Time to sell - 1998 4Runner SR5 - Urbandale, IA

[rocket]

Will you be replacing it with another rig?

[TDiddy]

Actually already did - 2004 Sequoia Ltd. I'll have to get some pics up!

[rocket]

I was just browsing TTORA and read this...

These would have been nice things to know, before my buddy drove over 600 miles one way to get it, and then found out then.

Tires are down to the wear bars. Tire carrier is frozen because of the rust, not the body lift. And, you knew about the hood latch because you had something in the cab to deal with it before he showed up too.

When you know soemone is driving from Colorado to Des Moines, Iowa, you make sure you mention EVERYTHING to him before hand.

He also mentioned that the coil buckets were very rusted and he didn't trust them. Might as well mention that too for the next buyer. Oh, and the valve ticking at startup.

Its also not a CA car. It was in Conneticut for 3-4 years before moving to CA. So, it has around 7 years in the salt, not 3.5.

Whats up with that?

[TDiddy]

The guy is looking for excuses. The tires aren't nearly as worn as he says. I wouldn't hesitate to drive from here to Denver and back on them. We discussed the tires many times over the phone, before he got here.

Show me where I claimed it was a CA car. I said I BOUGHT it in CA. HE knew it wasn't a CA car from carfax - before he ever got here.

Hood latch - you're going to not buy a car because of the hood latch? Gimme a break. At least I was up front about it.

I've never noticed a valve tick. Must have miraculously showed up when he started it, and miraculously went away when he left.

Fact is, this 4Runner is just getting broken in. Fools like that don't DESERVE to buy it.

EDIT: This crap really burns me up. Those here that really know me know that I'd never intentionally hide things like this. The hood thing was an honest mistake - I really forgot to mention it - but how minor and petty is that? A periodic squirt of WD-40 takes care of it 75% of the time, and for the other times, I pop the spring back down by hand. Even AFTER he said he was changing his mind, the guy flat out told me that rust wasn't a big concern - although his buddy sure wants to make a big deal out of it now. If you change your mind, fine - no hard feelings, but don't go making up blantant lies to try to wreck a future sale. NONE of these things were mentioned while he was here either. Why wouldn't you want to address it on the spot, if for no other reason than to kindly request some gas money for wasting their time? I stand by my representation of this vehicle, and for some 3rd party voice to try to dispute it is complete BS.

[Big John]

Ok Tom... First off before you bash me I said nothing, neither on TTORA nor here. If you want to take up what Scotty said WITH SCOTTY that would be fine with me.
Here are the facts as I see them.
I talked to Tom the night before I left to get the rig and one of the things we discussed were the tires. Tom told me that "they were fine but probably should be replaced at the end of the year". That was our first real discussion about the tires, not one of many as Tom says. And NEVER did the words pretty worn as stated above EVER come out of Toms mouth.
I asked Tom via e-mail to send me any pics of relavant rust under the vehicle and he sent me the two above pics. I personally would have liked pics of the rusted shocks and coils. Had I had these pics would it have stopped me from buying it? In all honesty, probably not but it would have been nice to be informed. Again, I asked for pics of anything underneath that would be of interest to me as I obviously couldn't see it. I guess this was probably my mistake as I should have asked for pics of every square inch of the underside not just what he wanted to show me.
He did tell me the night before that the spare tire was "frozen" due to the body lift. I can not say whether or not this is true as there is so much rust on the spring and what I think is some sort of keeper that hold it up so I couldn't really tell.
When I got there he told me about the hood latch and said it was "something he had just noticed today" but yet had a drill bit in the car that he said "he used it to make the spring go back".
As far as engine knock, I'm not real sure how he came up with that. I just told him that something didn't sound right but I also said that it could have been the deck plate, a characteristic of the exhaust, or even just me.
In Toms defense, he never claimed it was a CA car, someone else on the board did. But... I personally made him very aware of what I found on carfax such as the first 60k being a fleet vehicle of some kind in the northeast (Connecticut I THINK it was) then spending some time in PA, but you won't see that update in this thread.
This turned into a trust issue for me. And as for me "making excuses", why would I drive 700 miles to make an "excuse" not to buy your rig? Get real! There was no "one" big thing that made my decision. It was several little things that weren't accurately revealed that made me turn away from Tom and his rig. Things that had I been shown or told about probably would not have stopped the sale. I made my decision right or wrong based part on fact and part on a gut feeling. I had also decided on the way home not to say anything on any of the BB's that he has it listed on as I felt that screwing his sale would not benefit me in any way and I had already wasted enough of my time. I did NOT tell anyone to post about this he took it upon himself to do so.
Feel free to dispute anything I've said here Tom. I refuse to get into a pissing match over this. Above is EXACTLY the way it went as I recall it. You are a mod here so I'll be shocked if this reply makes it an hour.
This was unfortunate for both of us at best.
I'm not a "fool" Tom and I'm quite sure you wouldn't say that to my face. Your attitude then and now makes me glad I made the decision I did.
Good luck with your sale Tom. The rig may very well be good for someone, just not for me.

