Car experts needed - I am buying tonight and need some advice

rent a commercial ozone generator [O3]. i bought one years ago for $500. gets rid of any smell. i spilled RAW milk in the trunk of my car, smell something awful.

Well I went with the 4 cylinder 4 Runner. Picked it up for 4 and it drives really well. Haven't seen a car that clean looking for it's age in a long time and it had that clean Toyota AC smell that took me right back to my childhood. I probably could have done better but I was loosing money not being at work and with no ability to rent a car because I only have a debt card (threw out my amex years ago) ubering around looking for the perfect deal was getting costly.

I appreciate all the advice guys. There was very little love for the Jeep or Ford on this thread and to be honest I'm glad I didn't get the Chevy after driving the 4 Runner. It'll be easy to resell and I think it's gonna go strong for a while.

not gonna find a toyota 4x4 for $4000. maybe if it's rolled, rotted, or broken

Perfectly good running examples of 3rd Gen 4x4 4Runners can be had in my neck of the woods for under $4000 and I'm not in the rust belt. We're taking about 20 year old 4Runners here.

Now move up to 4th or 5th Gen then yeah not much in that price range but truth be told 3rd Gen 4runners are the best. Oddly enough 1st Gens go for a small fortune because of the rarity.

And of course 2nd Gen 4x4's can be bought all day long for under $4000 but that 3VZ engine is let's just say not one of Toyotas finest unlike the bullet-proof 5VZ that replaced it in the 3rd Gens.

Now 4X4 Tacomas, that's another story. Good luck finding that for $4000 in good condition.

in midwest, most are rotted and overpriced.

I know prices vary depending on location. I'm in the South where vehicles don't rust so there's still plenty of these on the road here so the prices aren't ridiculous. I do see some people asking way too much from time to time but they're on Craigslists pretty regularly at a reasonable price.

Now when I go back to the North East US every year I hardly see and old 4Runners. They're notorious for frame rot where they salt the roads so I guess not many left up North?

Buying a second hand car in a hurry is a pain in the rear end. I am faced with choosing one of these three and would love some feedback from the GLP motor heads.

1st option: 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee: 4.0 L 6 cylinder, clean title, one owner, 100,000 miles, great condition in and out - $4000

2nd option: 2006 Chevy Trailblazer: V6 4.2L, clean title and in and out as well, 140,000 miles, tow hitch and roof rack - $3200

3rd option: 2002 Ford Explorer: 6 cylinder, 4wd, 190,000 miles, real clean - $2,200

All seem to drive well and passed my initial inspection. Gotta make a decision by tonight so I can get back to work. If you had 4 grand and had to buy today which would you choose?

no good ones, unless it was originally from west or south. then it overpriced

There is no good choice on this list.

The most reliable one out there is a Dodge Journey.

Go with the Explorer. My Chevy tahoe 2004 had major electrical problems. The AC could not be repaired due to The electrical. Multiple attempts paying shops too. Also tail lights went out. My buddy had similar issues in his Hummer H3. They make Good transmission though.

My 2004 Ford F150 with 150k miles is running strong. All electrical and AC working great. Avoid later years with Ecoboost Turbos though.

Jeep got more reliable after Fiat bought the company like in 2010. Before that it's not very reliable.