Buying Advice

[disciplined]

So I live in Michigan and I am on the hunt for a used car. I have a year and half left on my lease (2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee) so I have time to look and if I buy in the near future, have plenty of time to do repairs/get it ready for daily use. I have some general mechanic-type knowledge (i.e. I have recently rebuild a carburetor, changed spark plugs, oil, wires, swapped out points to an electronic ignition, and replaced radiator and hoses on a 1964 Mercury Comet)

Here are my requirements:
- Ability to reasonably last 10 years of daily driving with proper maintenance. About 12k miles/yr.
- Reasonably easy to do some common DIY maintenance and parts aren't crazy expensive.
- 4WD/AWD
- Under 15k. Preferably closer to 10k.
- Won't turn into a complete rust-bucket with proper care.
- Less that 1,500/yr in repairs/maintenance costs.

Because of these requirements I have been thinking about a 3rd or 4th gen 4runner, a Land Cruiser 100 series or the equivalent Lexus vehicles. No plans to take it off road but it will be driving in heavy snow as my street often takes days to get plowed after a big storm. Car will be garaged from the time I buy it.

Do these requirements fit these Toyotas? Are the requirements reasonable? Do I have to get a southern/southwest car to make sure it doesn't rust out before I retire it? Any tips on buying a used car cross-country?

 

[PDXGX]

I would say the GX meets these requirements very well

 

[Arailt]

3rd Gen 4Runner might be a little dated. A 4th Gen 4Runner, GX470, or LX470/100 Series Cruiser would all fit the bill though.

I bought my GX from a Toyota dealer just south of Syracuse, NY. Luckily, I got a 3yr/36k mile Toyota Platinum warranty with it because I've had a laundry list of parts replaced due to life in the rust belt (rusted rear control arms, all four brake calipers [seized], rear caliper pins [seized], both exhaust manifolds [cracked], both front wheel bearings, cat-back exhaust [couldn't believe that was covered], steering rack, and both front upper CV boots). I'm also dealing with surface rust over about 90% of the frame that was covered up with undercoat when I bought it. So YES, I would highly recommend buying as far south and west and dry as possible!

As far as buying out of state/unseen, my advice would be to get a LOT of very clear, detailed pictures and pull the vehicle history up on lexus.drivers.com using the VIN (if it's a Lexus). Well maintained is better than lower mileage.

Good luck!

 

[disciplined]

Interesting. Thanks for the insights PDXGX and Arailt.

Arailt, is the rust starting to bubble through the undercoat? Any rot yet?

Can I use lexus.drivers.com if I haven't got the car yet or use it multiple times for different cars I am looking at?

Thanks!

 

[Arailt]

Yep, you can use lexus.drivers if you don't own the car. Just sign up and type in the VIN.

The rust came through with a vengeance. No rot that I can find. It's all surface rust and it's really not that bad. It just looks like s*** and has been a PIA to slowly fix. I'm not sure what they undercoated it with. Probably rattle can crap to sell the thing. I think I was just so distracted by the fact that it only had 49k miles on it that I overlooked the rust. I remember seeing some at the test drive and thinking it didn't look bad (I've owned several old Jeeps, so I've seen some pretty gnarly rust). However, after two Pittsburgh winters, it looked like this (don't mind my redneck hose clamp on the heat shield):

 

[disciplined]

Wow. Yeah, it doesn't look too bad. Though it probably won't get any better from here on out if your in Pittsburgh...

Tried the lexus.drivers.com thing and wow these records are no joke. Lots of detail! Hugely beneficial. Thanks for the tip.

Found out that a car I was looking at had:

CUSTOMER STATES WHEN DRIVING AFTER CAR WARMED UP SMOKE WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, CK ADV 1.0 POSS OIL LEAKING, ~|~ON INSPECTION FOUND UPPER RADIATOR HOSE OFF OF RADIATOR AND SOFT SPOT ON RADIATOR HOSE AND RADIATOR DAMAGED ~|~REPLACED UPPER RADIATOR HOSE AND THREE CLAMPS REPLACED DAMAGED RADIATOR CAP BLED COOLING SYSTEM NO LEAKS FOUND

and

SERVICE: REPLACED WATER PUMP & CRANK SEAL ONLY
DESCRIPTION: REPLACED WATER PUMP & CRANK SEAL ONLY ~|~REPLACE WTR PUMP & FRONT CRANK SEAL (WHEN DONE W/TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT) ~|~ ~|~REPLACED WATER PUMP & CRANK SEAL ONLY,CUSTOMER DECLINED SERVICE -RECOMMENDED, NOT DONE-REPLACED WATER PUMP & CRANK SEAL ONLY

SERVICE: TIMING BELT, R&R
DESCRIPTION: TIMING BELT, R&R ~|~TIMING BELT DUE BY TIME AND MILEAGE. ~|~ ~|~TIMING BELT, R&R,CUSTOMER DECLINED SERVICE -RECOMMENDED, NOT DONE-TIMING BELT, R&R

The owner claimed the timing belt had been done and that he noised a leak in the radiator, not that the car was smoking when he got it replaced.

Wish Toyota had something like this. Amazing!