Hey guys,
I work at a dealership here in town and today I noticed a 3rd gen parked off to the side without any plates. So I went over and checked it out, apparently it had been traded in for a new LandRover on Saturday.

Anyways, it looked pretty good, and I remember seeing a '99 4Runner on our inventory list...So I assumed it was this one. I went in and asked my manager what the deal was. It is a silver '99 limited edition, auto trans., all the goodies, but it has 212k miles. Oh yeah, one other thing, it has the orange electric locking rear differential button "RR DIFF LOCK" or something like that. I used to own a 3rd gen and had a bunch of stuff done to it, and I remember the elec. locking diffs. in these cars are pretty sweet!

He said he would give it to me for $4800, because it has too many miles to put on the lot...so hes going to send it to the auction to be wholesaled for $4800. So hes not marking it up at all for me, just straight trade in value, since im an employee.

What do you guys think about this deal? I plan on driving it tomorrow during lunch and taking it to my trusted mechanic to get it looked over for anything that may be wrong with it.

This is basically what it looks like...same wheels, etc..just with 212k miles, and the interior/exterior is in incredible condition! Looks like it only has 50k miles on it.

 

See if you can get it for 4k, if he wont budge pay the 4800..

 

4800 sounds like a steal... 212k miles though, ouch.

 

Do you plan on keeping it stock? I remember how much work you put into your other trucks, I can't imagine you'd want to start over. It's tough to say over the internet if the price is reasonable without driving it. It might be perfect or it may have a myriad of issues...update us tomorrow when you drive it.

 

I'll keep you guys updated! He wont take 4k because its the dealership's car...and I believe they paid the previous owner $4800 for trade in...so the dealer is of course not going to lose $800 on it.

I plan on keeping it stock. The only the i'd maybe do is go with slightly larger tires, maybe a lift...it already has the rear locker, so other than that, it'd be fun to occasionally take wheeling...but it'd mainly be for daily driving, since I dont want to put too many miles on my fully built audi. I just figured it'd be nice to have, i'd probably put 8-10k on it a year, and only have it for about a year or two. keep in mind, the exterior and interior are in GREAT condition...the previous owner took really good care of it.

 

sounds like a great deal to me... I looked around for a long time for mine, I saw a ton of 4runners, pricing them for over a year before I moved in on mine. If it passes the basic tests of a well maintained truck, I personally would buy it right now even having just purchased one. Good luck

 

i looked at a really nice looking one that said they washed it all the time with 190k miles on it, was a 1998 and asked has the timing belt been changed, no, has it been to a mechainic lately, no, so what has been done, the lady said if it isnt broke i dont fix it so i havent taken it to the mechanic in a year since it still drives fine, wow and she wanted 11 grand for it. didnt say price on the window or i wouldnt have looked at it. so its always a good idea to have ur mechanic look at it. i bought my 97 with 148k miles on it for 7500, wasnt a scratch dent or blemish inside or out, it had maybe 2 now, dang dumpster was covered in snow at night

 

Thats awesome. I got the go ahead from my parents to get it all checked out tomorrow and to move on it if everything is good! I'll be pumped if its a go! The rear locker is definitely a plus! In order to make sure it works fine, do I have to put the car in 4L then push the switch, take some turns and see if theres any wheel squeel from the rears (showing that they're locked)?

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

I say go for it if it checks out ok. 212K is not that bad. We have customers with over 300K and still going strong. Take care of it and it will last you a long time

 

Exactly...and my father said, hey if the motor goes, we'll just spend the extra to have it fixed...Then we're back in the game since everything else looks practically new! heh

 

nice find.

 

thats a great deal, who cares about miles, really... i bought my 91 Surf petrol with 105,000miles with some damage and paid $8700 canadian and have put about that much into it repairing and upgrading.

 

Since your dad said that, it's a no brainer. BUY IT.

 

Not bad deal. Depends on how much you'll need to spend on fixing it up. Not only the motor, but suspension, drivetrain, etc. But since you do work at a dealership, I'm sure you will get some great discounts on labor.

 

Well I went and told my manager today that i wanted to work something out and he goes "oh well Mike (mercede's salesman) is going to buy it"...and i was like, oh well yesterday it was available. And hes like yeah, mike's taking it. So I was like wtf? Then it sat all day parked, no one moved it. So my manager told me if mike doesn't buy it tomorrow its mine. But then 30 minutes ago when i was leaving a saw some 15 year old kid hop in it with his mom and sister and drive off with 30 day tags...so its gone.

Basically someone was being sketchy about it. Either mike flipped it to some family for more $$ or my manager was just trying to sell it on the side. Ohwell, it sucks but i guess its not the one for me! Time to go searching.

I really want the E-locker option, I know only the limiteds could come with that...but was it only the 99-02 limited ed. 4runners that had the option to add the e-locker or what?

 

No, any 4Runner from 96-00 could have added the rear locker option. You just have to look to see if there is that little button. But it does seem that Limited's had this option added on more than SR5's.

 

I never liked that guy Mike...just something about him rubbed me the wrong way.

 

who's to say it would have gone for $4800 or more at the auction?

 

That is a moot point at this juncture.

 

That was the wholesale/trade in value of the car. If I didn't buy it, my manager was going to wholesale it to a local used car dealer for that price so that they could then turn around and maybe sell it for $5500+. Or it would of gone to the auction, if no dealer wanted it at wholesale price.