The new ride

jflail2

I guess the whole house situation has me looking at life differently. I've been debating on trading in my S4 since I started looking at houses...

Finally pulled the trigger this last weekend and traded it in on a new 4runner. I am really enjoying the 4runner, but will dearly miss the S4. I suppose the nice thing is, once this is paid off, I'll have a Toyota in the drive way for the next 15 years, and then can buy whatever toy I want, and not have to worry about reliability...

There she blows:

GFOviedo

Well, Toyotas are not what they used to be. I've had several co-workers having electrical issues with their brand new Camry and Tundra truck. That was the main reason why they went with Toyota because they are reliable.

However, I do agree that the Japanese cars have always been more reliable than American cars, which the exception of trucks. My 2000 Chevy Silverado has been solid.

I must say that 4runner looks very nice. Congrats.

EndersShadow

Man, new house, new car, new headphone amp..... your living it up man!

B Run

GFOviedo wrote: »

Well, Toyotas are not what they used to be. I've had several co-workers having electrical issues with their brand new Camry and Tundra truck. That was the main reason why they went with Toyota because they are reliable.

I've had a Tundra since 07' and haven't done anything but change the oil it's been extremely reliable. My dad has the same year with 175,000 miles on it still running strong, i'd never owned one before but i'm impressed. I've been thinking about trading my Tundra in for a 4runner, they look really nice. Congrats JFlail on the new ride, enjoy!

GFOviedo

I should of mention, that they are not what they use to be to my co-workers. I know many people who own Toyotas and they have been solid.

I didn't mean anything buy it, just saying that my co-workers apparently got some that were made on Friday or Monday lol. Congrats again on all your hard work.

I'm getting married in Sept., and we are hoping to be able to buy our first home this year as well!

tonyb

I have had Toyota's/Lexus or Honda's for the better part of the last 30 years. Never has any of them left me stranded. Thing that I have observed over the years regardless of make and model is that people just want to put the key in and go. Hardly anyone does the required maintenance anymore and that is the problem with any car, American or foreign. The only thing I can say honestly about foreign cars is that they age better, no squeaks or annoying rattles.

GFOviedo

tonyb wrote: »

I have had Toyota's/Lexus or Honda's for the better part of the last 30 years. Never has any of them left me stranded. Thing that I have observed over the years regardless of make and model is that people just want to put the key in and go. Hardly anyone does the required maintenance anymore and that is the problem with any car, American or foreign. The only thing I can say honestly about foreign cars is that they age better, no squeaks or annoying rattles.

I agree with you. No one wants to do any maintenance on their vehicles, and they act surprise when they brake down.

jflail2

EndersShadow wrote: »

Man, new house, new car, new headphone amp..... your living it up man!

Haha, this actually shaves $150 or so a month off my payment, and will be a "drive it till it dies" keeper. But yes, it's been a fun couple of weeks

Yea, my dad actually has a Tacoma and a Camry, and they've both been outstanding in regards to reliability. He's an aircraft mechanic and has been so for about 45 years, so the importance of routine maintenance has been pounded into my head. But I agree Tony. I know people at work that don't know how to put oil in their car......

Always nice to hear stories like that B Run. A buddy of mine packed up an older Toyota truck in the mid-90's, and drove from NC to Alaska. The truck made it there, and through a couple of winters, which was rather impressive to me.

And no sweat on the intel GFO. Anything mechanical will eventually break down, so it's nice to hear what I might need to keep an eye on.

nguyendot

I sadly am following the same path. Although a homeowner since 2006/2007, I have always had some sort of sports sedan. We may end up trading one or both 5 series BMWs for more realistic SUVs. We have a big house but can never bring anything home as the trunks are too small. Also, it's hard loading the baby up in the back seat. It fits but it's just difficult.

Msabot1

Nice truck dude!! I'm still running around in my ole Trailblazer!

jflail2

nguyendot wrote: »

I sadly am following the same path. Although a homeowner since 2006/2007, I have always had some sort of sports sedan. We may end up trading one or both 5 series BMWs for more realistic SUVs. We have a big house but can never bring anything home as the trunks are too small. Also, it's hard loading the baby up in the back seat. It fits but it's just difficult.

I hear ya man. I got done with all the paperwork, and they were all "congrats, how awesome". And I was all...."I am feeling mixed emotions right about now......"

But I'm happy with the decision. I need so much crap from Lowes over the next few weeks, it'll make the trade worthwhile 10x over.

Can you keep one of them and have a fun weekend ride? Be a nice escape after a long day; go have a relaxing ride in the 5 series...

