Buying a Used Vehicle: Are some model types too risky?

Wow!!! Does he drag race or auto cross it, or just a fun toy to mess around with?

 

I've owned 5 4runners, '94, '00, '05, '13,' 17. Here's my take:

'94 -- 3.0 was gutless, and the body developed incurable cancer.

'00 -- Better, but the 3.4 V6 was still kind of underpowered.

'05 -- Pros: Peppy 4.0 V6, 1st year of the 5-speed auto (good for 3-4 better MPG) Cons: can't shut off the traction control, rear diff went out at 278k, even with proper maintenance.

'13 The 4.0 felt busier and less powerful than in the 'o5, squishy brakes, a genuine PITA to change the oil, change to a less sophisticated transfer case, TC can be turned off

'17 Fixed the squishy brakes, otherwise pretty similar to the '13

My pick out of all of them was the '05

As others have said, the simultaneous good and bad thing about Toyotas is that they really hold their value. I paid a whopping $4k more for the brand '13 that the dealership wanted for an out of warranty '10.

 

And if you drive two different vehicles it gets even more interesting.