I made a huge mistake....

A few months back I traded in my 4Runner for a Tundra. She was a 2017 TRD ORP, Blue, TRD wheels w/Falken Wildpeaks, and about $1K in random upgrades to include Compustar remote start (I installed), speaker, sub and amp upgrades, LED lights inside and out, and many more fine touches...... I owned her for 18 months and racked up about 17K joyous miles.

I lived in AK at the time and wanted something that could tow significantly more so I hastley found a gently used '18 Platinum Tundra (for a great deal) and made the swap. I pulled the wheels off the 4Runner, sold separately, and ended up trading her in for virtually the same I paid (no sales tax up here). I really didnt lose much on the deal. One week after making the trade I found out I was moving to Nevada (military - bittersweet to leave Alaska). Kicker is, the only reason I bought the Tundra was to pull a 8K lb trailer around Alaska!!! I liked the Tundra, but by no means did I love it like my 4Runner.

We made the move to NV with the Tundra and I quickly tired of it. It was a phenomenal truck with all the bells and whistles, but I absolutely hate driving it in Vegas, and I just dont like the excessive size, especially considering I will hardly ever be hauling stuff in the bed or towing with it given our new location and lifestyle here. I also have a very long commute that I will not enjoy taking it on daily. I much prefer the feel of the 4runner on any and all terrain, period. Gas prices are steep here and the Tundra's mpg is even worse than the 4Runner's. I also love how nimble the 4Runner is off road, especially compared to the Tundra. I go exploring every chance I get and have fun getting her stuck, climbing rocks, hills, whatever I can find. The Tundra is a freaking land yatch. I got it stuck in the snow twice thinking it would be able to go through the stuff my 4Runner went through with ease! It limits the exploration options significantly.

I told the old lady I was going to sell the Tundra and buy a beater for commuting with the positive equity I had, but that plan quickly morphed into us trading that in for a '19 Forester for her; Funny how that happens. I got the '16 Outback as a hand-me-down. I love the OB; Limited with about 70K miles on her, paid off, great condition. We bought her new, named her Olive and have driven her all over from SC to AK and now in NV. The car is super comfortable, spactious, and gets awesome mpg. The current plan is for the OB to be my commuter, which I thought I was okay with, until.....

I blame Pintrest...... the damn website keeps emailing me with "Pins you may be interested in" and I cant help click the links to see the beautiful 4Runners! (Especially the blue ones). Next thing I know I'm looking for used 5th Gens in Vegas and price quoting on the Toyota website for a new one!! Incredibly, my wife misses my 4Runner as well and is somewhat encouraging me to purchase one again. It just suits us so much better and I feel incomplete without one.

Looks like i can probably get a '18 or '19 TRD ORP for about 35-ish, but at that point why not just spend the extra 5-8K and get a 2020 with all the new bells and whistles straight off the boat from Japan! I have been way too wrapped up in this lately. Trying to just quit looking and stick with the financially more responsible option, the OB, for the time being.

Regardless it's not a financial move I want to make at the moment. The OB could be about 16K on trade, I could put a few grand down, but that would still leave me with another car payment which is just outside my comfortable budget at the moment. I just wrote this to get it off my chest and share my experience. I miss the 4Runner so much! Also miss the community here and sharing pics/stories/advice. I hope to rejoin soon, perhaps with a 5th and a half gen!

Cheers!

You cant go wrong with a subi!! My wife and one of our sons have subi's great cars very peppy. Killer mileage as well. Not bad off road either.

Yeah, we love 'em both! The Outback is an outstanding vehicle and is very versatile. I just prefer a the 4Runner for so many reasons; height, power, cargo, towing, real 4WD, etc. I just enjoy it so much more.

I agree!! But I'm an STI owner too, and I would just pay to have a 4runner... especially in his state!

Agreed! As others have said a Subaru is a great choice. We also have a limited olive OB with about 95k on it and the 3.6 and its AMAZING! Im surprised you mention you miss the "pep" of the 4runner as compared to the v8 of the Tundra! I could see how the 4runner may be a little more nimble on trails and such and maybe parking in downtown Vegas, but I figured in rush hour and long drives that Tundra would be amazing!

I vote you get another 4Runner ASAP. You only live once so why not be happy. You have sacrificed for our county and I think you deserve it. Thank you for your service!

Don't get me wrong, that Tundra had some serious power! The 4Runner really isn't an overly powerful vehicle by any means, but it was effective. And yeah, it felt much more nimble all around than the Tundra and was overall just more fun to drive.

I prefer the seats in the 4Runner TRD ORP over the Tundra Platinum seats too. The leather in the Tundra was definitely nicer, but the ergonomics of the seat just didn't fit me as well. When I sat in the 4Runner I felt like it was made for me

I appreciate it! That is often my outtake on life as well The way it's looking I think I'll wait a little under a year and see if I can get a deal on the 2020s, depending on how the reviews go for them. As much as I want one with all that fun technology I'm wondering if there might be some issues that arise. I really like the simplicity of the rest of the 5th gens (less to break).

Have you considered a 4th Gen? Call me old, call me cheap, call me both but I cannot fathom paying $35K for a vehicle.

I agree $35K is outrageous for a vehicle, but I just wouldn't be happy with an older one. I've been too spoiled with the new tech and creature comforts of modern vehicles. I also really like the 5th gen in particular.

I encourage you to stay smart, financially. While I agree that life is short, there's nothing fun or rewarding being about financially married to your stuff, whether it's cars, a house, or something else. The purchase can turn into a really nasty regret pretty quickly. I suggest throwing a couple twenties in a box every pay, or more if you can, and let that build up toward the next Runner. Set a target, for example: once the Forrester is paid off and there's also $5k in the box, it's reward time! It will also be a good emergency fund. In the meantime, enjoy what the Outback has to offer while you're NOT making payments.

Just some thoughts.

I felt your pain. In 2012 I traded in a 2004 4Runner for an Infiniti FX35 that was completely loaded. It was nice for a while and actually got the go ahead 2 years after that to trade it in for another 4Runner. But, I held out, paid off the FX 2 years ago and just traded it in on a 2019 SR5 Premium Nautical Blue.

Do what's best for yourself and at least know you have reliable vehicles. Just know that I felt your pain for 5 years wanting to go back to 4Runner. I'm so glad I finally did! We were able to go 2 years without any payments and that was nice!

Fair enough. I’m lucky I guess in that I prefer the 4th Gen styling and it has everything I want, plus it’s a massive upgrade over the ‘02 Xterra 5-speed I drove for 11 years. My wife is worse (or better depending on your point of view) than me. She drives an ‘03 Acura 3.2CL Type S and refuses to even consider another car for herself b/c “there’s nothing wrong with this one.” In fact, she would still be in her ‘94 Accord if a neighbor’s tree limb hadn’t totaled it in 2006. I love her money smarts. :-)

@thennen - that’s wise advice.

Valuable words of wisdom here, I agree. I could walk out of the dealership with money in the bank, financing under 20K on a brand new 2020 if I felt like it. However, it is really nice not having any payment right now, and it is just a financially irresponsible thing to do at this very moment. Thanks for bringing it back to reality

You did sort of spell out my current goal. Going to wait and see what the next year brings, and see where we are sitting financially. It is very much a first world problem, we have some very nice Vehicles right now, I just want to be able to get into some fun off-road!

Incredible you waited so long and your want for the 4Runner never changed. My experience of changing through so many vehicles recently really solidified my desire for the 4Runner.

On a side note, what do you think about the 2020? Do you want all those bells and whistles or would you rather stick with the old fashioned key and no adaptive cruise control, etc.?