A seasoned mechanic wants to warn you about SUVs you should never buy. While the list has typical options like Land Rover SUVs, he added one Toyota SUV that’s pretty surprising. People often rave about it for being the king of reliability. 

A mechanic warns people to never buy the Toyota 4Runner 

Mike Winter, the long-time owner of MDP Diesel & Auto Repair in Jackson, Michigan, provided a list of 11 SUVs that you should never buy. 

Most of the options on the list, like the Land Rover models, make sense to me. They’re unreliable, expensive to repair, and it’s difficult to get parts for them. 

However, Mike added the Toyota 4Runner to the list, which caught me off guard. This Toyota SUV has a reputation for being insanely reliable and lasting forever. Plus, it has a great resale value. 

Mike shared that 4Runner issues come from its value and wasting what the SUV is designed to do. It’s built to go off-roading, so you are paying for features that most people will never use. 

He recommends buying a different SUV that’s meant to stay on the highway. Other options are more comfortable and affordable. 

But Mike also shared that the 4Runner is a great vehicle inside and out. It’s a purchase that you won’t be disappointed with. 

It’s true, that the 2024 Toyota 4Runner is expensive. It has an MSRP of $40,705. The Ford Explorer is a comparable rival and it starts at $36,860. So, the 4Runner costs about $4,000 more but definitely provides more peace of mind. 

J.D.Power gave the 2024 4Runner a reliability score of 86 out of 100, which is great. Scores between 70 and 80 are average while anything between 81 and 90 is above average. 

With regular care and maintenance, this Toyota SUV can easily surpass 300,000 miles. Some examples even reach 500,000 to 600,000 miles. 

Also, the other vehicles on Mike’s never buy list include the Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, Volkswagen Taos, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Ecosport, Chevrolet Tahoe, and the Range Rover Evoque.