Is this a good deal? Used car advice

Tiny
CASMIHOK
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 TOYOTA RAV4
  • 2.4L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 128,000 MILES
Hey guys, hope everybody is having a great day.
While dealing with my Highlander's situation I have been in search of another daily driver to get me around.

Long story short: I uploaded a few dozen pictures, including 2 videos of engine noise on the vehicle listed above. I am verbally committed to purchasing it for $4,300 next week. It's considerably lower in price than the rest of the market. Private seller, family owned, maintained with receipts vehicle, genuine nice guy selling it.
What do you think? My biggest concern is the sound the engine is making, I posted two videos on this link. They are also posted here; I added more photos in case it was too much for the post. I included the vehicle information on the ad as well.

I'm located on the East Coast and the market is wild, even rust buckets are expensive. I have narrowed my search to primarily Toyotas under 150k miles for under $8,000 (but the less I spend the better). Countless hours of scrolling, searching, messaging with no responses, sketchy responses, and months of stress - I finally found something I am willing to pull the trigger on.

We shook hands and agreed on $4300.

This guy was an honest and knowledgeable guy, he had receipts from all the maintenance he's done and told me a lot about the repairs he's done on this vehicle. We talked about this engine noise, and he says he doesn't know exactly what it is.
Friday, July 19th, 2024 AT 1:37 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
CASMIHOK
  • MEMBER
  • 203 POSTS
https://imgur.com/a/FQXQTno

"It is in great mechanical condition with some minor exterior blemishes, as expected for a 20-year-old car. The car has 128,547 miles on it. We recently had some maintenance and a tune up done. Parts that were replaced are front are rear brake pads and rotors, front and rear calipers and brake lines, rear parking brake shoes, entire brake fluid flush, rear shocks, 4 spark plugs, 4 coil packs, cooling system flush, engine oil and filter, air filter, cabin filter serpentine belt, all four wheels were freshly powder coated, four brand new tires, new OEM RAV4 floor mats, new wiper blades front and rear, the spare tire cover is a replacement and is light green, matches well to the silver exterior, roof rack has cross braces, ready to install any cargo box or attachments, A/C blows cold, all power works, heated seats, sunroof, rear seats are split 50/50 and each seat is able to slide forward and back as well and recline and collapse for more storage.

All parts that were replaced have less than 100 miles on them. If you have any questions or would like additional pictures, please feel free to ask. Thanks, and happy bidding."
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Friday, July 19th, 2024 AT 1:39 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 46,719 POSTS
Yep, that is a good deal to me, the noise the engine is making does not sound serious. I would remove the belt and then start the engine to see if the noise goes away which will mean the noise is one of the accessories or the belt tensioner. Thanks for the videos and images, it helps. Here is how to remove the belt so you can see where the noise is coming from. Only let the engine run for about 1 minute without the belt. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.
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Saturday, July 20th, 2024 AT 10:29 AM
Tiny
CASMIHOK
  • MEMBER
  • 203 POSTS
Thank you for your time Ken! I greatly appreciate the information
I am going to purchase it tomorrow morning, I will keep you all posted.
Thanks again
Cas
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Sunday, July 21st, 2024 AT 8:03 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 46,719 POSTS
You are welcome, please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.
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Monday, July 22nd, 2024 AT 9:33 AM

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