I'm about to buy a 2002 4Runner that has 219000 miles on it. Should I pass because of the high miles

tina0x

Please help. This car is in excellent condition no scratches dents ect and the inside is like no one had ever been in the car so what should I do.

stever

Well, it's cheap insurance to have any used car inspected by your own mechanic before you buy it (a pre-purchase inspection). A good mechanic will spot any big issues and can estimate what kind of expenses you can expect in the months and years to come.

When I appraise a Limited 4Runner with no options for my zip code, I get a dealer retail price of $6,341. That's in clean condition. You should appraise it yourself and dial that number in better.

It it really is in exceptional condition (and few used cars really are, in my opinion), then the $7,000 price is okay, using "outstanding" in the appraisal choice.

stever

Kind of depends on the price and your tolerance for the inevitable repairs that most older and higher mileage cars (even Toyotas) require.

Has your own mechanic checked it out and told you that it's in excellent condition?

tina0x

Well from what they have said it is in excellent condition. The price I'm not sure it is almost 7000 don't know if that's good or bad. I have not owned a car of my own so I'm in the dark about car stuff

lynx50

I would not recommend purchasing a 4Runner with over 200K miles. I have spent over $1800 in repairs in the last 4 months on my 2005 4Runner 4.7L V8 that has only 115K miles. Today the check engine light came on indicating yet another problem that needs to be fixed.

isellhondas

You just responded to a post that's a year old.

stever

$1,800 in four months is four car payments for a lot of cars.

With a new car though, you avoid the hassle of breaking down and having to let your car sit at your mechanic's shop for a day or more. With a used one, even a high mileage used one, you may get a few months in a row "payment free" for most of the year.

kyfdx

stever said:

$1,800 in four months is four car payments for a lot of cars.

With a new car though, you avoid the hassle of breaking down and having to let your car sit at your mechanic's shop for a day or more. With a used one, even a high mileage used one, you may get a few months in a row "payment free" for most of the year.

Or, two weeks after paying for an $1800 repair, you get a bill for $4500 for an automatic transmission rebuild.
Cars don't last forever.

isellhondas

Yeah, that's the trouble. Spend 1800.00 and think the trouble is over. Three months later the transmission go's and the car is totalled or some guy runs a red light and the car is totalled and you get a check for 800.00.

stever

Buy a new car and three years later you're still paying $450 a month for the note. What's the first year's depreciation on a new car, about 10%? Buy a $30,000 car and there's $3,000 gone up in smoke.

Cars don't last forever but some people's payments sure seem to.

Shifty about has me convinced about that 175,000 mile sweet spot though. Been better off to have dumped the Quest a year or two earlier than I did.

kyfdx

stever said:

Buy a new car and three years later you're still paying $450 a month for the note. What's the first year's depreciation on a new car, about 10%? Buy a $30,000 car and there's $3,000 gone up in smoke.

Cars don't last forever but some people's payments sure seem to.

Shifty about has me convinced about that 175,000 mile sweet spot though. Been better off to have dumped the Quest a year or two earlier than I did.

Somehow, I think you don't have to worry about getting to work on time, if your car breaks down.

Or, paying the daycare $5 per minute after 6:00 PM, while waiting on the side of the road for a tow truck.

stever

There is that.

carboy21

I have a 1999 4Runner SR5 and it does take some maintenance after 150k miles. As a woman, Tina should not go for a 219K car .

stever

I dunno about that - my wife can use the cell phone about as good as I can.

mjrcultfigure

My daily drive is a '91 4Runner SR5 4WD V-6 5 SPD. It's got over 500,000km (approx 315,000 miles) no major repairs (except head gasket done free on recall almost 20 years ago) it still runs great, never breaks down. As far as I'm concerned, they're bullet-proof, even used mine to run a trapline a couple of hundred km south of James Bay for a couple of years - that's unbelievably rugged country just trees, granite and water everywhere. I love my Yota and I'll buy another if this one ever wears out. I'm still on the original clutch!

Mr_Shiftright

My friend ran his to over 300,000 miles. It was tired but basically sound. He did have to put quite a few clutches in it though. He was the original owner.

Think of a car with 200K as a healthy person aged 60. They may get another 1/3rd of life, but it probably won't be the best 3rd.

carboy21

Buy it if the price is right. They last forever. Some parts need updating like radiator, ball joints and shocks/struts.