Toolfan66

I have 218,000 miles on my Lexus, and it's still going strong, just did the 100,000 miles maintenance, new pulleys, new timing belt, new water pump, all other belts, and alternator. A couple of months ago I put on new tires, and brakes.

I'm ready to roll over another 100,000 miles..

boston1450

Nice ride. Looks comfy too. Enjoy

nguyendot

jflail2 wrote: »

I hear ya man. I got done with all the paperwork, and they were all "congrats, how awesome". And I was all...."I am feeling mixed emotions right about now......"

But I'm happy with the decision. I need so much crap from Lowes over the next few weeks, it'll make the trade worthwhile 10x over.

Can you keep one of them and have a fun weekend ride? Be a nice escape after a long day; go have a relaxing ride in the 5 series...

It just depends honestly. Right now in the household we have 08 550i and 528i and an 11 335i couple (brother lives with us).

We are looking to trade the 528 in for an suv and my 550i will be up in the air after that.

jflail2

nguyendot wrote: »

It just depends honestly. Right now in the household we have 08 550i and 528i and an 11 335i couple (brother lives with us).

We are looking to trade the 528 in for an suv and my 550i will be up in the air after that.

Yea, I'd say keep the 550, but I also know how life can get in the way of fun sometimes (and in a good way in my case anyway.)

Good luck man, maybe getting the wife a giant SUV will help delay the sale for a while.

And there are some fun SUV's out there. I obviously liked the 4runner the most, but you can also get a very luxurious setup from Lexus for example.

nguyendot

Yeah I love my 550i, lots of power and the e60 style is my favorite. I hope if we get a big enough suv that fitting the baby seat in it will be easy so we just use it more often.

nguyendot

Sooo..... We went to Goodwill yesterday and when we left we couldn't fit everything in the trunk. 4 adults + baby in baby seat plus extra crap in the back seat on their laps.... We drove to the dealerships and after visiting 4 we drove away in a 2014 Kia Sorento 5 passenger. Black on black on black. Traded her 2008 528i in. Payment is same, APR dropped from 2.99 to 0.9%. With the baby seat in the middle rear the two adults can now ride without squishing their legs together or into the back of the front seats. Rear cargo is quite large especially since there is no third row - that gives us quite a few cubic feet. It's not a luxury car by any means but hey, it's new. Her 528 was getting the steering angle sensor error ($1200-2000 repair) and I didnt' really want to take apart the steering wheel/column/airbag to fix it myself. Figured we could turn it in and hope the error didn't come up when they tested it. Also I didn't want to buy new tires ($1600/OEM), oil change was coming up ($129), and the brakes were probably about to need replacement ($500-600).

I think for the price of the tag I'll still have come out ahead, and now we have a "new" car with full warranty. I hear Kia's and Hyundai's warranty is one of the best. I don't expect to get amazing service compared to BMW/Infiniti/Lexus but that's the minority. The utility we get out of it will probably be paramount.

Can't wait for the first road trip - it will give us tons of room.

Mikey081057

Looks SWEET! Congrats!

I have put over 750,000 miles on Toyota/Lexus products over the past 20 or so years and never had a failure... only maintenance. They are ridiculously reliable, and still have good value after you put 100,000 miles on them.

jflail2

I heard that Nguyen. I made a Lowes run last weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised that a wheel barrow and push mower both fit in the back with room to spare. WB handles stuck out the back window, but I guess that's why it rolls down.

And I couldn't agree more Mikey. This is a drive it till it dies vehicle. I might add something very impractical in 4 or so years when this is paid off, but I'll always have a reliable Toyota in the driveway.

It's actually at the shop right now, getting exhaust tip, hood guard and remote start installed. Should have it back tomorrow hopefully.

nguyendot

I'm probably leaving it stock except for side running boards. I did notice the Sirius radio quality was abysmal. I mean its the tier 2 Uvo radio and not the top tier Infinity sound system but man did it sound bad. I synced my Galaxy S4 and played the same song via Bluetooth resulting in remarkedly better quality. I think for the price google music is better than Sirius so I might just sync her phone and go that route.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I've got the same model 4Runner in the blizzard pearl paint. It's been solid for us, if not the most exciting thing in the world to drive,

Ours is more for trips to Colorado though and sees some significant offroad use so we went with the trail edition and it is an outstanding offroad vehicle. That solid rear axle makes the ride a little rougher, but its a tough suspension and the extra ground clearance back there really helps,

In our price range it's still one of the best options for on and off road drive.

We have one of those and also an Infiniti FX for the fun driving and running around in, the two make a great pair

zingo

Very nice!