Yahoo Autos At $13,500, Will This 1998 Toyota 4Runner Fit the Bill?
In the ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice Toyota 4Runner, the seller states that its 4X4 system will “get you anywhere you want to go.” Let’s see if its price tag means it’s actually not going anywhere.
The screenplay for the 1979 movie Alien was written by Dan O’Bannon, but the idea of a haunted house in space wasn’t his original concept. Initially, the story O’Bannon was crafting was about a WWII bomber crew on return from a mission being vexed, not only by enemy flak and fighters, but also by a malevolent gremlin that had somehow gotten onboard the plane. O’Bannon would revisit the scenario for his segment of the 1981 film Heavy Metal-titled B17. Neither movie fulfilled the original gremlin premise, and that potentially could have been because cars like yesterday’s 1976 AMC Gremlin ruining the general appetite for such fare. At $9,500, there was little appetite for it today either. That was made apparent in both the comments and the car’s ultimate 83 percent No Dice loss.
Read more
Do you remember Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstopper? That was the candy for kids with little pocket change to spare that would never lose its flavor and never get any smaller. Now imagine that one of your friends had an Everlasting Gobstopper. Let’s say they had been sucking the bejeezus out of it for a month or more. Would you want to share it? I mean, even though it’s been in your friend’s mouth, clicking over their teeth and sloshing through tsunamis of spit for weeks on end, it’d still be good, right?
That sort of conundrum is raised by today’s 1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5. I say that because, while it has done a remarkable 269,000 miles to date, it still seems to have plenty of life left in it. Plus, no spit!
According to the seller, the truck is in great shape for its age, and has not only been well-maintained over the course of its life, but has also seen several updates and upgrades along the way. Aesthetically, it presents decently, and while there’s a bull bar bumper in front and a three-inch lift underneath, it doesn’t seem like it would make its driver look like a yahoo or anything.
The ad lists a slew of recent mechanical work too. Some of that includes new suspension and steering components, nearly-fresh Cooper knobbies, and a timing belt refresh for the 3.4 liter 5VZ-FE V6. That engine is backed up by a rare five-speed stick and when-you-need-it 4WD that the seller says will get you anywhere.
The interior hasn’t been left out of the update game either. There, the present owner has added leather seats from a Limited as well as a later model console and a modern stereo head unit. There’s no word on what the original upholstery looked like, but the current Limited leather is starting to show its age on the driver’s seat. The padding underneath seems ok though.
Underneath all that, the frame is said to be solid with just some minor surface rust keeping the truck out of polite society. The seller says they have attempted to keep on top of that with applications of rust paint.
The title is clean, although, in the pics the truck is not wearing current tags. The reason given for the sale is the desire to downsize.
We’ll now need to see if the seller’s $13,500 price needs some downsizing. What do you say? Does that seem like a fair price for this long-distance 4Runner? Or, do those miles just not add up to that much cash?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at remslie@kinja.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
More from Jalopnik
Sign up for Jalopnik's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
