ayoung101

ok. i have a dilemma. as you may have seen from some of my other posts, i am looking for my 1st 4runner. i have decided to not get a tacoma/pickup because i've test driven both, and i just think the 4runner fits me better. unfortunately at this time, i will only be able to afford a 1st or 2nd gen (i still have 2 years in college left). i just finished paying off my celica, and i love it, so i want to keep it and make the 4runner my secondary vehicle. so i've been looking for the past few months for a good 4runner that is relatively cheap. i've also been participating in a few different 4runner forums to learn as much about them as possible. i'm going to be using this for my winter beater and my summer toy (offroading, dunes, etc.). i live in michigan and we get lots of snow. matter a fact, it snowed yesterday. so, 4wd is without a doubt the only thing i will consider. from all i've read, i've heard different aspects of 1st and 2nd gens to be better.

1. i've heard 1st gens are better at offroading because of the solid front axle. i plan on offroading. however, i like the idea of being about to move people (which is easier with 4-doors)(although i LOVE the 2-door 2nd gens). but i also LOVE the fact that the 1st gen is convertible and that would be friggin sweet cruising the dunes with.
2. my celica has babied me with options. i don't know if i will survive without having them. i might actually stop breathing having to reach over and unlock doors or roll down/up windows or not using cruise. every 2nd gen i've seen/looked at/saw an ad about has had full power options. most 1st gens do not.
3. manual vs. auto: i still haven't decided what i want, but i've noticed that most of the 1st gens i look at are stick and most of the 2nd gens i've looked at are autos. (also, i don't think i've seen too many 5-speed 1st gen with full power options). i still have heard pretty close to 1/2 and 1/2 on which is better for offroading.
4. i'd prefer a v-6, but from what i've been reading, the 3.0 is massively underpowered and gets horrible gas mileage. and if they are that massively underpowered, why not get a 4-banger for not much less power and much better gas mileage? (however, my bro has a 96 tacoma 4-banger, and he says he'll never own another 4-banger truck again) also, i haven't seen too many 2nd gens that are 4-bangers. not to mention several of the mechanics at the local toyota (everyone at the local toyota knows me by first name) have all told me to be careful with the v-6, and that i could beat the hell out of the 4-banger and it wouldn't die.
5. i only have about $3000 to spend, which i should probably only be spending about $2000 on. this SEVERELY limits my choices on both 1st AND 2nd gens, but obviously moreso 2nd gens than 1sts.
6. i am EXTREMELY picky on my vehicles. i LITERALLY looked for more than a year and 1/2 for my 94 celica before deciding it was the right one and deciding to sell my 88 camry with 230,000 on it running STRONG (not to mention it was a stick shift. ALSO an EXTREME rarity)(i miss that car)

so, with all of that said, what do you guys think i should look for? 1st or 2nd gen? 4-banger or v-6? manual or auto? if you guys were me, what would you be looking for?

ayoung101

also, please feel free to correct me if any of my assumptions were/are incorrect, or add on anything else i should be considering as that would probably help me out more than anything!

also, one more question: does anyone know how hard (or expensive if i were to have someone else do it) it would be to convert a no power options vehicle to power options (power windows, power locks, and cruise are all i REALLY need)?

Bob_98SR5

ayoung,

for the price rnage youre looking at, looks like a 1st gen is your best bet. but man, you might have to put some work into it for that price range.

w/ regards to your last question, there are companies that sell kits to make locks to power locks. i dont know about the windows and cruise control, though.

bob

ayoung101

any rich people out there wanna give me a couple $1000? anybody? anyone at all? poor college student wanting to join the elite 4runner owners club here? anyone feel bad enough for me yet? ANYONE? :cry:

rimpainter.com

OK, I am going to be brutally honest, so please forgive me.

First of all, do not think that you will be rolling in the dough when you finish college. Not sure if you even think that, but I know it is a common misconception. You should do everything you can to be completely out of debt as soon as possible. Good job on paying off the Celica!

Can you be patient? Can you save up a bit more to get something with less mileage?

How about this...sell your Celica and use that money and put it together with the money you have saved.

Given the choice between a first and second gen, I would get a first gen. But that is just me. I like them better.

