Wanderlusty
Explorer
Ok, had a 2004 Tacoma for a couple years a while back and had no complaints aside from the axle seals that kept blowing, thankfully covered by warranty, thankfully...and yes, did diff breather mod.
Now I am considering a 3rd Gen 4Runner. Probably not much older than 99.
I have always liked that body style, and really don't care for any of the newer ones.
Also, they are (finally) coming down to somewhat reasonable price range considering they are now 9-15 years old. Still a bit high IMHO for the age, but it is what the market will bear...
My needs are not much. It would be sort of a DD, but I do a lot of my commuting on my motorcycle, so this is mostly for picking my son up from school, may become the grocery getter to save wear and tear on my wife's new Corolla, may see some long distance travel, again to save wear on her new car. And OF COURSE it will see some overlanding :wings: which I have missed for the last little bit.
Question is, as most of these trucks are a decade or more older, I really don't want to get into a situation of chasing maintenance gremlins. My current vehicle, a 2003 Maxima that I inherited when trading my last truck in for her new car, has 166,000 miles on it and a laundry list of little gremlins that need chasing. None terminal, just annoying.
Maintenance, be it preventative or otherwise, does not scare me in itself, but wondering from those that have had these trucks a bit longer (My Taco only had 50K on it when I got rid of it) can give me an idea of what to expect maintenance and durability wise on the 3rd Gen 'Runners with the 90K-130K miles most in that age range seem to be sporting.
Off the top, I know the timing belt needs checked, water and fuel pump too, but I am talking more about nitpicky stuff like slow leaks, electrical gremlins, how it handles overall wear and tear...
I am encouraged to see many of that generation out there with 200K plus miles, so not generally concerned about durability, but would you load up and take that truck with 120K miles and drive cross country and into the back country with not a lot of worry?
Now I am considering a 3rd Gen 4Runner. Probably not much older than 99.
I have always liked that body style, and really don't care for any of the newer ones.
Also, they are (finally) coming down to somewhat reasonable price range considering they are now 9-15 years old. Still a bit high IMHO for the age, but it is what the market will bear...
My needs are not much. It would be sort of a DD, but I do a lot of my commuting on my motorcycle, so this is mostly for picking my son up from school, may become the grocery getter to save wear and tear on my wife's new Corolla, may see some long distance travel, again to save wear on her new car. And OF COURSE it will see some overlanding :wings: which I have missed for the last little bit.
Question is, as most of these trucks are a decade or more older, I really don't want to get into a situation of chasing maintenance gremlins. My current vehicle, a 2003 Maxima that I inherited when trading my last truck in for her new car, has 166,000 miles on it and a laundry list of little gremlins that need chasing. None terminal, just annoying.
Maintenance, be it preventative or otherwise, does not scare me in itself, but wondering from those that have had these trucks a bit longer (My Taco only had 50K on it when I got rid of it) can give me an idea of what to expect maintenance and durability wise on the 3rd Gen 'Runners with the 90K-130K miles most in that age range seem to be sporting.
Off the top, I know the timing belt needs checked, water and fuel pump too, but I am talking more about nitpicky stuff like slow leaks, electrical gremlins, how it handles overall wear and tear...
I am encouraged to see many of that generation out there with 200K plus miles, so not generally concerned about durability, but would you load up and take that truck with 120K miles and drive cross country and into the back country with not a lot of worry?