Would you buy a '98 4Runner Limited ... that needs airbags?

[Tremek]

Hi guys. I've found a local seller that's selling a '98 4runner Limited with 176,000 miles that triggered his airbags in what seems like a low-speed impact. I went and looked at the truck last night and overall it's in pretty good shape - he put in a new windshield (which I expect is due to the airbags), pulled out the two airbags, and cleaned it up.

It drives straight with no pulling left or right, has good tires, brakes pretty well (a little pulsing but I understand this is something common to 3rd gen 4runners?) and all the electronics/windows work. I looked under it and didn't see any damage to speak of, and I think his brush guard on the front of the truck took most of the impact.

Another nice piece of this truck is this guy (who has had the truck for less than 6 months) bought it from a family friend and has a lot of service paperwork with it - I've seen evidence the timing belt and water pump was changed at 131k miles, the original window sticker, things like that.

He and I are meeting Monday at the DMV for him to clear up the title, so it's not a done deal yet. He gave me the number of a shop that says they will replace both airbags for $275 installed but they're not open over the weekend so I can't verify this yet. Overall we have agreed on a price of $3000.

Does this seem like a good, neutral, or bad idea to you guys? I like 4runners and would like a truck of this variety but don't want to get burned with latent major safety issues or an unrealistic expectation of what it will cost to replace the airbags and associated hardware as well as the steering wheel cover and dash piece.

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Tremek]

Figured I would provide more context:

The seller is a younger guy getting ready to move back to California (I believe this story), not mechanically inclined and living in a loft, and claims he doesn't want to deal with getting the truck fixed as he has another car and he doesn't want to take the 4runner back to CA anyway.

Not that I want to justify my own position but I've found a few reports of people setting off 3rd gen airbags by doing things like pulling stumps, etc - is it a falsehood that the 3rd gen airbag sensor is not sensitive?

With that said, would an impact that would set off the airbags but not have any real/considerable visible damage (I can tell it's the same bumper that was on the car during the accident due to the brush guard making light impact both with the bumper and the fenders) still be major cause for concern?

edit: also, ran the carfax while I was looking at the truck - click here to download - nothing stands out to me other than the guy (whose name IS on the back of the title from the last owner) never registered it. When I mentioned going to the DMV re: title, he's gotta pay sales tax on the last transaction and THEN sign the new title over to me.

I think initially he was thinking he could sell the truck quickly by pricing it cheap and not have to register it or pay sales tax for buying it from his family friend, but I disabused him of that notion after I saw the title. He's not happy about it but he said he would go meet me at the DMV and do it.

Thanks again.

 

[Brake Weight]

I'd buy it. But things like ABS and air bags don't make a sell for me.

 

[Jeremy9A]

The price doesn't seem out of line being a limited and all. I have seen some private sellers around here selling high mile 3rd gens for $3000-$3500 supposedly in excellent shape.

You might be into the SRS system for more than the airbags alone. I would think it should at least need an impact sensor (probably not that expensive).

 

[97kurt]

Price seems good, I'd price out what it would cost to replace the air bags and then decide.

The 98 4runner uses an inertia switch to trigger the air bags, so there should be no impact switch that needs to be replaced.

With that many miles, check the color/smell of the trans fluid to make sure its not burnt or brown.

 

[Colorado80]

One suggestion that I would like to make is the MN (first 2 owners were in MN) rust that would be associated with the truck. I hate working on rustmobiles. The same job that would take 30 minutes ends up taking 2 hours for some bolt that broke etc. Other than that, it seems like a decent deal if there isn't any rust.

 

[RogueFab]

1. That is a great deal (at least in my state).

2. The "pulse" is normal, but probably because the rotors warp on most toyota mini-truck/4runner with a tow package that gets used (mine are!).

3. Blown airbags are on par with that sales price I think!

 

[Epic Ed]

Do your research on the cost of replacing airbags -- my understanding is they are not cheap.