Can I sell my 4Runner for parts?

passionatemindpassionatemind Member Posts: 9
edited April 2014 in Toyota
I'm not a car gal, so please forgive any hokeyness with my jargon. ;)

'96 4Runner with about 175K on it. It's at the dealership right now, dismantled, with a leaky head gasket and two cracked cylinder heads. (Tech says there was a coolant leak. I'm :mad: the dealership didn't catch it at the last service.)

Fixing it is not an option (the dealership shop wants $5K for a used motor, or $6,500 to put in new heads & gasket). AutoTrader says it's worth about $6,200 with its clean history, if it were running. I'm not in a position to sink that much $$$ into it. We're up to $700 in tear-down right now.

I don't need a replacement (have another car).

Not going to take out a loan.

I've got to cut my losses, or find a cheaper way to fix it. (Like in the neighborhood of $2k or less, on top of the $700 I've already got into it.)

I'm not sure how long I can let it sit at the dealership without annoying them--I've known about this for less than 24 hours, so I think I've got a day or so. I'm doing all I can from here, and I've got my Dad calling car guys he knows, but it would be good to have some additional expertise weigh in.

Thanks so much!

Comments

  • passionatemindpassionatemind Member Posts: 9
    I moved to the home of a great import parts place where I can get a replacement head for about $200. (What is the dealership smoking???) Now, I need to know how to find the specific info on which parts my 4Runner needs so I can get it fixed.

    Is there a way to use the VIN to find out?

    Off to find out how much it'll cost to tow it home . . . :)
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    You need to get someone involved who knows how to fix this thing and they will know all the answers to the questions you are asking.

    Are you fixing it at home? If not, you will pay to have it towed again to another location.
  • bandit10bandit10 Member Posts: 28
    Sure you can. Use eBay as an auction site. I've bought several parts over the years for my cars with eBay. Your transmission would sell in a heart beat. So would your interior seating, A/C unit, rear end. But you'd have to part it out yourself and have the parts ready for shipment to the buyer. And have the room to store them until sold. You can make it an Auction or sell the parts at a set price. Your lower block could be sold, electric window motors ETC.
  • nywoman1nywoman1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1992 4Runner, and there was a factory RECALL quite some time ago in regard to certain truck models where the head gaskets failed or were about to.

    I brought my 4Runner to the dealership, and they replaced the head gaskets and associated parts for FREE. They still tallied up the cost, and it was way over $2,000.00 for these repairs. I am surprised they are charging you for something that they sent out a Recall on. :confuse:

    Only thing I can think of, is maybe the year of your 4Runner wasn't included. If I can dig up the paperwork on this (which I do have), I can send you more information. I would definitely ask about this. Good Luck and I hope all works out well for you

    Regards,
    --Patricia
  • nywoman1nywoman1 Member Posts: 2
    Hi,

    Here is a link in regard to the Toyota Head Gasket issue:

    http://www.brian894x4.com/V6headgasketrecall.html

    Not sure if there is anything you can do about it at this point, but it wouldn't hurt to investigate. As I said prior - - Toyota completely fixed my head gasket problem on my 92 4Runner for FREE. Hope this may help you.

    --Pat :)
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