petros

I'm in the process of buying a 2000 4Runner, 72K miles, 3.4L Auto, 4X4, etc. I don't want to jinx the sale or anything, but assuming I get the ride I do have some questions (and I'll be getting a 4Runner regardless). It's my first car purchase, as I'm only 17 however I have to pay for everything on this car and have to make payments, pay for gas, mods, service, etc., so I want to do as much research I can so I can do my own fix-ups if need be. So I'll just throw out all info I can about the truck, if anyone is patient enough to read this and answer any questions I'd be very happy. I'm very excited to get the truck, and excited to give it my own touch and do some mods to it, so I'm sure there will be plenty of questions out of me here, so thanks for your patience ahead of time.

The truck is "theft recovery" as the guy puts it, so he said it was found in a field with no wheels on it and they had to tow it out... The truck is in great condition, however what problems it had (superficial only) were very poorly fixed up by the company who does these fixes on theft recovery vehicles. This poses a couple of questions for me.

First, it appears the front bumper came off when being towed and it's wired for fog lights, except the lights are missing. Any idea how much I can get some new/used ones for, or if they are even worth it to bother with? Next, just left of the center on the bumper looking head-on, there is a small piece of plastic missing, it's a second piece, don't know exactly how to describe it, but wondering what the deal is with this part, if it plays any role, and if so how much to fix...

Following that, the truck has electric locks, however it doesn't have keyless entry, and I'm wondering if I can get a Toyota keyless entry system on this on the cheap, or maybe they all come pre-wired for it and all I need to do is purchase the remote? This is something I'd definately be interested in doing, regardless of price, but calling on expertise of these forums to see if I can get any info about this.

And next... The mirrors were scratched up when they found the truck, so they "fixed" it, but a fix for them is painting the silver truck's mirrors a sparkly black color with a spray can, and not even a good paint job at that... So it's very runny and looks like crap. Just thought I'd throw it in there if anyone has any ideas.

Question number five will be that the truck has a hoodscoop on it, and looks pretty cool, no complaints there. But the badging was taken off the back gate and at the moment I don't have exact specifications of the truck, so I'm wondering if just regular SR5's came with this scoop as an option, or only Sport models, or only Limited models? If this means that the truck is a Sport edition, what else is upgraded over normal? Of course I'm just shooting in the dark here on this one, maybe it's just an option up from the standard model.

Last for the outside, the wheels, which is the only thing that I don't like about the car. The wheels are from a 4Runner, but as it was said above, it was found without wheels in a field, so assuming these aren't original wheels on it. But the are hacked all to hell, been curbed numerous times, over and over. To give an example, if I can properly describe it, there is a small lip that extends outward from the wheel around the bead where it meets the tire. When new, this lip was about 1/4 inch deep. After the curbing escapade, it's down to less than 1/8 inch, and I wonder if this poses a safety issue... Not to mention that it looks ugly. Chances are if I can find funds I'll try to buy new wheels, if so how much can I get used wheels for this year/model? I don't need tires though, the ones that come on it are essentially brand new.

Inside the truck is pretty good except for on the gate, the plastic piece is busted up and probably needs to be replaced or I can just phase it out and pretend the rear is perfect. Probably need to get a new entire piece of this which is no good.

The other thing I'm interested in is that the dashboard has some pretty bad scratches in it, and either it needs a dash cover, which I don't want, or it needs a new dashboard, so wondering how much these go for either used or new. The steering wheel center horn is way off alignment and I need to fix that up.

So I just listed everything off that is wrong with the car, which is pretty much nothing, so I should be pleased with the truck. Final question is if there are any recommended mods I should do for this, either performance improvments or otherwise that you personally feel are necessities, because I'm a hands-on kind of guy and love doing small projects like this, or even big projects, if it's fun and moderately affordable. I plan on getting new exhaust right off the bat.

Last, I've seen engine model numbers listed while browsing these forums, but never seen them compared to the actual engine... So 22RE, I have no idea what engine that is? So I'm wondering what the 3.4L engine in this 2000 4Runner model number would be, if anyone knows.

Sorry for the long winded post, if you've read this far thanks a lot, as you can see I'm pretty excited to get started and wish I had the keys in my hand now, but I'm just trying to get a head start on it. Thanks again!

