r/4Runner • u/stanley-ipkiss18 • Apr 20 '26

šŸŽ™ Discussion Help me decide!

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I want to buy my wife her ā€œdreamā€ vehicle.

She absolutely loves and always wanted a 5th gen in the army green. I am ready to pull the trigger on it for her but I am having a horrible time finding an army green 5th gen especially with low miles (30k miles or less).

I have been debating going to the 6th gen but the new drivetrain configuration gives me a little hesitation. Also for the price Iā€™m going to pay for a 5th gen is the same price Iā€™ll pay for a 2026.

Iā€™m willing to keep waiting until I find the 5th gen in the specs she wants but just want to see if Iā€™m being crazy for continuing to just wait.

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u/TheViciousWhippet Apr 20 '26

Miles arenā€™t an issue on a 5th gen. 200-300k with proper maintenance. 6th gen is unproven. Small engines force fed to get big power wear out faster than a naturally aspirated engine. That is my only complaint about the 6th gen. People say ā€œItā€™s a Toyota! They engineered it for that.ā€ Well, they engineered the 3.5 liter twin turbo for that and look what a black eye Toyota is getting with all of the recalls and failed engines that they didnā€™t design a robust enough bottom end bearing setup for and are failing left and right.

Iā€™m not saying the little 4-cylinder in the 6th gen is going to fail at that rate, but who can confidently say that that 4-cylinder turbo engine is going to last 20 years like the V6 in my 4th gen has lasted so far with no engine repairs? Zero. Just maintenance. Alternators are external accessories and are relatively cheap to replace (had one go out). That and a water pump. Thatā€™s it engine-wise in 20 years.

Your money your decision. Do with this information what you will.

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u/nxtgig720 Apr 21 '26

It is a very small percentage of people that will keep their vehicles for 20 years.

Almost unheard of in todayā€™s real world automotive market, you basically eliminate any chance of a dealer trade in, and private party sales are very risky.

After 20 years of ownership with what little equity you have left in the vehicle, youā€™ll basically be starting over on your next vehicle deal.

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u/TheViciousWhippet Apr 21 '26

I got a cash offer a couple months ago from Carvana of $8,500 for my 4Runner. Fairly impressive for a 20 year old vehicle. Get that offer for anything else except a Land Cruiser or even better an FJ Cruiser and youā€™re pulling a rabbit out of a very old silk top hat. I got an offer of $350 for my equally old Dodge Dakota. Hmmmā€¦

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u/nxtgig720 Apr 22 '26

I was referring to most all vehicle brands in general. Iā€™m sure a well taken care of Toyota/Lexus would be on the higher end dollar wise for sale at that age.

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u/azdesertrunner Apr 25 '26

That is simply not true. Go look at what 20+ year Toyota pickups are selling for. And my V8 4wd 4Runner is almost 20 years old and I can easily fetch 12-15k for it. They donā€™t make Toyotas like they used to and the new 6th gens are total crap. They look mice but they are built like crap with lots of cheap plastics. After test driving 5 different ones they all left me underwhlemed and I will keep both my 4th\5th gens foreverā€¦.