!

 

When checking for rust, reach behind inside the frame where the rear control arm bracket is welded to the frame. This spot is difficult to see and often not washed enough, so it's a common place for cancer rust to start.

 

Well. Absolutely zero rust. Body wasnt great but its really just two new bumpers is all. The rest just needs a little touch up. Needs new wheels. the truck is going to cost me $2000
The sunroof worries me but he has a quote to fix it for $1000 so if worst comes to worst i know it can be repaired

 

Pictures or it's just a dream!

 

We need pix
You took pix right?
Whats up with the sunroof, just leaks? Drains are easy to stop up, dirt dobbers get mine during the summer all the time. You gotta run a piece of cable or something thru them at least once a year to punch the gunk out of them so they will drain.

 

Lets be honest i was getting new wheels all along lol.
My brothers body shop can hook it up on the bumpers. the seal around the glass on the sunroof basically corroded out and it’s currently held together with duct tape lol. But i think i can fix that one way or another

 

If you dont need the roof rack, you can get the roof rack delete kits on Amazon and ebay for like $30 and it makes it a slick top.
The front and rear bumpers are no real big deal, honestly that rear one you can probably take it off and set it in the summer sun and push that dent out, replace the clips and put the rear back on. Albeit if you want it to look nice you probably should just have both front and rears replaced and painted to match. If you're gonna go that far and mix the paint may as well get a limited grille off ebay and have it painted to match and swap the chrome grille out.

I actually have a rear window wiper i'll ship you for free if you pay the shipping cost. You might can find them cheap on ebay too though.
Other than that it doesnt look super bad from the limited pictures we have. $2,000 is dirt cheap though. If it runs, get it.

 

Did you not take photos of the frame?

That is where major rust occurs!

 

What exactly is wrong with the sunroof? unless its leaking or smashed out, I would not shell out the 1K to fix it. Just pretend you dont have a sunroof.

 

There was nothing to take a picture of. The frame was in fantastic condition. There was hardly even any surface rust. I had my knowledgeable brother with me who I trust more than anyone and he couldn’t find anything either

 

the seal around the glass is cracked/gone in spots and he was told you need a whole new one to fix it. So it leaks when the seal should be. But its somewhat fixed now

 

All things considered, I’d give $4K for that. Even if you double that in repairs, which I don’t think you will, you’ll be in good shape as long as the engine has been maintained.

How about the 4WD? And did you drive it?

 

I checked all 4wd settings. they worked
drove on the highway, it rode great. the engine has been well mainteined, as i do know who owned it and trust them.
the traction control off light was showing, which i did ask him about. it sounds like a sensor issue, and the traction control was clearly engaged when i was driving it.

i tried the cruise control, and all other functions i could think of. AC, ice cold, Heater,, windows, it all worked. the car has just been used so little, relative to age.

 

what size front lift puts this vehicle at level? 2 or 2.5?

 

I think it’s 2. The suspension post linked in my sig may be helpful. Read it bottom to top b/c it’s been updated. I think the Tacoma swap could be a great cost-effective option for your situation.

The bumper covers are as easy to swap out as it gets. Bolts, fasteners, clips, done. I’ve had both front and back off for various installs and it’s refreshingly easy.

 

tacoma swap the bumper or the suspension?

 

TRD Tacoma front shock assemblies give your vehicle a 2.25" 'ish lift up front and basically level it out perfectly flat. They are pretty cheap, you can find them on marketplace and on the tacoma forums for pretty cheap most of the time.

 

Suspension. A lot of Tacoma owners buy aftermarket suspensions and put their OEM parts on places like Facebook Marketplace. I know that as late as 2020 the parts are plug-and-play on 4th Gen 4Rs because I had that setup before I went over to Eibach. You can typically get nearly new Toyota OEM parts for a few hundred bucks.

 

I see them all the time for cheap, like both fronts and rears for like $50-$200
I was on Tacomaworld the other day looking for some fender flares and saw a few listings for tacoma TRD bilstein shock assemblies and they were cheap on there.
I "think" i saw a set somewhere listed in Texas on marketplace for like $35