Hi Scotty, details....2002 fwd manual RAV4 with a 195000 miles on it from a private party. This car had a new transmission installed at 150k, from what I have gathered from your videos this shouldn't have been the case! Do I need to be concerned that this car hasn't been treated well, it is 5 hours away and I don't want to waist my time if this is out of the ordinary?
problem is you got one of the few years RAV4s that had transmission problems they made crappers for that particular year you got unlucky
Thankfully I have not purchased anything yet, what years should I avoid in the RAV, Highlander and the 4 Runner? I am in an area where a 2 wheel drive and a manual are somewhat of a unicorn car! What are your thoughts on the Ford Escapes, obviously older with the 3 liter v-6 (Not an eco-boost fan)?
For the RAV4 see here for years to avoid under our Toyota/Honda Common Problems sticky:
Also see here:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Toyota/RAV4/
Those years had horrible automatic transmissions, other Toyotas from that time also had weak manual transmissions but not sure of the RAV4.
You can find our thoughts on the Ford Escape, which I'm telling you right now isn't worth your time or money, here:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/?wpfs=Escape
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/help-2009-ford-escape-xlt
http://carcomplaints.com/ford/escape/
