Preparing for a drive and fly in a 2008 4Runner

Yes, that's right.  A drive and fly.  Our oldest daughter has a 300k mile Honda Pilot that has seen better days.  Given that she lives in Ohio and wants an SUV, I thought it would be better to buy it here in Colorado and deliver it.  The chances of finding a decent older, non-rusty Toyota or Honda in Ohio seem pretty slim.  OTOH, we would pay for the popularity of such a vehicle out here.

As it turns out, I found a very clean, relatively low mileage Toyota 4Runner on a dealer lot in Pueblo with 180k miles.  The photos looked good, it had a clean Carfax, and it drove great.  So I bought it last Monday and brought it home to clean up.  It definitely needs a new driver side mirror, but I'm astounded at the condition.  Here are some photos.

I went over it this weekend after having a shop check it over.  The only thing they found was dirty power steering fluid.  I had them replace that and do a spill and fill on the auto trans.  Today I checked the diffs and transfer case, and the fluid there is brand new.

The only other things to do are largely cosmetic.  I'm not a big fan of fake chrome, so I'm pulling the chrome trim and painting it satin black.  Also, a pin stripe was removed sometime before purchase, taking with it a strip of clear coat.  This needs to be touched up, and I'm thinking I'll cover that with a similarly sized pin stripe in a slightly darker gold.  There are also a few rock chips in the paint and windshield, this being a lifetime Colorado vehicle.

Compared to the FJ I bought several years ago of similar mileage, this thing is really nice.  Absolutely no rusted fasteners and very few dings.

I'm planning on driving it to Ohio in two 9 hour drives.  Assuming it survives, I'll visit for a couple of days and fly back.  What could possibly go wrong?

The back hatch area is really clean - no deep scratches or odd stains.  Congratulations 

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

The front is in similar shape.

One interesting thing from the shop inspection.  They claim the struts/shocks are original.  They are Bilsteins, so I guess that's possible.  But no leaks and very little bounce.  I'd guess they'll need replacement in a next few years.