About to purchase a high mileage 4runner

There is a 2015 4runner limited (4wd) with 217k miles... we negotiated down to $17,500... clear carfax and no accidents. Heated and cooled seats, all the bells and whistles...

Test drove it twice, checked under the hood, checked under everything with a flashlight... checked fluids, no leaks, all services at a local toyota dealer.

Planning to meet them tomorrow morning to purchase. Thoughts on what I might need to be concerned about?

 

Frame rust killed my 4Runner at 14 years old. I nursed it along for a few years after that, but it was terminal. Ran like new and looked great. Be careful!

 

Yea, after my last rusty tacoma, I checked for rust and just about didn't see any. Local car and we don't get much snow (so little salt)

 

At 217k.probably time for all new suspension components, ucas, lcas, shocks, sway bar bushings if they haven’t been done. When was the last tune up, belt replaced?

 

Good question... not sure. I have a bud getting the carfax... he looked at it and said there is tons of maintenance history. he's going to print it off tomorrow morning and send it to me.

 

Its a 2015 so its 5th Gen with 1GR-FE, that engine has timing chain not timing belt. The last 4Runner to have timing belt was 3rd gen with 5VZ-FE.

 

Do you have a maintenance history ?

hard to imagine any sort of “good” condition above 200k miles .. but it’s also 1/3 of new

 

The serpentine belt is what I meant, should have clarified.

 

IMHO, At 217k miles, you're entering the next "phase" of big-ticket maintenance. Just about everything on a 4Runner or 2nd gen Tacoma (don't know what gen of 4Runner we are in) will last for the first 150-200k miles and no major issues with decent care: especially the engines and transmissions. But the "hard-core" parts: driveline, f/r suspension, bushings, bearings... and exterior electronics start to get tired. Has the truck had any work on these components? If the answer is: "not yet": Be careful. I set a personal limit of 10 years when I was looking for a Tacoma in 2021. I ended up purchasing a 2014 with 104k in with a documented history of 5,000 mile synthetic LOF changes. I had the initial frame inspection and treatment done soon after and three more dealer-performed inspections since. I have also taken care all of the fluids and coolant changes (diffs, xfer case, transmission, coolant) and the spark-plugs.

If all of the all of services were done by a Toyota dealership, they can run a complete documented service history by just plugging in the VIN. I got one when I asked for it. The service manager produced it and I brought him a box of Dunkin' Joe and Munchkins to show my appreciation. It also shows the initial history of the truck from the time it was driven off the ship. It's extensive and very detailed: Date of first service, recall status, frame status warranty status.... etc.

I'm only putting about 10,000 per year on it now and I'll likely be long gone before 200k when the "Hard Core parts Gremlins team " come knocking at the door for attention. (I hope)

 

Some good information. Thanks for the details. It'll be about $12,000 (after taxes) less than the others I was looking at, which were 2018 with 80k miles. I plan to keep it for a couple of years until the 2025 ones are hitting the used market.