'95 Toyota 4Runner 4x4-search and acquisition

It’s impossible for a man to be in pursuit of the wild life without the proper equipment and transportation. Last year after giving my truck to my ex (it is a long story for another time), I found myself in the unenviable position of short on cash (those darn kids needing a college education and dental work at the same time, and not having an off road vehicle.

Thanks to the generosity of my outdoors partner Douglas and his trusty and rusty 1996 Nissan Pathfinder, we didn’t miss a hunting or fishing expedition, but it’s no way to live. And so about a year ago following one of the basic tenets of men in the pursuit of wild life, I started researching and searching for an inexpensive but good quality vehicle. My first choices of a vehicle were either a mid 1990’s 4x4 Toyota Tacoma pickup or 4Runner. It turns out the 4 door pickups are very hard to find so I quickly narrowed the search to 4Runners. Good condition, low mileage, 4x4’s are also a rarity so I just took my time….about 6 months until I found the right one. I looked online in a 100 mile radius and as luck would have it, I found the right one 3 miles from home, neglected sitting in a small car lot on a side road wedged in with many other cars, bumper to bumper, junk yard style under some oak trees. The 4Runner was just right, 4x4, 3.0 V-6, SR5 trim, leather seats, cruise control, auto transmission, Timing belt and water pump replaced at 109k and tow hitch. It had 113k miles by one non-smoking owner and a car fax report verified that it had been maintained….well until it ended up sitting under the trees. After some serious negotiating and a check out by my mechanic, I paid $3k. Exterior is in great shape but the interior had a far amount of wear. Additionally, the tires were dry rotted and it was in need of a tune up and complete fluid change. More on the clean up, modifications later and the repairs saga later!