Why is the seller trying to sell it? That’s the question I’d be asking.
He may be fully aware of this engine noise/issue, and trying to unload it while it’s still running.
Agree 100% with others, stay away from this one.
Still 3500 is pretty cheap if you can get five or ten thousand miles out of it. If it is the rattle and not a rod knock, clean the oil passages, change the valve gasket and o rings and see what happens.
I’d take a chance on this thing for $3500. If it lasts for even a year, you’ve covered your costs. Odds are that this is timing chain noise, not connecting rod noise, and the engine will last way longer than a year, even if no repair attempt is made. It may be possible to quiet the noise with high-mileage oil, or other additives such as Restore.
I have replaced at least 100 noisy camshaft gears. I hear these knock during start-up perhaps once each month on 2006- 2010 Lexus 2GR and 4GR engines, the noise very rarely causes a problem.
Thanks for the input all. Decided against it. Seemed a gamble—could’ve been a great deal, could’ve ended up with an unreliable vehicle, and I’m really after reliability right now.
It is a 14 year old vehicle with or without the noise, reliability can’t be predicted based on an annoying noise.
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Maybe not, a good mechanic can be trusted though, which is what this came down to!
Well, who knows? Still can’t see a dealer offering $3750 for a car with a shot engine. Even at 5000 mile life though, three cents a mile is pretty good.
It depends on what the dealer sold they guy that traded the RAV-4. If there was enough of a markup on the new vehicle, they the dealer may have still made money on the transaction. There certainly aren’t many vehicles that would work on, but if the buyer upgraded high enough it would work. It might also have been accepted in trade during the high markup Covid times.