Elton

just buy it and lets see pics and we can go from there

881stGenRunner

Or just take pics of it before you buy it. How much are they asking for it? Is all that stuff that you listed worth the money of replacing? With the money spent on fixing these things to look "stock" could you buy a 4runner that is in better shape for around the same amount of money? How does the engine run, any problems, sounds that are abnormal? All these are questions you need to ask yourself. O and BTW the 22RE is the 4cyl. The 3VZ-E is the 3.0 V6 and im not sure wut the code on the 3.4 V6 is, but it think it is 5FVZ-E or 5FZ-E.

Elton

3.4L 5vz-fe

881stGenRunner

ahh i knew it was something like that. Preash

petros

Thank you.

Since the truck is located a good 30 miles away, I can't just jump over there and take pictures, but I surely will when I get it. As of now I'm waiting for a strait answer out of the guy (actually waiting for him to fax a copy of the title) and I can see if it's salvaged or not, because that would be a deal breaker. Otherwise I'm just waiting to meet up and exchange money for title, and pictures will be up in a couple of days if that goes well.

I'm getting it for about $2000 under blue book rate, but of course there's the factNone of the stuff listed effects the function of the vehicle, and it runs excellent, almost like new. Truthfully the running condition of the engine is what matters most to me, because cosmetic things are just that, cosmetic. So, I'm guessing it will be $500 to fix the cosmetic things that I really wish to fix, assuming that wheels are about $350 for a set of four used (I only need two).

MTL_4runner

It is a long post but I'll answer as best I can above.

fireteacher

always like your responses mtl!

make sure its 2k less than FAIR condition due to the body. resale is not based on motor only.

4Runner4Christ

Before buying it I would have it inspected at a Toyota dealership. A theft recovered vehicle could have scores of unseen issues. Also, $2000 under "blue book" is suspect. Were you quoted a book valus off Kelley Blue Book? If so, those values are regularly high. Talk to the bank or credit union you would get your loan through and see where they get their values from (often NADA) and use those values to make your decision. Dont get your financing through the dealer...pre-arrange financing ahead of time where you or your folks do their banking (credit union rates are almost always lower). You should get a substantial discount off the true retail book value.

petros

Thank you for the helpful answers. To clarify, the engine that's in it is the 3.4L 6 Cyl., so the 5VZ-FE.

Actually, it is just less than 2k less than fair. For exact values that KBB gives, assuming it's a sport model (which hasn't been confirmed yet), in fair condition it books for $12,270, $13,485 in good, and $14,358 in excellent. He was asking $11,700, and I offered him $10,500 as that's the best I can do, and he said he was sympathetic to my situation and understood that it was a theft recovery and shouldn't be paying too high anyway.

This seems like very helpful advice. I've thought it over and spoken with some people and we mutually agreed that the "Theft Recovery" designation leaves a lot of gray area. For example, if the car was stolen at all and then resold, it's theft recovery. Even if the thief drove it to 7-11 and got a Slurpee and a pack of Marlboros where he is confronted by police and the car retained, it's still going to have the "Theft Recovery" designation on the title. However, on the other hand, it could have been stolen by a criminal, gone on a highspeed chase, windows shot out by police, hit a curb at 35 and drove into the field where the car was found where he hopped out and ran, then some neighborhood kids stole the wheels and left it sitting there until the towtruck came the next day. That leaves the suspension in horrible condition if he did something like that. So I just don't know, it's definately better to be safe, he said he got it checked out by "a mechanic" and said he would be happy to let me get it checked by someone as my dad is for all intensive purposes a mechanic as well. It is a private party sale, so in Nevada there's no tax on the sale (awesome), and I would be getting a pretty low interest loan from the credit union who would of course inspect the car, and I imagine they wouldn't even give a loan if the car is in that poor condition.

I didn't really give much detail on the car in the first post, however long it was, but I should say again that all of the above listed are absolutely the only problems with the car that are seen with the hour I had with the car.

Getting in it, the A/C works great as I drove it on a hot day, and the engine starts right up without hesitation. It's so quiet at idle you can't even hear it running. There is no vibration or stray noise at all from idle to high speed. We put the truck in 4-High while still driving and I didn't even feel it engage even though future trail proved that it was indeed in gear. Hitting bumps there weren't any clanks, vibrations, slams, or otherwise. Handles great and very tight, more so than the mid-size sedan I drive now. Accelerates smoothly up hill, brakes work great downhill and stops quick if need be. Mechanically this truck seems like a dream, all service appears to be done regularly. The tow hitch is exactly the same as it was when it was bought and it's clear that it has never been used to tow.

