Keep commuting in my T4R or buy a Camry?

I have a 2020 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium. It only has 8,500 miles on it. I drive it 90% of the time.. but that is because I don't normally go into the office (especially during Covid). However, I still have my 2002 Camry (almost a 20 year old car) with 200k miles that runs perfectly fine. I use that whenever I have to go into the office or have to go to the city. Love having a beater Camry that can get dinged/scratched/dented.. low maintenance and it just works.
 
ramen lover said:
I have a 2020 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium. It only has 8,500 miles on it. I drive it 90% of the time.. but that is because I don't normally go into the office (especially during Covid). However, I still have my 2002 Camry (almost a 20 year old car) with 200k miles that runs perfectly fine. I use that whenever I have to go into the office or have to go to the city. Love having a beater Camry that can get dinged/scratched/dented.. low maintenance and it just works.
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I couldn’t imagine not having an extra car. I’ve always had a newer car and an old beater. This way there is always something to drive if I have an issue with one. And when I was younger (and even now but to a lesser degree) it was cheaper to insure two cars than one. My old car would be my primary with only liability and comprehensive and the new car would be listed as recreational with full coverage. When I was fresh out of college, it was actually cheaper to ensure two cars that way than only one newer car will full coverage. That savings paid for the property taxes so having a second car only cost me maintenance…
 
I guess it depends on what your priorities are.

I have a nearly new 5th gen that I barely drive. I knew it wouldn't get high miles when I bought it. But it's nice to have for the times when I do want to drive it.

It wasn't an investment. Most would say it is a waste to buy a 4Runner and only accrue 1k miles or so per year. Maybe, but that's our choice.
 
Since you never go off-road and this is basically a "sacrificial" vehicle for commuting to and from work, you may be one of the few people that I would say could benefit from leasing a vehicle that has all maintenance included. Whenever it's time you just trade it in for a newer or different model and don't have to deal with the wear and tear. You would just need to make sure you have at least 26,000 miles per year on your lease. I don't know how taxes work in Canada, but you may be able to write off a lease if the vehicle is only used for work. If you run the math on everything, you may find that you save money by leasing.

I have multiple cars and I know that's not for everyone, but you might consider keeping the 4R and personally maintaining that for any personal adventures. That would keep you from going over the miles you would have available on a lease for the daily commuter vehicle.

If it's not your daily driver, you may decide it's worth taking the risk of damaging it off-road without having to worry that it won't get you to work. It's just a thought and it may work out better for you to just trade it in.

I plan to mostly use my 4R for adventures (when I finally find one). I'm looking for a '99 with a V6 and manual trans in California.
 
here's what me and wife have. i have 1 new car used for work or long distance driving and 2 older cars. 2 of the old have liability insurance and at least use 5000 miles or less of driving. i'm taking the risk of getting liability since it probably cost nothing now. it's a 15year old car but reliable. the insurance is way less if you keep shopping for cheaper insurance and drive carefully. i also have dashcam on it for insurance purposes just in case there are scammers out there. i guess in my opinion, it will give you peace of mind in case you get into an accident and an insurance put you at fault. in court, this video will help cause i know i'm a good driver. the bad drivers out there should pay the price, not me.
 
fkheath said:
Sounds to me like you want both better gas mileage and AWD for the winter weather. How about a RAV4 Hybrid? The RAV4 hybrid is rated 40 MPG combined (about twice the 4Runner), plus it comes with AWD standard. Better ground clearance than the Camry, too.

You can get a Camry with AWD now, but not hybrid, or hybrid but not AWD.
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My mom has one of the new RAV4 hybrids. If I had it to do over and could convince myself I didn't need the EXTREEM OFFROAD capability, I would 100% go for one of these. They drive super nice and the MPG is great. plus you get a heated steering wheel, which I really wish my 4runner had.
 
blackened_offroad said:
My mom has one of the new RAV4 hybrids. If I had it to do over and could convince myself I didn't need the EXTREEM OFFROAD capability, I would 100% go for one of these. They drive super nice and the MPG is great. plus you get a heated steering wheel, which I really wish my 4runner had.
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The heated steering wheel only comes on higher trim levels or with the "weather package".

RAV4 hybrids, like many new cars, are very hard to find due to a variety or reasons. I was as a Toyota dealer yesterday and they could only find four of them within 500 miles that were available, not pre-sold.
 
This is the perfect opportunity and reason to buy that 2nd small, beater vehicle...Corollas are going for cheap-i got my 19yr old an 06 for $4K...ive driven it a few times and would if i needed to on a daily basis

Im with the others...in the summertime, my 4Runner mostly sits, im on my Kawasaki Concour 14 daily - 45mpg...even when it rains.

from mid Nov to mid March, its 4runner all the way.


As far as it needing maintenance, at this point, its paid for, as mine is also...so if it needs something, i know one thing it wont need is a payment.

I know we all can agree: that first snowy day in what-Sept/Oct, you'll curse the day you got rid of your T4R
 
Downsized from 2 vehicles to a 4Runner so going the other way as most posters.

It is true that while having purpose dedicated options is the best for functionality it's not most economical or efficient. Insurance, depreciation, repairs, and even parking all come into play.

Seems to be the real question here is what is the best commuter vehicle for someone who lives with real winter. I know this is a 4runner forum but replacing with an awd sedan, 30+mpg, with low'ish miles is the answer. Camry, Subuaru, etc your preference.

One thing I think about is not only cost of repairs with a high mileage vehicle it's also impact. What happens when your vehicle fails at -10 farenheit with 30mph winds in a blizzard out in the country?
 
I was in the same situation as you...I'd get a beater and stop racking miles on the 4runner...drive it when you need to, save it for special trips
 
fkheath said:
The heated steering wheel only comes on higher trim levels or with the "weather package".

RAV4 hybrids, like many new cars, are very hard to find due to a variety or reasons. I was as a Toyota dealer yesterday and they could only find four of them within 500 miles that were available, not pre-sold.
Click to expand...

yeah, she has the fancy one. I'm just bitter, because it wasn't an option on my 4runner and I drive in brutal winter weather all the time and often get up at like 3am to go ski. my mom, OTOH, has one and doesnt need it because she lives in the deep south near the coast.
 
One thing to consider is, an AWD Camry will never make it over a 2 feet high snowbank or parking spot, for that matter.
 
I didn't know there was an AWD Camry. Too bad there aren't Camry wagons and Accord wagons anymore, with AWD those would be good options. If a Prius AWD model is out there that could be an interesting option. RAV4 or CRV even if several years old could work too.
 
If you never off-road, there's a list of cars that would be a better daily driver than a 4Runner, regardless of weather conditions.

If you simply love it, and throw logic out the window, fine, keep it, but otherwise there's multiple better options from basically every manufacturer.
 
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