Yeah I see the 3rd row seat is for short trips only. I was pushing for a honda pilot for family use but she wants a 4 runner. We'll be keeping the minivan around. We have a 15 year old and 2 12 year olds, so I think as long as the van holds up a few more years with limited use we'll be ok. I don't think all 5 of us will be in it often at least for any distance. No car seats - we definitely had that issue when we had twins with a commander. That caused the minivan .

A long ways down the line this may become more of a wheeler and for towing a fishing boat or a couple snowmobiles but for the foreseeable future it will be a road use only car.

We have a ‘16 SR5 Premium (moonroof, heated seats, power seats, third row, nicer running boards).

If your wife likes the SR5 premium, and you can swing it new, I would always rather start fresh with my own truck than have to clean up other people’s lack of care or maintenance. That has nothing to do with Limited v SR5 premium but I have found it relevant over the years as I have been burned - reality is people buying a vehicle to keep a few years do not generally take terrific care of it. As to the specific choices, Limited looks nicer to me but we rented both for extended roadtrips before buying. The larger wheels on the Limited give it a harsher ride in terms of bump impacts. XREAS controls roll well but I bought a 4Runner because I didnt want any multi-thousand dollar repair bills waiting for me once I paid off the truck. As an owner, you really do well when you can drive a paid off vehicle 10 plus years without getting burned. That is the problem with a lot of cars today - so many potentially expensive failure points post warranty it’s like plying roulette. 4Runner shouldn’t be that way. All that being said if the truck were for my wife I would prefer the look of the Limited but if she didn’t care I would go SR5 premium.

Finally, I found when looking that the used trucks weren’t discounted enough to justify the risk of used, in my mind. You sound like you care for your vehicles, so 35-55k miles is not a huge deal. But in the hands of someone who drives the vehicle hard and is remiss about maintenance, that can be a lot of wear and tear. So if you go use, at least ask to see maintenance records and if they don’t have them, I would walk. Even a 4Runner can be a pig in a poke without records. Good luck!

If you buy new I would recommend watching Car Edge on YouTube. They put out a lot of good advice on how to get the best deals from a dealer. They will help you with negotiating and give you full access to their service for about $75. Keep in mind that it automatically renews every month so don’t forget to turn it off. If you rather avoid the hassles of going into the dealer they will do everything for you for about $500.

If you buy used, I would take the 4Runner to your mechanic and have him give it a full inspection, especially with the engine. Do a compression check. Spending a couple hundred on an inspection may save you from many headaches down the road. As someone mentioned earlier I would ask to see all the maintenance work. If they can provide it I would walk away too.

Also if buying from an individual the owner can give you clues on how well they’ve taken car of the 4Runner. A clean car tells me that they are more likely to have taken care of it. A young owner may have been more aggressive with the vehicle, taking it off road more frequently than say an older person. There are always exceptions to the rule of course.

As for a choice between the SR5 and Limited I have mixed feeling. Having two cars with AWD (one full and one part time) is a great feature to have. They do improve handling and added safety in bad weather such as heavy rain or snow. It’s nice to know you have 4WD but not have to worry about binding when using the part time 4WD. That said I’m not a fan of the front looks, the 20” rims or other high end luxury items. Not saying it’s bad but just not for me. However I do feel it’s overpriced. If I want a SUV with all the high end luxury features for that amount of money I will buy a Lexus GX. I would prefer to see the AWD as an option with the SR5 or just make the Limited look like all the others. If Toyota made the Limited this way it would be a solid choice for me.

In the end you have to pick what’s best for you.

Since you described yourself as debt-averse, I assume you're pretty conservative when it comes to personal finances. One thing to consider with new vs used is the depreciation hit. As soon as you sign on the dotted line, it becomes a used vehicle, and the value declines quickly. Toyotas hold their value, but new ones still depreciate faster. If $40-50K is a significant portion of your net worth (for me, if it's more than 5% I consider it significant), I'd recommend used. A 2-3 year old 4Runner selling for $45K today will be worth more in 5 years than a new 4Runner selling for $45K today.

