As you may have noticed, I decided to sell my Gen 1. It was a great truck, but I wanted something a little more comfortable for long road trips and more power for driving up the mountains to go skiing. Originally I had my sights set on a Gen 2.5, but the little voice in the back of my head just kept on bringing up the Gen 3. The more and more I thought about it, the more the Gen 3 started to appeal to me..So now I have my sights set on a 2003+ limited, preferably in black.
Anyways, I ended up selling my Gen 1 for $4,000. Immediately afterwards I got on my phone and got on craigslist. Lo and behold, there's a 2003 Gen 3, black, 20th ae for sale just an hours drive away! Asking $3,500. Messaged the guy, got to talking, and things weren't looking too good. The guy wouldn't be available to meet until the following day (when I would be busy), and he also had 2 more people coming the morning of said day. Well, I couldn't just let this Montero slip through my fingers, so I messaged back and said "yo, I've got $3,500 cash in hand and I'll come buy it right now if you can meet tonight as long as what you've told me matches what I see in person." Fast forward a couple hours and I'm now the owner of a Gen 3!
So here's the deets: Basically a 2 owner truck (guy I bought it from bought it from his neighbor January of this year and didn't do much). 167k miles, timing belt/water pump done at 100k. New radiator, hoses, thermostat done late Jan. Runs/drives great.
Registered until Feb 2020 and already passed CA smog. Problems: valve covers leak a little oil. No actual records of service (other than oil change). Sunroof works but falls off its track. Driver seat torn. A couple switches don't work. Vibrates on the freeway above 80mph. Brakes work, but feel a little off. Other than that, this is a solid truck!
Impressions: The Gen 3 is huuuuugely different than my Gen 1, but it still retains the tank-like feel. It's much more modern for sure, yet it still feels familiar. In comparison to my Gen 1, the Gen 3 feels like a sports car. Power is fantastic, I can fly around corners, suspension is more supple, and the interior is much much nicer.
Plans: This won't be some crazy build, just some subtle mods to enhance the looks and performance of the truck. Lift, wheels and tires, steel bumper, skids, ditch the aftermarket A/V and replace with modern headunit, catch up all the maintenance, clean up/fix the minor interior bits, and enjoy! Can't wait to get this off road!
The extra $500 in my pocket was just itching to be spent, so I went out and got some new (to me) wheels and tires! Toyota 4runner SR5 wheels and Falken Wildpeak AT3W in 265/70/r17. Going to paint the wheels black and get them mounted. I don't trust the wheels currently on the truck.
I also decided to ditch the factory spare tire cover as it was cracked and the paint was peeling and just looked rough.
