I have own an 88' Toyota truck for the past 9 years and have always wanted a
4runner. Well after about 3 months of casually searching, today I found the one. While not new, this '98 is in imaculate condition. Super clean throughout and test driving it was a dream. 70mph on the freeway it felt tight and didn't have any of the strange noises or pulling I expected. The body is in excellent condition without the slightest blemish. Though the color was not what I was looking for (White) and the interior is Tan (I'm more of a dark ext/int fan) the condition of it sold me. Never owned a car with leather interior before (something more to research) but on this rig, even the driver seat is in great condition - my suspician is that the driver was a lightweight - almost all 4-5 yo 4runners I have looked at with leather always seemed like the driver side seat was smashed and cracked (mostly on the left side of the seat). I suspect that the height of the vehicle has something to do with this. People probably "slide" into the cockpit. ;-)So the final price was $14,300 (plus $700 for lojack). I figured with all the included options (moon roof, tow package, leather, 4wd, running boards, luggage rack, 3-cd in dash changer, aftermarket aluminum rims, etc.) this was a darn good deal - especially at delership prices. List price on the windsheild was $16,995. Even after checking on kbb.com and with nada I figured this was priced about $2.5k below retail value.
I look forward to my fisrt trip to the mountains - next weekend and can't wait for the snow to fall!! I'm stoked.
One question: I have driven some 4runners that have the rear-diff lock option - was this only offered on the Limiteds?
'til next time, T