I say be patient. Take it for what it's worth.

ayoung101

1st, thanks for having the balls to be brutally honest! i appreciate that! you're very right in saying that i won't have much money upon graduation with student loans coming in. however, because of the way my college works, i am able to work as a full-time mechanical engineer (co-op) 1/2 of the year while going to school the other 1/2. meaning, #1, i have a steady income (for 1/2 the year) and have been paying my loans as much as i can as i go (according to my financial advisor at my bank, i have an astronomically high credit number for someone my age and is almost completely heard of). #2, because of my co-op program, i am hired immediately upon graduation by my co-op company so there is no downtime where i have no income.

i actually thought of selling my celica for a couple of reasons. 1st, it's 10 years old. i've BABIED this thing unbelievable well (garage kept, and i freak out if i start nearing 3500 miles on a single oil change, carwash every single week, needed or not, personally do all maintenence by myself, wash/wax/polish about 3 times in the summer professionally (i have my own professional polishers kit that takes about 6 hours to do 1 full detailing round), theres no rust, and it runs PERFECTLY). but it is 10 years old and the value is dropping, not to mention that no matter what i do, rust IS going to find it eventually. it is almost 100% metal (except for the front facia) and it's been in michigan it's entire life. 2. miles are getting up there. it's got 143,000 on it. for those who actually know toyotas, 143k wouldn't even make them bat an eyelash. but for blue-book value, its dropping because of it. (i hit 140k and value dropped from $6500 to $4500). 3. it runs pefect, is fully loaded, is VERY fast for only having the stock 130 hp under the hood (i love smoking standard mustangs off the line), and lets face it, it's a cool car. so i HAVE thought about selling it. but i just can't. i love it too much. it's my baby. i had a hard time letting my 88 camry go (i even held onto it for over a year after i got the celica), but this'll be worse.

Praufet

If you go with the 4 cyl and are worried about power you could always turbocharge it. Turboing inline 4s is really easy. You could even convert the 22re to the 22rte(think thats it), or since you are a mechanical engineer and I hope you would know how to weld at this point. Use the machine shops at school to cut flanges, use the schools welder, then source a t25 or t28 and rebuild it. Just my .02

Fink

I would sell the Celica, sounds like you'll be able to get a good amount of money of it...I would put that towards the a better-off Runner so it will last you longer.

I have a '95 and got it for $7800, I have seen them as low as $3995 but it wasn't in that great of shape...what I would do is look around on EBay to get an idea of what they might go for and if you find something in your area GREAT...go look at it and see what you think.

It's awesome that you're spending time on here researching and stuff, I wish I had done that before I lunged into buying mine.

Its going to be hard to find a first gen in that price range that is decent shape...I would save up the money and if you're set on a 1st gen find one that is in relatively good shape, it sounds like you're capable of doing work on it so you could possible do some of the fix-up yourself to save money. It sounds like that may be the way to go due to your financial situation...

I'm not sure why but I have always liked the 2nd gens better than the 1st, but I have never driven a 1st so I'm obviously kinda partial to the 2G's.

You're best bet may just be to wait a while, it sounds like the second half of the school year you will be without a job so money may be even tighter at that point.

If it was me I would just keep looking around and if you find a killer deal, do it...its hard, atleast around here, to find an older 4Runner, much less one that is in good shape. I was lucky that I found mine.

About the 3.0, to me it really isn't all that bad if you just do normal driving, no jumping the gun to show off for some hot chick in the next lane or to show up some dude that gives you a bad look, also if you plan on doing any hauling or trailering, I would definately not go with the 3.0, it CAN haul stuff but its pretty painful to get up to any speed, atleast in my experience. If I had a choice between the 4 and 6 I would choose the 6, my buddy has an '89 model and he's always complaining about the power. Another good thing about some of the 2nd gens is some of them come stock with 4.88's, that helps if you decide to go with bigger tires, to a certain point...my buddy has 33's on his 4 banger and hes suffering big time!

Sorry for this bein so long, guess I'm just in a typing mood!

Good luck and keep us posted on whatever you decide.

