Clutch’s deep thoughts thread...

[dcg141]

Then this happened to it

 

[dcg141]

Now it looks like this

 

[dcg141]

These are going on when tires arrive

 

[Clutch]

Now it looks like this

Looking good!

 

[Todd780]

The thing that gets me the most, is he traded the '08 in because he couldn't get it started the other morning. (It was around -35° here, and he didn't plug it in) He just said it was getting old and not worth keeping around if it wouldn't start. Like seriously dude? Nothing starts happily in that weather, let alone a diesel, that hasn't been plugged in.

Oh yeah, that's nuts. My truck was plugged in and wouldn't start this weekend. So... I put a new battery in it.... Problem solved and took what? 5 mins to install?

None of them really, nothing out there really excites me, plus they are all going to loose money.

I could see spending money on a classic, something that puts a smile on your face every time you get in it. Heck might even make a little money if you decide to sell it.

I see your point. They all end up losing money. I figure if it does the job it's supposed to do, I enjoy driving it and it puts a smile on my face then that is what I'm paying for. The more I think about it, the more I'm hoping a Gladiator will work for us. I think that could be a fun DD that could also tow / haul what we need it to. Plus, the top comes off... I've missed having a convertible ever since I sold my '64 Wildcat 22 years ago....

 

[battleaxe]

I know it's pretty simple, but someone said it best... I wholeheartedly agree (after buying/owning/driving many of each)

If you want something that will go everywhere, buy a Jeep. If you want to be comfortable and go *almost everywhere, buy a 4Runner.

None of them really, nothing out there really excites me, plus they are all going to loose money.

I could see spending money on a classic, something that puts a smile on your face every time you get in it. Heck might even make a little money if you decide to sell it.

Have a buddy like that, he says when the tires are worn out, time to trade it in. He is one of those guys who is never satisfied, constantly buying and selling stuff. But that is what keeps our economy rolling...people get bored easily.

Yeah I guess so hey? My wife gets bored easily I think... I don't.
I told her I'm driving the 4runner into the ground. Maybe one day it'll be a dedicated trail rig, or get passed around our kids... But I'm not planning on getting rid of it.

It varies a bit, but about 30% of trade in vehicles are underwater on their loans (negative equity). Plus there are about 7 million Americans who are 90 days or more behind on their car payments. I like pretty new things, but not enough to burn $15k in equity on a crap trade in! Those trucks are nice, but for that price I can get a lightly used cab-over with flat bed for legit hauling, and a sports car for the track. Or a nice classic? Maybe a well equipped jeep or small 4x4?

5-6 year old rigs with good options and 100-150k miles are cheap, and you can get another 100k with minimal maintenance. Thats like 100$ per 1000 miles? Pretty reasonable to me.

Is that for real dude??? Over 2% of the population, let alone the population with auto loans, are 90 days behind? That's just unreal... We lost about 10k on the wife's Terrain... It hurt less than keeping it for another 3-4 years, and losing it on the resale then.

I tried to shoot for a 2012-2013 4Runner, but we ended up in an '18. Super happy all round though. I think it was worth the money (at least that's what I tell myself so the negative equity doesn't make me cry)

 

[Todd780]

I tried to shoot for a 2012-2013 4Runner, but we ended up in an '18. Super happy all round though. I think it was worth the money (at least that's what I tell myself so the negative equity doesn't make me cry)

I keeping an eye open on used 4Runners as well. My wife likes them and it may be a good replacement for her vehicle when she's ready. From what I can see most of the time with 4Runners is that it's not much more money to go from a 5 year old used one to brand new. I don't actually understand why anyone would buy a couple year old one when a new one is only a few grand more. At least that seems to be the market around here....

 

[Tex68w]

I keeping an eye open on used 4Runners as well. My wife likes them and it may be a good replacement for her vehicle when she's ready. From what I can see most of the time with 4Runners is that it's not much more money to go from a 5 year old used one to brand new. I don't actually understand why anyone would buy a couple year old one when a new one is only a few grand more. At least that seems to be the market around here....

While completely agree and verify your findings as they are similar in my AO, I think it boils down to some people simply trying to stay within a set budget or price point.

We tend to almost always buy new as we’ve been burnt in the past with used vehicles, but if/when we decide to pick up a second 200-series Land Cruiser I will likely be looking at used 2016’s. Toyota’s seem to be a safer bet when it comes to buying used, of course they are only as good as the previous owner treated and maintained them.