But again there is the body. There are about four paint chips on the car that are less than 3/16 in diameter, and the mirrors were repainted but that's something I am actually looking forward to straitening out and getting repainted. There was a spot on the driver's side rear quarter panel where it was poorly repainted but un-noticable to the untrained eye. There are no dents in the bumper or anywhere else on the truck, except for a small dent on the passenger side running board that runs half the length of it, probably done off-roading.

Sorry if my first message made this vehicle seem full of problems, it surely isn't. I'll get pictures as soon as I get possession of the truck and we'll go from there. But I will see about going to the dealership, thanks for the suggestion. I'm glad to see people are out there who are concerned that I'm making a sound purchase.

UNR.Grad

Where are you buying this from? Most stolen cars are slavage titles.

garrett1478

HAHA i like you're thinking!

surf4runner

a few more miles, but its something to compare with... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyot...53971043QQrdZ1

RTdawgs

1999-2000 4Runners with hood scoops are not the same as the 01-02 "Sport Edition" 4Runners. The 99-00 4Runners offered a "sport uprgade package" that included among other things, the hood scoop. I will try to dig out my original window sticker to tell you more, but I dont think its anything special. I think the package included 4.10s, towing package, sunroof, or something like that. I think the only thing you got differently in the sport package was the hood scoop.

pat161

Well as for the fog lights, if the wires are in the front it may not have had fogs, check inside and see if the fog light switch is there. All the 00's came with the fog plugs but if you add the lights you need to get the switch, relay and take power form under the dash for the switch. Performance Products seels the kit for $200, may be cheaper pieced together yourself.

Not sure on the 00's but I just got an 02 Sport w/ no clickers, I got some remotes and programmed them and now I have keyless entry, no alarm, just keyless entry. So you may be able to just get the remotes, but you won't have an alarm.

Check to see if the mirrors are heated, hit the rr defrost and then touch the mirrors in a minute, if they are warm then they are heated and were probably color matched originally, if not then they were black to begin with, so no big deal. Not all 00 Runners came w/ painted mirrors, also if the door handles are painted then the mirrors should be too.

Like stated, the 3.4 is the 5vz-fe, only other option in the 3rd gen is the 3rz-fe 2.7 4, 22re was disontinued in 95.

For rims, people sell their stockers all the time, you could look for a set here or just get some aftermarket if you like them better. Personally I would pass on this truck and find one in better shape that was not dragged out of a field after someone stole it and beat the crap out of it, but that's just me.

petros

Well the deal fell through... Actually, the guy was kind of wormy about the whole thing anyway, never called me back or anything, didn't seem to be anxious to sell the car. Said he would fax the title yesterday and I didn't get it until today, and it's clearly labeled "Salvaged" despite what he told me, so I can't have that, it's a worthless car, not to mention illegal to register apparently, and problably can't get a loan, and probably can't get insurance... So I'm looking for something else comparable, but thanks for all of the questions answered, because I know some of them will apply on the next one.

User 051420

Alright...so it sounds like a hack job on the repairs. Fair enough. Worthless? Probably not.

I got my 97 Ltd salvaged, with decent enough body work for around $5k under private party blue book. Its not illegal to register, and the insurance is the same as it was with my last 97 4Runner. The only thing you'll have trouble with is a loan..I can't think of anybody who'd carry a note on a salvage. This will be the case for "theft recovery, salvage, and rebuillt" titles.

IMO, I wouldn't carry a loan on anything much older than an 00, as you'll soon be upside-down anyways.

petros

Just reading the Nevada DMV site, and it says it's not legal to sell Salvaged title cars, and all the guy needs to do is get the title changed over to Salvage Repair and we go from there. But at this point I'm just going to be in the market for a different one.

914runner

Since it has a salvage title, get him to knock another $1000 or more off the price.

DoubleZero4x4

Probably your best bet at this point. I myself would keep looking. Took me a while to find the truck that I wanted and I still have changes to make (getting rid of chrome). Patience and timing are the key to finding the right truck. Both of our vehicles were what we wanted and took some long searching and my truck was a 100 mi drive to look at before I bought it.