Green was such a popular vehicle in the 1990s (not to mention the 1970s), especially for SUVs, it seems like. Ford had its Explorer, which was taking over the market at that time, and it seemed like every other one was some sort of similar dark green color. This 1998 Toyota 4Runner Limited is Evergreen and can be found listed here on eBay in White Marsh, Maryland. There is no reserve, and the current bid price is $6,300.
A tough new design on a tough new chassis, the third-generation 4Runner (1995 for the 1996 model year through 2002) kept its off-road prowess intact, unlike a lot of its competitors who were going all out on the new trend of “soft-road” SUVs for city dwellers who just wanted the rugged look and liked to sit up high, but rarely if ever used them off of paved roads. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods parking lots were overflowing with this new era of SUVs, and they still are today.
This 4Runner looks nice overall, at least up top. The seller has included a few underside photos, which we always appreciate, and it appears to have been coated by an undercoating material and appears somewhat rugged. Toyotas were known for having frame rust issues, and some of the seller’s feedback ratings mention that, but hopefully that isn’t the case here. They have uploaded dozens of great photos, please check out the listing to see all of them.
The Limited trim level adds a lot of luxury to this 4Runner, with nice leather seats, faux woodgrain, and more. The seats show some wear in front leather, but the back seat looks like new, as does the cavernous rear cargo area. The four-spoke steering wheel was new for 1998 along with some reconfiguring of switch control panels for better ergonomics.
The clean engine is Toyota’s 5VZ-FE, a 3.4-liter DOHC V6 with 183 horsepower and 217 lb-ft of torque when new for the 4Runner. Backed by a four-speed automatic and transfer case sending power to all four wheels as needed, this one is said to have just over 62,000 miles and is reportedly a one-owner vehicle. Any thoughts on this 4Runner?
“Any thoughts on this 4Runner?”
I can’t believe it’s still on the market.
What does that market know that I don’t? If it looks too good to be true, it is?
This one looks very clean. Scotty, I know what you mean about the dark green SUV craze. It’s true. We had a dark green ’90 Isuzu Trooper that I absolutely loved and miss to this day.
This one looks terrific. Must’ve been garage kept. And definitely very well taken care of.
Better change that timing belt, be a shame to bend them valves..
Non interference engine, will not bend anything at all, it’ll just leave you needing a tow truck…
I put 165000 miles on a 2000 limited. I replaced the timing belt at 150000. Other then normal maintenance nothing ever needed replaced or repaired!
The clear coat did peal, but that was because it was in Arizona and Colorado and never garaged.
The 4Runner was excellent off-road and with a 3″ lift would go almost anywhere. The 16 mpg average was the only reason I sold it. The friend I sold it to now has 230000 miles on it now with no major problems .
If it’s as advertised $7000 is a steal and twice that would still be a good deal.
230k miles is very nice. I have a 2000 Runner with 430k miles but I have a friend who is a medical courier out of Colorado and his Runner is over 1 million miles and still going… wish I could start collecting these 3rd gen Runners now to sell off in a few years, you know for retirement money.
Scotty – did you read the eBay listing and the CarFax which states the odometer is not the actual mileage, and note the reported past damage? This car nay not be a bargain at all.
ChingaTrailer, I must have missed the mileage glitch. I just looked again, and it gets a green light in all categories. Where did you see that info? It shows no title issues, no accidents, no mileage issues, etc. Oh wait, CarFax! I was looking at the eBay/Experian report! The CarFax mileage shows 60,000 at the last reading, and an accident in 2023?
This is a nice looking vehicle from the exterior. I learned a long time ago not to buy cars from this area of the country. Clearly from the pictures there’s plenty of rust underneath the undercoating.
Why did Toyota use such corrosion prone metal on the frame of these. This one looks scary on the one side. And where the ball-joint attaches to the A arm looks concerning to me. The truck is such a beautiful ride otherwise.
One of the best Toyotas ever. If the mileage is legit, this is a bargain. New Toyotas cant hold a candle to the quality of this one. I detail3d a 99 for a loyal customer for many years until he moved. His 4Runner had 340,000 miles and ran perfectly. He owned a repair shop and was anal about maintenance. One day, at about 275,000 miles he called rhe Toyota dealer to see if an OEM radiator was still available just to have it on rhe shelf.
I’ve owned three of these over the years. Each one bought new. Never a problem with any of them. I mean ZERO problems. Great vehicles.
Auction update: this one sold for $12,007!