As always, those are just my 2 cents

Fink

My99

First of all, your assumption that all 1st gens are straight axles is incorrect. The fact is, that after 85 (at least the 4runners), they came with front independent suspension. Looking for a rig for 2G's is going to definitely limit you to a 1g, unless you're looking for a basketcase of a 2g. I'd recommend staying with the 4cyl. I've had a turbo and n/a 1st gen, and driven a 2nd gen extensivelyl, and now own a 3rd gen. You won't win races with any of them. If you must tow something over 2,000 lbs, I'd go for the V6. However, if you don't need to tow, i'd stick with the 4cyl, for fuel and maintenence reasons. Definitely don't consider an auto with a 4 cylinder, and if you want all the power you can squeeze from a v6, then go with the 5 speed as well. The auto's are not bad, but you do loose some power and they're not quite as durable from what I've seen. Power options are plentiful on the SR5 1st gens, that being said, the newest 1st gen you can find is now about 15 years old, so consider the extra maintenence cost of a window motor or power lock switch (you only have 2 door anyway). Off-road, the 1st and 2nd gens i'd say are pretty close to equal. If i'm not mistaken, I remember hearing somewhere that the wheelbase is actually about the same.

ayoung101

yeah, i meant front independent suspension and not the straight axles. i don't know why i said that. brain fart, apparently. i'm actually going to look at a 1st gen 4cyl, 5 speed in about 15 minutes. (for $2700, hopefully i can get down to about $2200 or less if i want it). it's looks in pretty good condition from the picture. we'll see.

also, about the turbo comments. someone said it's pretty easy to turbo these. i've looked into turboing my celica, and for that gen it's next to impossible to find a decent kit. at least from the ones i've looked at. how good are the kits for the 1st gen 4cyls and are mods readily available? (mods are so hard to come by for a 94 celica. it sucks)

rimpainter.com

Keep in mind that the 22RET had beefed up engine internals over the 22RE...I think, so be careful. And turboing a 15-year old + vehicle is asking for trouble, especially if it cost $2200. Keep that in mind and best of luck!

SLC Punk

I feel your pain.

Anyways, for $2,000-3,000 you will be looking at a 2nd gen that has a million miles on it and needs a lot of work, or a 1st gen that is in fair condition.

IMO, you should do one of the following:
Keep the Celica and save the money for a newer 4Runner
Sell the Celica and use the money toward a better 4Runner
Keep the Celica and use that $3,000 to drop a 3SGTE engine in and smoke some V8's

goldtaco9

My advice, for which you would not be the first to ignore, is that a poor college person does not need a second car. That's about it from here.
Good luck,
Mike

SoCal4Running

Buy a 4runner that doesnt run and put the celica motor in it...wouldnt be any slower than any other 4 poper. Then sell the celica.

ayoung101

well, technically, no one NEEEEEDS a 2nd vehicle. but where's the fun in that?

ayoung101

well, i got one yesterday. found an 89 4cyl 5speed for $2700. came with brand new BFG's. he also threw in an entire set of microfilms (including a microfilm machine) that was for the 4runner. he also GAVE me a dual 12" sub box (including subs) and a gigantic amp cuz he was sick of tripping over them in the garage and he said he was getting too old to use them. ALSO, he gave me 2 FULL sets of golf clubs (old, but still!). this truck is in GREAT shape, NO rust around the wheel wells AT ALL. everything works electrically. 108,000 miles on it. the guy works as the parts guy for the local toyota dealership, and HE bought it from the head MECHANIC at the same dealership (who had it since it was new). so i know it was well taken care of. the only thing it needs is an exhaust and i have to fix the e-brake cable. (any suggestions for exhaust/headers? possibly remove the *cough*cat-convertor*cough*. excuse me, i must've caught a virus or something) and, of course, there's a countless number of mods that i will be forced to do with time. what do you think? (this is the picture that came with the online ad. it's the best one i have at this time, but there WILL be more.)

oh, one wierd thing that happened. one thing i made sure to ask was if the rear window worked. he proved to me that it did (put it down and up before the test drive, and opened the tailgate). later on, when i went to put all the other stuff that he was giving to me for free, suddenly the window wouldn't budge. he said that it's never happened before. is it possible that it died right then and there? i guess i should say, is it LIKELY? what do you think/what should i do to fix it?

toybox

Nice truck! Congratulations!

SLC Punk

Sounds like a good deal.
Did he just include everything that he wanted to get out of his garage with the truck?

Personally, I wouldn't remove the cat. Those actually serve a purpose and having a SUV that old, I would be afraid of carbon monoxide poisoning!

ayoung101

i tried to get him to throw in his mig welder, air compressor, engine hoist, and almost completed 36 chrysler, but he wouldn't. said something about me having to come up with more money for those things. haha.

madmaniac

my window worked only once as well. it worked perfect when i bought it. brought it home and it broke. so it does happen. they fall off the tracks and stuff. this weekend im going to open it up and see what i can do. i heard putting vasoline on the sides will put less pressure on the motor.