[ScottyC]

The guy is looking for excuses. The tires aren't nearly as worn as he says. I wouldn't hesitate to drive from here to Denver and back on them. We discussed the tires many times over the phone, before he got here.

Show me where I claimed it was a CA car. I said I BOUGHT it in CA. HE knew it wasn't a CA car from carfax - before he ever got here.

Hood latch - you're going to not buy a car because of the hood latch? Gimme a break. At least I was up front about it.

I've never noticed a valve tick. Must have miraculously showed up when he started it, and miraculously went away when he left.

Fact is, this 4Runner is just getting broken in. Fools like that don't DESERVE to buy it.

EDIT: This crap really burns me up. Those here that really know me know that I'd never intentionally hide things like this. The hood thing was an honest mistake - I really forgot to mention it - but how minor and petty is that? A periodic squirt of WD-40 takes care of it 75% of the time, and for the other times, I pop the spring back down by hand. Even AFTER he said he was changing his mind, the guy flat out told me that rust wasn't a big concern - although his buddy sure wants to make a big deal out of it now. If you change your mind, fine - no hard feelings, but don't go making up blantant lies to try to wreck a future sale. NONE of these things were mentioned while he was here either. Why wouldn't you want to address it on the spot, if for no other reason than to kindly request some gas money for wasting their time? I stand by my representation of this vehicle, and for some 3rd party voice to try to dispute it is complete BS.

You can address me here if you want.

I posted my message after seeing you edit your post on TTORA about an hour after John left your place. You added the things that should have been in there to begin with which may have saved he and his wife a 18 hour trip.

When a guy is driving 1400 miles to buy your rig, its important to mention everything at the beginning, not add them when he leaves after not buying it.

I went through a similar situation a few years ago when a guy completely hosed me when I traded a very built Jeep for a Range Rover. The air suspension went out on it the day after he left. Come to find out he had filled it with some of that Green Tire Slime crap because he knew it was leaking. $2200 later I had a vehicle that drove, but had more problems than I could afford to take care of.

Now, if there is some left over frustration from that transaction I apologize to you for it. I just can't believe how you forgot to mention the items in the numerous emails and phone conversions you and John had prior to him leaving to get it.

Its also frustrating for me because I forwarded that ad to John to begin with because it does look like an extremely clean vehicle.

[TDiddy]

John,

Thanks for coming on and stating your point of view. I apologize if I directed my frustration at you, while clearly it is your friend is the pot stirrer here. The tires are worn. Are they down to the wear bars? NO. Would I drifve on them for another few months? Sure. Maybe I have a shorter commute than you or others do.

I appreciate you clarifying the engine knock, or better lack of engine knock. As stated, repeatedly, the hood spring latch was NOT something just discovered - it was something I overlooked.

The carfax is there for your benefit, not mine. Early on, Bob suggested that this may be a CA car, but even then I didn't claim that as fact and suggested any buyers check it out for theselves. You did, and were then able to let me know where exactly this car had been.

Your buddy seems its pretty important to give out every single detail on the history of a vehicle. I'd also say that if someone is planning to drive 700 miles to get a vehicle, the buyer should be damn sure that every question gets asked, and if something isn't addressed, to specifically ask it - not just a "what else do I need to know?" type question.

I'm not just a mod here, I'm an admin, and personally I have no problem letting this post remain. I still stand by my representation of the vehicle despite our unfortunate miscommunications. Good luck with your vehicle search.

[jrallan26]

Tom,

PM sent.

[Bob98SR5]

tom, et al:

my apologies if my CA car comment caused any needless grief. i met Tom in the bay area in CA many moons ago. that is why i assumed it was a CA car all its life.

Tom was one of the guys who helped me put in my suspension. it cost me dinner. since then, i have become good friends with him and have known him to be a very stand up guy. i have full confidence to say this: he would not deliberately and/or fraudulently deceive anyone.

Thanks,
Bob

[TDiddy]

Bob, thanks for your comments!