Lovingly Maintained 4Runner For Sale, Had One Owner For 22 Years
1998 4Runner SR5 on Cars and Bids has over 200,000 original miles. However, until 2020 it’s had one owner who took great care of it.
With the ever-rising price of third-gen 4Runners (and all classic Toyotas, as we’re sure you’re aware), it’s hard to gauge the price of a model that isn’t “ideal” by most standards. We love 4Runners of all years and conditions. Nevertheless, most shoppers willing to spend big money prefer to see lower-mileage examples. Furthermore, a large amount interested wants to see a manual transmission in the mix. However, there is a buyer for every niche. So, it’s always interesting to keep an eye on the prices of what one might describe as a “mid-tier” 4runner for sale. Lucky for us, this one is likely to set a great example.
Currently listed on Cars and Bids, this 1998 Toyota 4Runner is in lovely condition. Furthermore, it was with its original owner from new until 2020. However, this particular example has seen plenty of time on the road as the odometer reads out over 222,000 miles. Though, it’s certainly not considered “high mileage” in the Toyota world. Additionally, it’s an SR5 with an automatic transmission. Again, this sort of exemplifies the “middle of the road” for the third-gen models. It isn’t a trim-topping Limited, it doesn’t have the sport package, and it doesn’t have the elusive manual transmission. However, it isn’t a flat-out base model, either, and it’s in pretty phenomenal shape for its age. What it does have at the time of writing, though, is a bid of $4,500 with five days left on the auction.
That’s great news for owners of “mid-tier” 4Runners, and there’s more to this story that surprise you, given this old loveable Yota’s seemingly pristine condition.
Northeast Weather Strikes Yet Another
For one, this thing has some rust on it. While it isn’t the gnarliest we’ve ever seen (not even remotely close, really), it’s not fantastic. This delves a little bit beyond what qualifies as simple surface rust. Given its life spent in Massachusetts and now New York, it’s not all that surprising.
Unfortunately, there’s more. According to the CarFax report, this vehicle was in a rear-end accident in 2009. It does still retain its clean title, however. Additionally, the report also states that it failed a safety inspection in 2019. Though, it does show service history for emissions equipment and a successful inspection shortly after.
Clearly, this vehicle has seen loving care throughout its life.
Other than the inevitable rust through no fault of the owner, this car is in fantastic shape for its age. The interior is free of stains, tears, or obvious signs that it’s seen nearly enough miles to make it to the moon.
1998 was a big year for the 4Runner. Toyota sold over 118,000 examples for the 1998 model year. Even with that being the case, you’d be hard-pressed to find many preserved in this condition.
Remarkably, this applies to the exterior, too. The paint shines as bright as it did over two decades ago. That begs the question, where might this 4Runner land on the financial scale?
Obviously, we couldn’t possibly know. The world of automotive auctions is a wild one, but we do know one thing for sure; we’ll be watching to see the final hammer price. Despite the rust and accident history, this is a gorgeous example of a third-gen 4Runner, and we’re sure its new owner is going to be more than happy to take it out for an adventure.
Photos: Cars and Bids