Advice Needed: 3rd Gen 4Runner or Jeep Wrangler JKU

[thiccbigsucc]

Hey OBers, long-time lurker here finally broke down and verified my email so I can post. hehe. I am in a little predicament.
I currently own a 2015 Jeep Wrangler JKU. A friend just offered to sell me his 3rd Gen 4runner.
I am considering buying the 4runner and selling the Jeep, but first I want to see if anyone here has experience owning both or making the same jump I'm making, and whether or not they regret it.

Some additional context:

My Jeep:
Basics: 2015 JKU (Sahara Altitude trim), 90k miles, manual transmission, 2nd owner. Owned it since 50k with no major issues outside of a small electrical issue in my steering wheel.
Mods: 2" lift, 35" mickeys, fox shocks, metalcloak springs, upgraded front driveshaft, rock sliders. Most everything else is stock.
Condition: paint and interior are in excellent shape. No dents, no scratches, shiny.
How I drive it: dd, occasional trails to reach camping/hiking spots, no rock crawling, 1-2x a year out in the CO Rockies, 1-2x a year out in the Ozarks, plans for trips to Montana, PNW, Adirondaks spread across the next couple of years.

The 4runner:
Basics: 2000 4runner SR5, 220k miles, auto transmission, supercharger, 3rd owner.
Mods: Heavily modified. I'm talking ~$60k in mods. I would consider it "fully built".
Condition: a couple small dents, a couple scratches, paint would need addressed fairly soon. Despite this, it is by no means bad to look at. It looks like something you'd see in a 4WD magazine.
How its driven: My friend trails more than me, he also dds.

Reason I am asking here is the seller is giving me first dibs at a pretty significant discount. I don't want to keep him waiting but I also don't want to rush the decision. Hoping someone is willing to weigh in here. Happy to answer more questions or add more context (wanted to keep the post short). Thanks in advance!

 

[rgallant]

I can not give you context on those vehicles directly but consider the 4runner is 25 years old stuff breaks just because of age. It is also worth checking parts availability, not just brakes, exhaust etc, bit all the little stuff, it is old and getting weary, plastics, in particular, will be breaking down.

 

[thiccbigsucc]

I can not give you context on those vehicles directly but consider the 4runner is 25 years old stuff breaks just because of age. It is also worth checking parts availability, not just brakes, exhaust etc, bit all the little stuff, it is old and getting weary, plastics, in particular, will be breaking down.

This is a fair point, thanks. I will say, he has replaced almost everything on this vehicle... the entire suspension, drivetrain, brake system, seats, gauges, audio, lighting, injectors, the list is long...

I meet with him next week and he's going to walk me through everything.

 

[smritte]

I have owned several older of both. As much as I prefer Toyota, as @rgallant said, the Toyota is about worn out.
With that said, the choice is more of what you want to do. The Jeep is better hard core, the 4runner is better for exploring.

When you say 60k in mods, that puts you into a diffrent category. if you did the work, 60k will get you close to a low to mid end race truck. I currently own a 96 cruiser. The entire driveline and suspension is rebuilt and modified. I'm sitting about 25k with me doing all the building and fabrication. I guess if I paid someone to do all that I would probably be in the 60k+ range.


If your tired of the Jeep and want to go a diffrent direction, have at the 4Runner. I've built a bunch of vehicles in my life, some of which I regret. I'm the last one to discourage this.

 

[MidOH]

I don't touch built rigs.

Give me the one owned by a girl that shops at the mall when it snows hard.

Advantage jeep.

 

[pluton]

I don't touch built rigs.

Give me the one owned by a girl that shops at the mall when it snows hard.

Advantage jeep.

It is a well known but seemingly contradictory that the best used 4WD is one that has never, or rarely, been used for 4WD driving.

 

[thiccbigsucc]

Thanks for the feedback @all. The Jeep rocks and grass isnt always greener on the other side. That being said, I am still going to take it for a test drive next weekend to get a good feel for what a "fully built" T4R feels like. obviously there's a good deal of variance from one rig to the next, but I can at least experience what his exact setup would be like (and I have his build list)