Hello all..

First off.. sorry for the newby post.. but here goes...

I've wanted a 4runner for a very long time (since 2nd gen). And I think I found one that the wife might let me get. It's an '04 Limited V8 in gold w/ the tan interior. It's fully loaded as far as I can tell.. Nav ect.. It has 29,700 miles and they are asking $24,900.. which they told me up front was negotiable (of course). It's Toyota certified and comes w/ the 7yr/100k warranty.. It's extremely clean. The paint was a slightly different color on the lower cladding than the rest of the body.. but figured it was prolly due to the two different underlying materials?

With the $3.65/gal gas prices I was a little leary of the V8.. Were all '03-'08
V8s fulltime 4wd?

but I've searched for the last few hours and found the milage difference is very minimal.. but couldn't find many figures for what kind of milage people were actually getting in real life?

Is this a good buy for this vehicle and is there anything that I should look out for or have checked out on this vehicle? Would the nav need updated? If so.. how is this accomplished?

I've also found '06 and '07s w/ in SR5 or Sport models w/ the same milage for about the same price.. or a bit lower.. but the wife really wants leather... but told me it's not a "must".

Any features that might have become available in the later model years that one can't be without?

Are the projectors much better than the halogens?

It will be mainly used as a daily driver w/ a little fishing/hunting thrown in.

 

If gas is a big issue for you, the older 3rd gens might be a better deal. . . or have you considered a RAV 4?

The price sounds a little high. If it's a dealer, in general, they try to make $4000 on a car. Get the kbb price, subtract $4000, and that's probably what they paid. Subtract $3000, and that's probably the lowest they'll go.

 

Get the V6 and you'll get the same MPGs as the V6 3rd gen.

 

I would go with the V8 and get the newest model possible...but that is just my opinion. I don't think the gas consumption of the V8 is much more than the V6 from what I remember. Gas here is $1.31 CAD per Liter which corresponds to ~ $4.96 CAD per US Gallon. So although gas prices have gone up, you guys in the US don't really have it that bad at all.