 

[battleaxe]

I keeping an eye open on used 4Runners as well. My wife likes them and it may be a good replacement for her vehicle when she's ready. From what I can see most of the time with 4Runners is that it's not much more money to go from a 5 year old used one to brand new. I don't actually understand why anyone would buy a couple year old one when a new one is only a few grand more. At least that seems to be the market around here....

We bought our '18 for just under 40k, with 25,000km on it. An identical 2019 was listing for 53k. The biggest reason we didn't go brand new was because of the negative equity in the trade. It all balanced out in the end.

It seems like you can find 13-15's for mid 30's, which isn't all that bad.

While completely agree and verify your findings as they are similar in my AO, I think it boils down to some people simply trying to stay within a set budget or price point.

We tend to almost always buy new as we’ve been burnt in the past with used vehicles, but if/when we decide to pick up a second 200-series Land Cruiser I will likely be looking at used 2016’s. Toyota’s seem to be a safer bet when it comes to buying used, of course they are only as good as the previous owner treated and maintained them.

I saw your LX... Goddamn dude that thing is so nice. Too bad my wife hates them. That's the one thing I wish they'd do with the 4Runner, just throw the V8 in it already.

 

[Todd780]

We bought our '18 for just under 40k, with 25,000km on it. An identical 2019 was listing for 53k. The biggest reason we didn't go brand new was because of the negative equity in the trade. It all balanced out in the end.

It seems like you can find 13-15's for mid 30's, which isn't all that bad.

Must be my area? Looking at basic SR5's or basic TRD's ( Not PRO) new is mid to high 40's and used low 40's ( depending on equipment.) Sounds like you got a good deal! I'm honestly not looking that hard for deals either. Just poking around kijiji, daydreaming, lol. I think we're years away from actually doing anything.

Our Tuscon is almost paid for and only has 130,000 kms. So run it for a few years w/o payments and then likely hand it over to our eldest daughter to drive.

 

[Clutch]

I see your point. They all end up losing money. I figure if it does the job it's supposed to do, I enjoy driving it and it puts a smile on my face then that is what I'm paying for. The more I think about it, the more I'm hoping a Gladiator will work for us. I think that could be a fun DD that could also tow / haul what we need it to. Plus, the top comes off... I've missed having a convertible ever since I sold my '64 Wildcat 22 years ago....View attachment 500803

None of the new trucks really do it for me. Of course by the time you put all the time money and effort into a vintage iron restoration...do you want to go beat on it? I'll probably end up with another Tacoma...if this ever dies.

Yeah I guess so hey? My wife gets bored easily I think... I don't.

My wife could care less about cars, about the only vehicle she wants is another VW Bus, of course the price of aircooled V-Dubs has gotten nuts.

Paid a whole dollar for that '02 Trooper she drives, we'll run that thing into the ground...try to squeeze every last red cent of it! Ha ha!

At the end of the day, they are just vehicles....rather spend money on something else.

 

[Todd780]

At the end of the day, they are just vehicles....rather spend money on something else.

So, what would you rather spend it on? lol property? Vacation / travel? Fancy Rachel Ray refuse bowl?

 

[Tex68w]

I saw your LX... Goddamn dude that thing is so nice. Too bad my wife hates them. That's the one thing I wish they'd do with the 4Runner, just throw the V8 in it already.

I bought it for the misses and she's super excited, it was her dream car and I am glad that I could make that happen for her. She has yet to drive it to work, she's nervous lol.

As much as I would like to dump the T4R Pro for a newer 200, I think it's best that we keep what we have for the time being. I can continue to build the 4Runner and use it as our main off-road rig and then reevaluate our needs and desires again in a year or two. I have lots of other hobbies as well, but the cars get the most use on a daily basis and even though they lose the most value, I have the most fun with this hobby out of all of the others.

 

[Clutch]

So, what would you rather spend it on? lol property? Vacation / travel? Fancy Rachel Ray refuse bowl?

View attachment 500846

Ha ha! Trying to get the house paid off so I can "retire" by age 50. Which is only 3 years away...yeow! Fraaaack how did that happen!?

Very good friend of mine is a year younger than me, and beat me to an early retirement. Think he retired 1-1.5 years ago. No debt...money in the bank, drives that $6700 4Runner, couldn't be happier.

We do collect Fiesta Ware, tho'... We have stacks and stacks of that stuff....she kinda goes nuts.

 

[Todd780]

Ha ha! Trying to get the house paid off

Well that's boring. Totally get it though.

Yep, crazy how fast time seems to go by... I can still remember yesterday... like it was yesterday. My memory doesn't get much better than that, lol