YACT: Please aid me in buying a used 4runner

[MisterJackson]

1997 Toyota 4runner Limited (Leather, sunroof, wood grain, etc.). 139,000 miles. $8,900.

I want to have my mechanic check her out first. If all goes well I'll put $5k down and finance the rest.

My credit is not so hot at the moment, so any advice to help out there (if that's possible) would be great.




I basically have NO car buying/negotiating skills. ANY and ALL advice is appreciated.

Am I doing this right? Please be gentle, I'm not a car buying virgin, but it still hurts!

Similar

 

[jlee]

Blue Book appears to be just under $10,000, so it looks like a deal to me..

Still offer a little lower, though

 

[MisterJackson]

I think I blew my barganing power by say "I love this truck." out loud.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: MisterJackson
I think I blew my barganing power by say "I love this truck." out loud.

That's always been my problem too.

 

[Qwest]

i have a 97 4runner limited as well....learned how to drive with it back in the day.
awesome ride, still runs brand new.

 

[aplefka]

When you go back just say you saw something else more recently and you're no so in love with it anymore. Make them work. Try to cut the cost down to at least 8300. I'm sure you can. With a $5000 down-payment you should get a decent monthly payment rate. Check out the auto section of howstuffworks.com because they've got a lot of good stuff on financing a car. They also have a really good calculator that helps you figure out some stuff about loans.

One of their tips that I'll pass on (should you choose not to go to the site) is to try financing elsewhere and do it BEFORE buying the car, not after.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

I used to have a '98 and I installed the TRD Supercharger. It was pretty cool.

 

[MisterJackson]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
I used to have a '98 and I installed the TRD Supercharger. It was pretty cool.

Thanks for the advice!

Thanks for the detail aplefka.

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