DON'T BUY a CAR HERE without an expert detailed PRE-SALE INSPECTION. Sorry I write such lengthy DETAILED reviews. I'm NOT a regular auto consumer. (Read my scathing Review of Cary Volvo, Cary BC) My USMC retired (Okinawa 1945 WWII) father was a mechanic, car restorer~collector, and private pre-owned dealer. My brother is a medium sized Ford dealer, he started in the 1970's as a community college trained technician (and apprenticed by my father) My first 'real job' was selling Chevy's in Lexington KY, a tough way to learn sales but I had a great mentor, Bob Terry, and successfully learned to help customers find the right car without resorting to tacky, unprofessional, rude, manipulative dishonest behavior. Most reputable dealers won't tolerate those 'old school' tactics now. Due to ethical sales~client relations skills, I was hired by a top Wall St firm. '70s 80's
OMG get to the point ! My ability at age 67 to evaluate car salesman and car dealers is based upon A LOT of experience on BOTH sides of the transaction. That's why I can recommend wholeheartedly MR BRIAN PIPPIN, USMC as an excellent professional. Brian is positive, high-energy, creative, and actually genuinely friendly, cordial, and fun car salesman ! I HIGHLY recommend Brian, he gets FIVE STARS from me and I look forward to dealing with him soon on another vehicle for myself.
My 22 yo son shopped at Silver State Imports recently after seeing several older affordable Toyota 4Runners on their website and began focusing on a pretty nice looking '07 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4WD grey/grey leather with high mileage of 214,647. Age and mileage a concern but he also scheduled a PRE-SALE INSPECTION by one of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hills BEST independent Toyota~Lexus~Prius specialists, Lynn Tromba, owner of Affordable Car Care on Capital Blvd. He had done extensive online research, his twin brother has had AMAZING reliability and impressive snow performance in Boone NC with same year and exact model 4Runner bought with 142,000 miles, now 225,000 miles, still going strong ! My son enthusiastically examined every pic, shared with family members, and arranged his down payment and SECU financing, surprisingly SECU had NO PROBLEM with the high mileage based upon
Toyota longevity and strong resale value, even offered 4% financing which surprised me.
A few minor cosmetic issues like cloudy headlamp lenses (common yellowing) and a tiny crack in R/S mirror cover weren't a concern for a $9995 car. Besides nice 11-yr old 4th Generation 4Runner Limiteds are becoming harder to find. People just keep driving them practically forever it seems !
A 2-hour expert inspection revealed EXTREME neglect by previous owners, the only thing ever done was oil changes and brakes according to CARFAX. Badly seized brake caliper, wheel bearings, cracked exhaust manifold, leaking A/C evaporator (requires removing entire dashboard) bad shocks (OE) missing bolts under the car, loose skid plate, universal joints had no lubricant, etc etc
The only key was the valet key. You can't reprogram a new key or unlock the rear hatch or glovebox with the valet key !
Total Repairs $3,301 ! ! !
Admittedly, USED SUV with lots of miles, VERY affordable price.
Time Out: 'If it seems too good to be true it probably is'
Time Out 2: this freaking 4Runner, totally neglected by previous owners, needing costly repairs nearly 1/3 asking price, still had strong V-6, drove reasonably well w/ few mysterious noises, and was still mostly solid with decent leather interior, body, and paint !
We didn't buy it of course (smarter to just but it was a tedious time consuming VALUABLE lesson for my son. It took his only day off but we spent some good quality Father~Son time, which unfortunately is rarer than I would like.
Thanks Lynn Tromba @ Affordable Car Care in Youngsville NC on Capital Blvd for saving my son from a nightmare car for a mere $76.14. Lynn and his Top Technician spent 2-hours inspecting and driving this Toyota 4Runner up and down Capital Blvd. We just went down to Waffle House and had a leisurely lunch.
Brian Pippin was gracious upon our canceling the transaction, kindly returned our $200 deposit and wished us well. We talked the next day and remain friends and ex-military buds.
Note to Owner Jimbo: Now that you have detailed documentation (which I paid $76.24 to get on your vehicle and gave you a copy) from a Toyota Master Technician that your 'Rough Black Book' auction car is in an UNSAFE condition, (seized brake calipers) if a buyer prospect were to have an accident due to brakes in disrepair, THATS ON YOU DUDE ! If a wheel bearing fails or a driveshaft snaps, stranding your customer, THAT'S ON YOU DUDE !
I will be reporting you to NC Attorney General's office, NC DMV for your sloppy
fraudulent NC Inspection (Your guy passed a car with a brake light out, dummy) Better Business Bureau, CL, and anybody else I ca read more