Obviously, I would have a mechanic look it over before making an offer. That way he can put it on a lift and get under the vehicle.

Has 157k miles on it. Guy is asking $9,000. The little bit of research I've done so far is telling me that $9,000 is on the higher side, but I could be wrong. It's located at the front of his mechanic's shop. Mechanic came out and showed the car to me. I did not start it or drive it as I want to take it one step at a time. This is only a few miles away from my house so it's not out of the way. I notice it's been there for a couple of months, he had a buyer lined up but the guy backed out. Mechanic told me the seller turned down $7,800 but I don't know if he's telling me that to help his buddy out.

As you can see from the pictures, it looks clean. He said he's the second owner.

What should I look out for? Far as I can tell, the tires would need to be replaced. Not immediately but something that would need to be done and these tires are in the $200/mounted/balanced neighborhood for each tire.

If I get serious about this, I was going to take it to a mechanic and get a list of things printed out that it would need and then offer cash to the guy. As it stands right now, if the vehicle were to check out fine, I was thinking about offering $7,500 or so. Does that sound fair/reasonable?

Opinions from the membership, please.

From what I understand the Sequoia is a land cruiser built on a car chassis. But I could be wrong.
My landcruiser is pushing 300k with just standard maintenance. I fully expect to get at least another 100k before anything major

Also, I believe this model has a timing belt, not chain.

How does that factor in versus having a timing chain? Anything specific to ask about that?

quote:

Originally posted by Crockett040:
From what I understand the Sequoia is a land cruiser built on a car chassis. But I could be wrong.
My landcruiser is pushing 300k with just standard maintenance. I fully expect to get at least another 100k before anything major

They use the same chassis as the Tundra, which was smaller then (about what Tacoma is now) and had the 4.7 also

Looks nice.

Consider dropping the spare and inspecting the tire, retainer plate and cable.

quote:

From what I understand the Sequoia is a land cruiser built on a car chassis.

It's based on the first generation Tundra.

The 4.7 engine has a timing belt. If maintenance records are available, check to see if it has been done. Replacement is recommended every 90,000 miles. Other than that it is pretty much bulletproof.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

I think RobLew has a Sequoia of this vintage.
I'd check on the timing belt as suggested by others, outside of that, it should be a very good car.

I'd be concerned about why it does not start. Does it just require a jump, new battery or the dreaded "or..."?

That's a clean one, and it is a timing belt engine. If the mechanic can verify the belt and water pump have been changed, you could probably get another 150k out of it. If not, that's gonna cost the better part of a $1000 bill, unless you can do it.

The 4.7l engine is a solid one. I have an 07 4Runner with the same motor. Currently have 176k on it with no issues. Timing belt and required parts were replaced by my mechanic at like 110k. I think it ran like $1200

Looks mighty clean.
My parents had an '05 4Runner Limited 4WD with the 4.7 V8, truck ran great & had a ton of torque.
They got rid of it when the trans started slipping, can't recall nay issues with the engine.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
I'd be concerned about why it does not start. Does it just require a jump, new battery or the dreaded "or..."?

It starts, I just didn't ask for a start or drive. He just drove it yesterday.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
I'd be concerned about why it does not start. Does it just require a jump, new battery or the dreaded "or..."?

Why do you say "it does not start?"

Edmond said that he did not start it, he did not say that "it does not start."

We (my wife's daily driver) had an 07 just about identical.
Very comfortable ride and a great size.
We traded it with a little over 100,000 on it for a 2015 Sequoia that we still have.

The only problem we had with our 07 was a 4WD actuator. It was our (I'll blame it on both but really her) fault that we never cycled it in and out of 4WD like we should have. Easy fix though.

Between that 07, my 2013 Tundra and her 2015 Sequoia that one actuator is the only problem we have had with any of them. We are fans of the platform.

I'm not trying to be snobby; I run my cars until they give up the ghost. My mental target is 300,000 miles.

I gave away a 1998 Honda Accord just 2 years years ago that I bought new. I still have a 2007 Lexus GS350 that I bought new and is still clean.

But having said that, by the time they hit 10 years old, unless you plan on doing all the repair work, you're fixing to pay to replace parts on an ongoing annual basis that will most likely exceed 10% of the value.

The car looks very clean but from a financial point of view, I don't think buying a 10 year old car makes economic sense.

Spoke to a mechanic a few miles from where the Sequoia is located. This mechanic is my neighbors mechanic she has used for over 15 years.

He does pre-purchase inspections. Takes him 2-2.5 hours and he charges $75. He puts it up on the lift to check for body damage, if it's been repainted, scans for codes, road test, etc.

He said that timing belt/water pump/tensioner replacement for this is $1,300. He said if the owner does not have service records proving it was done, assume it was not done. He said some people have the philosophy of "if it ain't broke, keep driving it." Sounds reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I'm not trying to be snobby; I run my cars until they give up the ghost. My mental target is 300,000 miles.

I gave away a 1998 Honda Accord just 2 years years ago that I bought new. I still have a 2007 Lexus GS350 that I bought new and is still clean.

But having said that, by the time they hit 10 years old, unless you plan on doing all the repair work, you're fixing to pay to replace parts on an ongoing annual basis that will most likely exceed 10% of the value.

The car looks very clean but from a financial point of view, I don't think buying a 10 year old car makes economic sense.

Rey,

That doesn't sound snobby at all.

I can do my own work but for me, the question is really if I want to deal with a water pump/timing belt/tensioner. Mechanic said it would take him a day to do. That means it would take the entire weekend for me.

I still drive my 2003 Honda Civic with 173k on it.

But what you say makes sense. And being a truck, things tend to be costlier than they would with a car.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I'm not trying to be snobby; I run my cars until they give up the ghost. My mental target is 300,000 miles.

I gave away a 1998 Honda Accord just 2 years years ago that I bought new. I still have a 2007 Lexus GS350 that I bought new and is still clean.

But having said that, by the time they hit 10 years old, unless you plan on doing all the repair work, you're fixing to pay to replace parts on an ongoing annual basis that will most likely exceed 10% of the value.

The car looks very clean but from a financial point of view, I don't think buying a 10 year old car makes economic sense.

I would agree with that if we were talking about American cars. With Toyota? Nope.

Very clean looking Sequoia. As others have mentioned regarding the timing belt being replaced is one of the questions I'd ask. I'd also check to see if it was submerged during last years hurricanes.

When a new one costs $60-70k I think buying a clean, well kept 10 year old one is not unreasonable. Especially if you aren’t one who has to have all the latest geegaws vehicles come equipped with nowadays.

Making payments on a new vehicle that’s rapidly depreciating makes less sense to me.