Found a 96 4Runner, trying to figure out a good price

I found a 96 4runner near by, one owner on the car fax, she drives totally fine and the only thing I can see to work him on the price of the lack of a timing belt sticker and the steering rack appears to be leaking. Other wise she feels solid. The acceleration and power feels better than my 2nd Gen taco, damn. She DOES have the full time 4wd button AND the rear locker. It all works and doesn't behave erratically as far as I can tell.

The guy is asking 10k for her with 175k miles. I'm thinking about starting my offer at 6k to end up around 7-8k. Not looking to go past 8k

Thoughts? Opinions? There isn't much other than the belt and rack I can point out to dicker down. Haha

 

I got a '96 4Runner as my first car with 200K miles, no issues and 2wd. Got her for $4,000... I don't know much about pricing but when I was looking for my car I didn't see any prices around $10,000, especially for a 23 year old car

 

Did you get the KBB value on it? Thats always a good way to check too.

https://www.kbb.com/whats-my-car-worth/
Check this if you know more about the car.

 

Well it shows 2.5 to around 5.5k, but I'm not sure of that takes into account the level of condition. Junk ones sell around here for 3-4k, somehow... I don't get it.

So, I'm sure the guy knows people want them. I was looking at first gen tacoma's with 200k+ that were 8-12k on average. So... I presume the first gen taco and the 3rd 4runner are as similar as it gets.

 

Oh wow. Probably a regional thing... I just looked up 96 Runners around me and every single one was under 5k
I'd just try and talk him down as much as possible.

 

While that's a good find, without seeing it I wouldn't go more than 6K. Unknown timing belt replacement is work to be done, as well as the steering rack. That's probably close to 2K if you pay the dealership to do it. Tire condition is a factor for going up or down from there, maybe.

8K might be reasonable if it had been gone through with all new rubber (new timing belt + water pump, belts and pulleys, hoses, plugs and wires, etc.).

Heck, I've got a 2006 4Runner with the 4.7 V8 with less than 70K, and it's not worth 10K on the open market (which is why we are keeping it in the family).

 

It actually has what appear to be nearly brand new michelin tires.

Alright, so with this advice I'll try to see what I can do. Trying to find out if it is worth getting a mechanic trip scheduled. Hmmm

 

22re or the 3vze? I owned a few 22re and the rep speaks for itself. Was never a fan of that v6

Edit the 4runner stopped coming out with the 22re in 95

 

Steering rack and timing belt are not cheap fixes. Lower ball joints and radiator need to be done too.

I'd say 4-5k, at least around here

I can't see paying 10k, especially with that many miles.

 

Check the dates on the sidewall to verify they are new tires

 

5VZ-FE V6

Right don't get me wrong, he can forget 10k. But the other side is that there are not really any 3rd gen's in the state that I can see. (That have everything I want without being trashed). The guy knows what 3rd gen's are, I can tell from talking to him. I make try to offer 5-6k. I see a few 4th gen's around for less than 10k, though I've not checked them all in detail. But the 3rd gen is my favorite, haha

I'd have to go back but either way they have tons of tread and I don't see any dry rot.