2012 4Runner Limited 4X4 - Good Deal?

cypass

I am looking at purchasing a 2012 4Runner Limited - leather, navigation, 3rd row. Has 46,000 miles on it. One owner. Dealership selling it had it listed for 33,900. Cargurus says its a fair deal but over the suggested market price of $150.

I asked the dealership to provide the prior owner's info which they did. I called the owner and talked to him about his car and what he liked, didn't, etc. As well as accidents, maintenance, etc.

Prior owner was an older gentleman, who drove the car to Colorado and Indiana. No accidents and vehicle was purchased new from a Toyota dealership which also serviced it on a routine schedule. He traded it in for a 2014 Silverado. He said he traded it in for $30K to the dealership.

So my offer to the dealership was $31,500 which they have agreed to however I wanted to think about it first which they understood.

Looking for feedback on rather this is a good deal or not. Appreciate all responses!! Also I believe the MSRP on the 2012 T4R Limited was around $40K

stever

I come up with $29,500 for dealer retail for a NM zip code. You can appraise it yourself for your area. A CPO one would go for close to your current quote.

What the owner got and what the MSRP was doesn't really matter - it's worth what it's worth.

That said, it's nice being able to talk to the prior owner and get a feel for how the car was taken care of.

cypass

Steve, thanks for the response! I ended up going with the deal. Have to say the dealership didn't sell the car to me but the prior owner.

I know I was surprised the dealership gave me the prior owner's info but again it's Iowa - people are generally pretty down to earth and personable.

The owner had all the upgrades and features added to it (3rd row, Navigation, JBL sound/subroofer, etc all but DVD system).

I had to appreciate the prior owner filling me in on everything he had done and how he took care of it. Even said he would give me the Weathertech mats he had for the vehicle.

The vehicle won't get much use cause I have a company car however will be nice to drive every now and than especially during the winter months. I think it ended up turning out to be a good deal - not great but I understand people have to make a profit and buyers don't want to leave money on the table.

Thanks again and happy to join the T4R club!

stever

Congrats - knowing the car really is worth a bit. I got a used '97 Outback in '03 from a friend because, even though I had moved 2,000 miles away in '00, I knew she always keep up with the maintenance. I drove it 11 uneventful years. I gave her more than TMV for it.

I was a recent resident of "upper" Upper Michigan and when it came time to dump the Outback and the old van we had, we shopped some in Lower Michigan and down to Madison WI. We mostly shopped used in the UP and several times when we asked about the history of the car we were looking at, we got a long rundown about the owner, what they did, and how they drove. There's just something about the Midwest that way (anywhere else they would tell you nothing because of privacy concerns).

We wound up going with a van that an older gentleman in a nearby town drove and the dealer pulled up his service records. That one won out over the other finalist at a different dealer that was owned by a preacher. That dealer had detailed the van nicely but flat out told us the preacher smoked in the van.

And yeah, we overpaid about $1,000 for it, but so far so good.