Its a 02 v6 4wd with 131k on the clock. Anything Specific I should be looking at besides the usual making sure everything works, looks good and clean, frame, engine. Anything specific? Thanks.

 

Whenever I buy a car, I call up a friend of mine who's a mechanic at Lexus and he drives it around and looks for signs of stuff as well as checks everything out for me.

If you have a buddy that can help you out, or just see if you can find a cool tech (most of them are pretty friendly, just walk into the shop and avoid the sales people) at the yota dealer.

Of course ask the seller if you can drive it around and have your mechanic look at it. The seller should be agreeable; it's a common practice.

Good luck on your purchase!

 

the guy is gonna be at work hes gonna give me the keys to go take it for a spin (with collateral of course, keys to my truck). Im going to have a buddy go with me, Im at college and i dont know any mechanic friends so im out of luck there. I put 25k my parents 96 4runner that now has 230k so i have a good base to compare too.

 

Look for leaks, drips, torn driveshaft or power steering boots, unusual wear on the tires, rust (not likley if it's been in Socal since 02), break pad thickness, etc. Anything that might cost you money to fix right after you buy it.

Look for signs it has been painted (incase it was in a bad wreck).

If your buddy takes his car, have him follow you in it and make sure it’s not smoking under hard acceleration and make sure it doesn't "ride sideways" down the road (sign of a bent frame).

If something doesn't feel right, stick with your gut!

Good luck

BTW... If there are little things wrong (needs brakes soon, needs tires, etc) it may help you to talk the price down.

 

i like the idea of buddy driving behind me. thanks. i think the truck has been well cared for. the guy said it just got a decent sized service, hes selling for mpg reasons and got a prius. the truck is actually up in Chico, not socal.

 

ask where he gets his work done on his 4runner- then go to the place and ask for a printout on the vehicle and also ask if he writes his services down. i write EVERYTHING down, always have always will.. people really like that it shows that you cared for your vehicle.. its a big plus!

 

Well i went and saw it today, very nice car, few scratches on it, no rust everything works nice. One question thought, ive always driven 2wd 4runners, does the 4wd system have a slight vibration involved with it? that was one thing i noticed im not sure if its normal or not.

 

email the vin to me, I'll run a carfax for you.

 

GAH thats one thing i forgot to grab.ill ask the guy for it. thanks for the offer.

 

No...a vibration is NOT normal!

but could be something as simple as the tires not being balanced?

-B

 

When I do UCIs (used car inspections) I first test drive it for the following:
windnoise, vibrations, abnormal engine noises, squeaks, rattles, and pullings
When I bring it in the shop I check for
oil leaks, cv axles, rear ends, seals, brakes, lights, exterior blemishes, interior blemishes, power everything, tire wear patterns, suspensions, water oil and transmission leaks, horn, wipers and etc. It's probably already too late as a day late, but if it were me I would check everything top to bottom and figure out how much repairs would cost parts wise and compare it to the price of the vehicle. If you can do repairs yourself you may can point out the flaws and reduce the price and fix everything yourself.

 

I felt when i touched the 4wd shifter that was all and it was just the sick vibrating. Yes there were little things like the windshield wipers were old and dried up. exterior was good except it has about a 1ft mark where it got keyed, and a few scratches here and there. THere is one ding that guy said his bike rack was hit and dented the corner of the lift gate.

Im a little concerned about the vibration of the 4wd shifter. Im comparing it to the trans shifter that was not vibrating at all.

 

Is the shifter very erratic? Mine has a slight vibration when in 4wd but nothing to worry about unless there is too much play in the shifter then it may need to be checked out. Mine sometimes buzzes very slightly but it doesn't bother me as I'm more worried about the terrain I'm on than the noise.

 

no it doesnt bounce around or anything and its very tight, not really loud or anything i could hear it cuz i didnt have the stereo on. It wasnt like visually moving just kinda vibrating similar to cell phone on vibrate.

 

If you have time and havent already run a CARFAX check on the vehicle to check out some of its history...it wont tell you everything, but it could key you in on some stuff...if you dont have access, send me the VIN and I can run a report and send it to you.

Josh

SORRY, DIDNT SEE THAT YOU WERE GONNA GET ONE...( i SHOULD HAVE READ THE WHOLE THREAD! LOL)

 

ill call the guy tomorrow and grab the vin. Does the 4wd shifter thing im describing sound normal?

 

It does to me, but I'm hoping others will chime in. It in fact does feel like a cell phone vibration in mine too. I've noticed this in a lot of other 4x4s so I've never really worried too much with mine. If I get a chance I will see if my manager's Tacoma does the same thing.

 

when I'm driving I can see mine moving around and its sure moving if I touch it.

This happens in mosts 4wd's with a T-case that I've seen.

 

Get a mechanic to inspect it as most have been saying...be careful who you bring it to though. It's hard to know who is good. I took mine to the Toyota Dealership and they screwed me. Said they were doing a 96 point inspection I think. I got the report and everything was checking off as being good, included the turning signals which were burnt out on the right side! If they didn't notice that, they did a pretty job of checking everything else im sure...

 

That depends on the tech, shop foreman, and shop morals. Our shop foreman is not as hard on us as he probably should be, but myself I check everything from power mirrors to leaks and even if the vehicle still has the spare tire. Another tech I have in mind has a poor attitude and would check "OK" for everything in his inspection. Unfortunately for him this has cost him lots of headaches and money. Myself I have the highest turn over rate for UCIs at over 80% of my UCIs wind up in wholesales because it would cost my dealer more to fix it than sell it. It's unfortunate that you got screwed on your deal. My suggestion is to find out who the names of techs you have work on your vehicle. If they do a good job then note it and request them personally, if a bad job then note it and ask the service writer to avoid giving it to that tech. If enough people gave bad feedback to those techs then they would not be there long and weed out the good guys from the bad ones.