Wannabee, found a great '04, opinions, advice?

[clubted]

Hi, I've been a happy Tundra 4x4 owner and as a result have decided to buy a Toyota SUV to replace our Jeep Grand Cherokee. After considering the Land Cruiser and Sequoia I've settled on the 4Runner mostly due to the gas mileage available in the V6 4WD as well as the reputation for quality and durability. Off I go to the dealership to check them out and sure enough they have what sounds like a great one - 2004 Limited, V6, 4WD, 21,000 miles, one owner (Toyota exec), excellent condition, drives great, good color. Should I try to ge this one or wait for say a 2005 with the 5 speed or is there something else I may be missing in a more recent model? This one isn't cheap - it's priced actually slightly over KBB retail, probably due to its condition. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[42GAMI]

Originally Posted by clubted

Hi, I've been a happy Tundra 4x4 owner and as a result have decided to buy a Toyota SUV to replace our Jeep Grand Cherokee. After considering the Land Cruiser and Sequoia I've settled on the 4Runner mostly due to the gas mileage available in the V6 4WD as well as the reputation for quality and durability. Off I go to the dealership to check them out and sure enough they have what sounds like a great one - 2004 Limited, V6, 4WD, 21,000 miles, one owner (Toyota exec), excellent condition, drives great, good color. Should I try to ge this one or wait for say a 2005 with the 5 speed or is there something else I may be missing in a more recent model? This one isn't cheap - it's priced actually slightly over KBB retail, probably due to its condition. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

im not going to give you any advice on kicking tires, but i will say dont be fooled with the dealer price on used vehicles. dealers almost always buy used vehicles way under wholesale KBB, weather from auction or as a trade in. the dealer will mark them up so they have room to bargan with. fact is the dealer still makes money even if you purchased a used car from them at KBB wholesale. that doesnt mean they would sell it to you, but if you are polite enough, and got money, they are businessmen. the longer the vehicle sits on the lot, the more the dealer looses in depreciation and such, etc, etc.

keep in mind, if you are going to finance the purdhase with your bank, they are probably not going to loan you more than the KBB wholesale for a used vehicle under 5 y/o with zero down. they will prolly give you a 3, 4, or 5 year loan.

now if the bank wouldnt loan you more than the wholesale value, that should tell you something. gl.

[liono2k1]

I agree with the above post. Dont worry about what the dealer has listed for the price of the suv. It really doesnt matter. In the current market, everything in retail is following the housing market. No one wants to buy anything. Im sure this has gone into the car market. If the car u want is still sitting on the lot, make the dealer an offer of what you want to pay for it. Dont worry about the sticker price. If it is close to reasonable, the guy will go back and "discuss it with" his manager. Odds are you will own the car for what you wanted to pay for it. The only problem that I have noticed is that most toyota suvs dont stay on the used car lot for very long.