Buying an Old Used Rig... Wait- Isn't it Old and Used?

[Shakes355]

Alright. It's possible to find both of those rigs you mentioned in good shape. Both are very capable so I'm not gonna get into merits. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Montero- Great rig and reasonably reliable. Poor mileage.
Parts are getting harder to come by. And by parts, I mean stuff like sensors and used drivetrain stuff engines and transmissions. Mostly because the Montero was just not that popular in the states. So long term maintenance could become an issue.
The 3.8 didn't like being overheated and has a reputation for head gasket failure if it was.

GX470- Great rig and very reliable. Parts are widely available in the aftermarket and many drivetrain parts cross over with the Toyota lines so used hard-parts are also readily available.
The 4.7 is very solid, but it does use a timing belt and the camshaft seals require camshaft removal (potentially depending on year).
It also has a systemic issue with the Secondary air injection system. Some years only sets codes and make noise. Others drop it into limp-mode when a failure is detected.

 

[9Mike2]

Did someone say old rigs?

I miss our '78 Chief , we sold it because it was hard to put three in car seats in the back, we ended up with a diesel 4x4 Sub. great vehicle but it was like trying to turn the Enterprise in tight spaces. A foot note , the guy took the Cherokee hunting up near Biship, Ca. had it stolen while out for the hunt

 

[GHCOE]

I miss our '78 Chief , we sold it because it was hard to put three in car seats in the back, we ended up with a diesel 4x4 Sub. great vehicle but it was like trying to turn the Enterprise in tight spaces. A foot note , the guy took the Cherokee hunting up near Biship, Ca. had it stolen while out for the hunt

I almost sold this one 7 years ago. Glad I did not. I just have not driven a vehicle off road that I enjoy driving as much as this old beast. Don't get good fuel economy, but hey, I don't have a car payment either and that buys a lot of gas and fun parts.

 

[WesCad]

I love the thread but one thing that is missing. When you do the work yourself you save money but more importantly you learn how this stuff works and end up knowing your vehicle front to back. So when you are miles from a dealership service bay and something goes wrong you can fix it yourself. There is a confidence that comes with knowing how to approach a problem you dont get by throwing money at a stealership. IMO.

 

[Sparksalot]

I love the thread but one thing that is missing. When you do the work yourself you save money but more importantly you learn how this stuff works and end up knowing your vehicle front to back. So when you are miles from a dealership service bay and something goes wrong you can fix it yourself. There is a confidence that comes with knowing how to approach a problem you dont get by throwing money at a stealership. IMO.

Absolutely right. I grew up in a shop, but doing the work on thecopcar has given me a metric crap ton, copyright btw, of knowledge about my rig and what likely failure points may be.

 

[izzywolf]

Did someone say old rigs?

I didn't say old, I said old! Sheesh...

That's a seriously cool rig.

 

[izzywolf]

Totally true! My first several years of learning about auto repair and rebuild began in High School as a Junior in 1971 on this muscle car that I owned. Recognize it? Hint: it is a 1969.

View attachment 212105

Hmm... Bryan Adams?

 

[GHCOE]

I didn't say old, I said old! Sheesh...

That's a seriously cool rig.

Thanks!

 

[grubworm]

i guess automobiles are like people...the newer generations of both are very complicated and rely heavily on electronics and both quit working over the simplest of problems while the older models of both are the most reliable and easiest to deal with and can have a laundry list of problems, but still get the job done.

parts for older models are readily available, too....

 

[9Mike2]

Totally true! My first several years of learning about auto repair and rebuild began in High School as a Junior in 1971 on this muscle car that I owned. Recognize it? Hint: it is a 1969.

View attachment 212105

Did it go Meep Meep!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

hmmm I would have to disagree… we bought an 04 4Runner with 200k on the clock and other than replacing tires, no other maintenance has been done to it. And we got it for 2k under book. So yes it’s possible…ohh and the rig it replaced was a 2000 Ram that I bought with 89k on the clock in 2013 and put another 120k on it before letting it go and the only thing I did to her was replace the water pump and timing gear set at 150k because I was bored and had a slow day at works.

Anecdotal good fortune and I'm betting the venerable @M Rose has a good eye for used cars, like I have. This is not at all the norm, nor should it be. If Buying a 10 year old vehicle, I would stand by everything I wrote. Dont be a gambling man with your ride.

Pre- pandemic, my girlfriends daughter insisted on buying an older VW New Beetle. 07, I believe. They were asking almost 6 grand and we left there with it for 3. I'm pretty good like that. Everything I pointed out as issues, I knew I was able to handle in the driveway. But I still dickered over them. Checked belts, changed plugs, wires, oil change (checked its health before we shook hands), and changed brakes at all four corners.

She's gotta drive back and forth to college, after all.

Wouldnt have it any other way. Get good at selecting a good used car like @M Rose and you may not need to do all the things I listed. Or, do all the things I listed, on a few used cars, and you will see the condition of parts when they work as they should, and when they dont.

 

[9Mike2]

Very cool, we had a c60 Fire truck at Alamitos Gen Station , it was the foam tanker that went with the Pumper Fire truck