That is the same thing I kept running into, particularly with dealers--used ones ain't cheap. Interest rates are. The dealer prices on used 4Runners varied a lot--from reasonable to obscene.
I shopped for a couple years and picked up a 2012 Trail from an individual to replace my 2006. Trails come with KDSS as a feature and it removes the top heavy handling from the equation.
Salt exposure is a problem here in Michigan and in other salting states. Michigan not only salts the roads in the winter but dumps a lot of salt brine out of old oil wells on gravel roads in the summer to keep the dust down. Go figure...a water state.
It is tough on car bodies, so keep it in mind where your used Yota came from.
