@Paulo Filho
You're welcome, there are many other options out there as I'm sure others will jump in to fillin. I just went through the same set of decisions last year leading to my purchase of the 06 4Runner and others here and other forums helped me out answering questions so just trying to pay it forward. :D
Beware long post ahead TLDR at end:
If you are not in a hurry you should be able to find the right rig for you. you can book mark that search link I posted and update it's criteria as you research and refine your options. There are other sites that provide similar lists of used cars and you can do the same for them. (Here is a similar search for Cars.com
https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action/?mdId=20482&mdId=34883&mdId=21213&mdId=21353&mdId=21381&mkId=20070&mkId=20088&page=1&perPage=20&prMx=10000&rd=250&searchSource=GN_REFINEMENT&showMore=true&sort=relevance&stkTypId=28881&yrId=20128&yrId=20197&yrId=20144&yrId=20145&yrId=56007&yrId=30031936&zc=94102 ) check these every day or so to get an idea for what the market for your overlander is in your area. Then you'll get a better feel for "good deals".
First let me say that my daily driver is a 97 Tacoma with 320+K miles of which I've driven all but her first 20k. She just got her first replacement clutch this June at ~323k. Replacements as I recall are: Timing belts every 60k, 2 water pumps (done with timing belts), 1 new radiator (years of rock damage), 3-4 forward O2 sensors, 1 starter, brake pads/drums/rotors (as needed), 1 set of rear shocks, 4 sets of Michelin AT2 tires (Great for on road high mileage, but would prefer Ko2's for Offroad). She currently needs new suspension all the way around, and likely a brake job before the end of the year. Previously I put 200k+ on an 86 Toyota truck at one of my jobs taking it over 400k.
So 200k does not scare me that much on a Toyota but YMMV
.
That said I looked long and hard to find a low mile v8 4runner (also considered a Lexus GX)
with a detailed service history. I cared far more for the service history than I did about the miles. In my case the service history for my 06 was a notebook in the glove box with handwritten date/mileage entries about what was done. The truck was fastidiously taken care of. (Still has the static cling plastic covering protecting the JBL audio badges on the doors!) All recalls were done at dealerships shortly after announcement so I got a good feeling the previous owner was taking very good care of the truck. I paid a premium for this truck as the day I bought it there were 2 others within 25 miles with similar numbers for about $1k less, but each lacking in the care that the owner had put into this one.
I don't know what the market for these trucks is in Ca but here in Co they are hard to find in good condition or with low miles, because of that I think you will have a tough time finding ones under 150Kmiles and under your $10k limit. One way to help this is to save as much as you can while doing research so you can afford more truck when you find the one you want. I mentioned above that it took me about a year of research to decide on the 4runner in that time I was able to sack away a bit less than $5k doing odd jobs and saving here and there which I used to increase my down payment and the rest for my suspension upgrades.
As for scammers on craigslist. I personally have not had a problem with them. If anything sounds off or the deals seems too good to be true -- walk away. I've been buying (and to a lesser degree selling) on Craigslist since the Site came to Colorado (Denver only back then, Now they have a site for up in the High Rockies!). Ask for VIN and pull a Carfax (
https://www.carfax.com/vehicle-history-reports/ ) and VIN History report (
https://www.vehiclehistory.com/ ) I'd then rule out any rig with salvage title (unless you're mechanically minded, and equipped for the challenge), Flood damage (Gremlins! or OWNED in a place during a time it was flooded. Some places that were flooded the cars were
not claimed and were simply shipped out of state, detailed, and sold to unsuspecting buyers. think Huston, New Orleans, Colorado Front Range 2013, etc...), In CA branded a "Lemon" or Accident where the airbags were deployed in these reports. If you find a rig that passes the history check and all of your visual inspections (make sure the Vin on the rig MATCHES the one you looked up!) and you're still interested in it, ask if you can leave a post dated check deposit so you can have the Rig professionally inspected. If they say "no" then assume there is something they don't want you to find, thank them for their time and walk away. If they say yes have a trusted local shop take a look at it. You'll be out of pocket about an hour at their hourly inspection rate (~$80-$150 here depending on shop).
Finally never bring cash to the deal. Arrange for them to bring title to
your Credit union or Bank, have the CU/Bank staff notarize a simple automotive Bill of Sale (
https://www.dmv.org/images/bill-of-sale.pdf ) and witness the transaction. Exchange title and keys for cash/cashiers check inside the office. After the paper work is done head out to celebrate your new Overland Rig! :D
TL;DR
- Detailed Service history trumps mileage
- Don't be in a hurry
- Start saving while trying to decide
- Use common sense and listen to your gut to avoid scams.
Boort