I can't tell you what to buy but I will say, having the Limited which is 4wd, takes the guess work out of when and where to manually switch it into 4wd during snow/muddy conditions. Also prevent 'forgetting' to switch it back. That, heated seats and the mandatory dual climate zones-that alone would make me switch trim levels.

I missed this feature on my old Isuzu Trooper. Just push the button and you were in AWD. It’s superior to the part-time 4WD in rain and street driving in snow.

That's a good point. Although we'll probably keep it long enough it won't be too much of a factor.

I think we're either going to get a new white SR5 premium with 3rd seat or a used (2020 or 2021 or 2022) white limited with 3rd seat. White, 3rd row seat and sun roof seem to be the non-negotiables.

I can't get my head around the prices of any of them or any vehicle for that matter, but a new limited is just too much. I think she'd be happier in the long run with a limited (I think she'd like the full time 4WD as opposed to having to decide when to use it, and the seats are nicer) so I'm trying to find a nearly new/slightly used one. It doesn't seem like there are that many used SR5 premiums out there with 3rd seats, but there are quite a few limited, so that's what I'm hoping to find. And it does seem like there's a decent discount on used limited's. Hopefully make a decision in the next couple weeks. Local dealer has a white new SR5 premium on its way. I've found a few in nearby states with some decent money off. I'm not sure if the local dealer will deal much.

I’m planning to buy my wife a new car in the next month or so. So I e been doing a lot of research recently. Mostly on YouTube. Several people who try to teach people how to get the best deals are all saying a crash in the car is coming. Dealers are already dropping prices so it may pay to wait a little longer to see if prices drop on 4Runners. Just a thought.

Generally, I never buy new. With the 4Runner, new was the logical option. My ‘21 4Runner Limited was MSRP of ~$51k and paid $48k ($2k negotiated and $1k from holiday/xmas discount).

I have 39k miles on it now and am being offered $45k for trade in. 3 years and 39k miles w/ only $3k-6k depreciation (depending on how you calculate) makes buying used pointless to me.

If currently policy doesn’t change and inflation keeps pace there will be a crash in many sectors, including the automotive market.

That said, buy a new 4Runner and enjoy it.

Sectors of the automotive market have already crashed. I had nearly $20K negotiated off of a Jeep Grand Cherokee L V8 recently and Jeep has been in absolute fire sale mode trying to move their 2023 models. Didn't end up going through with it due to a screw up by the dealer in the numbers ultimately though.

I ended up picking up a Kia EV6 GT for nearly $15K off (leasing it for 3 years at an amazingly low monthly cost with little money down).

EVs are dirt cheap. PHEV are (mostly) dirt cheap. And certain vehicles that aren't selling are pretty damn cheap. It even seemed like Lexus here in Phoenix is sitting on an uncomfortable inventory of GX460s right now with everyone waiting for the 550.

new and used vehicles in canada are still expensive. you have people selling 10 year old 4runners with almost 200k miles for $15K+. pretty sure canadians still have the highest household debt out of the g7. the crazy thing is people keep buying at these high prices. TRD PROs still starting at over $70K new

Hi Dave,

I like your tires with the OEM wheels. You have BGF All Terrain T/A KO2s. What size? You said OEM, is that 265/70/17?

Updated Dec 18: I learned that OEM and Dave's tires are 265/70/17

Just wanted to report back since I started this thread that we ended up buying a new 23 SR5 premium at about $3,200 off sticker. Will take delivery tomorrow. I think this is exactly what my wife wanted (specifically color and features) so she's excited.

Now I'll have to start figuring out what's included with the free 2 year maintenance - assuming this means oil changes - and if it's worth it vs just changing the oil myself. Been burned a couple times by dealer work so that makes me nervous.

As I recall it’s 2-3 oil change & tire rotation services.