It's about time to replace my 1998 SR5.

Any opinions on new vs pre-owned? I'd love new (and not ruling it out), but it doesn't seem like a very practical choice.

Can I get a "nearly new" 4Runner without the big depreciation the moment I drive it out of the lot?

What sort of hard-to-resist deals have you guys seen in your travels? Think low mileage!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated... haven't shopped for a car since '98! And I might just drive the next one for 15 years too!

I used to be "new only" when I'd go buy a car but it just doesn't make sense anymore. Finding a late model, low mileage, well taken care of vehicle isn't hard and with the extended warranties that are offered now, for the most part you're better covered than you are with a new car. Get your financing right ahead of time, or if you have cash, even better. Figure out exactly what you want beforehand and be patient until you find it. Traveling a couple hundred miles can save you thousands, the internet is a great research tool. Don't fall in love with a car on a test drive that you won't be happy with.

Always NEW here. 1 year old 4Runner cost about the same as brand new one in this area.

As hearno stated above is a definite way to search for a used, just have to be patient, and do search out of your area (miles).

If you have several dealers around your area ( new car lots ), you can wait till towards the end of the year and haggle on a new one. My previous 04, I shopped for 4 months and picked up new sr5 model with all the options for $28,900 with 99 miles on it. Listed for $35,000+. Purchased in November.

Oh man... new sounds tempting. If I could find a steal I just might!

I'm headed out now to see what's on the lot, new and used, just to get a feeling for what I might want, and the $$$'s involved.

I've had an SR5 with many bells and whistles, and hoping to find something similar.

hearno, you mentioned cash. How much? I'm guessing that the 4Runners which will tug at me are going to be in the neighborhood of $25K-$35K. You're not suggesting buying outright, are you?!?

Thanks for the responses!

If you have the cash, and go in on one of the last days of the month, you should be able to negotiate your way to a really good deal. I'd all but guarantee no one else will be walking in with around $25,000 plus dollars in cash to buy the exact truck you're looking at. Dealerships are greedy, they're there to make money and it's hard to say no to cash, esp when they're nearing the end of the month. If you want to finance and you can get a really good rate on a loan, anything below 5% or so, do it. Again, go with that already set up. contact your bank and submit an app and see what they'll loan you and the terms. There was a good thread on here a few weeks ago with a member that had $40k or so wanted ideas on what to do with. His interest rate on his truck loan was like 1.9% so it didn't make sense to pay it off. The rate was so low that he could keep paying his payment and invest his cash and make more interest off the investment than the interest on the truck was costing him. I'd love to be in that position but I'm not so I work hard to find great deals. When I got my truck, I went in on a Sunday in the afternoon and the salesman was desperate to make a sale. They tied to put me together because I needed the dealership to get me financing but after a few hours, I got them down from $16.5k for the truck to $13k and I was happy. It was exactly what I had been looking for and we both won. At one point, I saw the truck was gone and I figured they were cleaning it up for me. I saw another customer and salesman coming back from a test drive and got ready to flip out. I told my salesman that if he wanted to earn a dime that day, esp after the 3-4 hours we had invested already, he needed to go grab the truck and tell the other guy to **** off. Thankfully, it lit a fire and it worked.

Well, they only had 5 2013's on the lot. They seem a bit blockier/larger than the older models... but I imagine it'll grow on me.

The sticker prices were from $36K to $43K (crazy, I think), and it seemed like they had about $2300 wiggle room off those prices today.

For example, model with running boards, remote start, cloth seats had a sticker of $36K, and he said he could order me the same package (the one on the lot was sold) for $33.7K.

A 2010 with 37K miles could be had for $30K (they were selling both new and pre-owned/certified). This did not seem attractive to me.

They also told me I could trade in my 1998 4Runner SR5 4x4 for $3000-$3500K. I think I will sell it privately, or keep it for that price.

So it's off to AutoTrader, Craigslist, etc. for more research!

We were going used but at 0.9% for new and the fact 3 year old ones were only 10k less it just didn't make sense to buy used for us, we pay $800 ish interest over 5 years and got a pile of extras thrown in