Yeah my brother also bought his Tacoma there back in 05/06. they're pretty cool, but I think their tacoma's are way over priced. lol That 4Runner seems priced right to me since it has the 5 speed and e-locker with low miles. but who knows. Maybe i'll go check it out later. I want my budget to stay 4k though for sure.

 

Their Tacomas are DEFINITELY above Blue Book, I think because they pretty much have a corner on the market. IIRC my Tacome Blue Booked about $1,500 less than I bought it for.

Seems like a good deal for the shape it's in and all.

 

Yeah... i'll sit on it. his 4Runners dont disappear fast.

 

Been wanting a 3rd Gen myself... LOVE EM! Gotta love the 'crawl through' rigs, haha.

You'd love that 3.4, too, eh? lol.

Went up to the Angeles Crest Forest for some wheeling and one cruised past us that was SICK! NOT CRAZY mod'd like ScottyC's or anything... but he'd put some money into it. DANG him for making me want one even more! hehe.

 

Hayes always seems to have 4wd Toyotas - I always oogle every time I pass by. My buddy bought his Taco there a few years back - over BB like everyone else, but was one of the cleanest rigs I've ever seen, and had all the options except he had to buy an auto because his wife refuses to learn to drive stick! there just aren't many good rigs out there for private sale and it's a decent place to look since they always have them. His rig also had some sort of paint BS going on - his tailgate exterior was repainted for some reason (not damaged) and doesn't match the white of the rest of the rig/inside tailgate. Other than that, the rig seems all good.

 

I think they paint their Toyotas quite often. When I sold my old '92 Pickup back in '06, Hayes bought it. They painted it black (the paint was all oxidized silver). It looked GOOD black. They have a guy that does nothing but drive around NorCal with a laptop, and refreshes Craigslist to check for Tacomas wherever he goes and buys them as soon as he finds them. I listed my '92 and signed the title over to him only 20 minutes later.

 

So I went to Hayes auto sales to check out that 97 white 4Runner with the 5 speed, elocker and 3.4 I get there and in seconds I LOVE the truck. The door was open so I helped myself. it was super clean on the inside and only had 120k miles! They were asking 7k. I quickly checked everything out on the inside and everything was clean.

But then...

I jumped out, and gave it a full scan. I started at the front bumper. I noticed some rust/pitting on the front bumper. And instantly told myself, I REALLY dont want to look under the truck. I did. It had surface rust all over the running boards and on the frame. Not that big of a deal, but it was kind of a downer. It had a new clutch, cat, and catback, ( probably stolen ) and new shocks/coils.

One of the Vultures came over to me ( one of the employee's ) and was like Hey are you interested in that car. and I told him it depends.... yada yada. and he simply told me its a TMU car. And I was like wtf is that? some sort of special deal going on and then he told me "total mileage unknown" and instantly my stomach sank... I carfaxed it via my phone. its gone from 240k down to 140k, up to 200k and back down to 120k since 97 and was totally disappointed. I was completely uninterested at this point with the surface rust issues and what not. I was nice about it and continued to talk to him. and I was like so with a vehicle that could possibly have 400k miles. How do you handle deals like this? and He basically told me CASH ONLY. and I was like hmm... how much would you go down and he said the lowest I could go down is 300 bucks, which is the tax and reg fees. im like so wait... you want $7,000 for a truck that has surface rust, no known actual mileage or maintenance? and he's like Yep! we usually buy cars that look and run good. I was completely dumbfounded at this point. I didn't know dealers could completely screw people. Not to mention there was a green 2000 4Runner sitting next to it for $1000 more with actual mileage, and a california owned car so no rust...

I walked away at this point. Poor 4Runner :/ thats a beautiful car and the poor thing is probably going to sit on that lot for a long time. too bad its a 5 speed, e locked, v6.

The search continues.

 

Awe man, that 5spds are pretty rare in that generation right? Such a shame

 

I wouldn't say they're "rare" but they're uncommon. The highlander editions are the rare ones.

but yeah, its still sad to see... :/ I was kinda happy to be back in a 4Runner for the quick minute... too bad it was a really clean truck too.

 

Hey man just looking at your mods I see the cobra 19, it's going for $40 on Amazon right now, how did you like that model? It looks small enough to fit in where the ash tray is, or if you know what page it's on in your thread I could have a look. .

 

i have no clue, but it fits there... just cut out the ash tray and it'll work out. theres a few write ups on how to do it.

 

You have no clue how you liked the model?

 

Wow that's crazy! Huge disappointment for sure; keep looking you'll find the right one!

 

Wow, .... very sorry to hear about the Hayes Experience! I saw a 93 LC the other day, SO FREAKING CLEAN, .... at Power Auto in Torrance, CA, Pacific Coast Highway........ It was parked in one of the 'FOR SALE' spots(you can see when there, no one would park there.... I THOUGHT, hahaha... He was a customer, and I am like crawling underneath it, etc... He says, "Hey man, how's it going? Does it pass inspection?" At this point, I still had no clue and thought he was a salesman! hahaha.. I asked, "YEAH, looks unreal... has this thing ever hit a puddle even? Looks brand new under here!...What are you asking for it?"... That's when I hear laughter... I pop my head out, the guy is a total Musician with Long hair, huge goatee, ear HOOPS, haha.... I ask, "wait, you don't work here? Sorry man.... "........ he says, "NOPE, it's my truck.... Seeing what they'd offer me. I have like 8K$ into this thing and got it for 6K$.... I'm not taking anything lower than 12K$ with 165K miles" ........ WTH? hahaha... I told him, "GOOD LUCK", and walked away before I grew more envious! hahaha... That was my 'LOT' experience this week. It had the whole Fox Shocks/ARB/trusses/some kind of lift with SWEET springs, 35's.... etc., etc.,.... whole nine yards. 12K$? Hmmmm..... Hey, why not, right? hahaha. (BTW, it was white and silver..... Perfect Gray Interior....VERY nice!)

Can't wait to see what you find, Michael!

 

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/3167577057.html

Texting the owner about this right now. I'd much rather have an 85 4Runner 22re. but those are bread nowadays. To me, the Ext Cab models of the 84-88 are basically just more room for taller people. not really an extended cab... but we'll see how it goes.

 

Looks nice! Probably not worth $5500, more like $4500-$4800. Keep us updated.

 

yeah exactly what im thinking. I'd give him $4500 for it for sure. i'm gonna start at 4000 and go from there.

 

Dayum, and WHITE, TOO???? One of my dream trucks right there! Best wishes. HAMMER HIM DOWN! haha.

 

I'll try... he's being a bit slow on the responiveness. I've text and called him and all he's said is that he still has it lol.

 

Well, that's LIKELY because, either, 1. He's FULLY aware of what he's got/what he can get if he's patient... AND/or 2. He's playing a VERY SMART game in Business called the "wait em out bluff" game! hahaha. I'm dead serious... I used to do this... You'd get someone wanting the 68 Chevelle so bad that they'd be willing to pay anything for it! ONLY thing was, .... it BETTER be as clean as I'd just hyped them up to expecting, ya know? But even then, often, people would just SEE WHAT THEY WANT! hahaa. NEVER ripped anyone off... They paid what it was worth, Blue Book or Collectors book, ya know what I mean? But it WORKED!

My guess is he's an older guy, isn't in a HURRY to sell... and just waiting to see how much response he gets at that price. HATE when people do that, hehe.

Curious..... I thought you wanted a First Gen 4Runner of 85 EFI Status... NO?