Keep commuting in my T4R or buy a Camry?
 

My 2013 has 155,000 miles on it. I drive 400-470 Miles a week, around 23,000 miles a year, going to and from work. I work at a salt mine, and the roads are all paved to and from work, but here in Canada the weather is pretty bad from January until May (we get a lot of wind and blizzard conditions), and I am driving at 5 AM every day to get to work. So the T4R is nice for that.

I am getting sick of the ridiculous price of fuel that I'm paying, and have wondered if I should trade my T4R in for a Camry in the next couple years. I estimate I would pay about 1/2 the money in fuel, based on the superior gas mileage. I would go for an AWD Camry if I do the trade.

So if I keep it for another couple years, I'll have ~200,000 miles on it... I can keep it and continue eating the cost of fuel, or I trade it for a camry while it has some value, and the cost of the new car will be made up for by the fuel savings over the next ten years, at which point the T4R would be 20 years old and beginning to wearing out major parts (at least based on that kind of mileage).

I love the space of the T4R and the feeling of safety on the road, the only time I go offroad is to cross a median. I am single as well, so no kids or anything who need extra room.

I'm wondering how well the T4R would be doing at the 400,000+ mile mark. Also, the fact that I work at a salt mine is often said to be very bad for your vehicle. I wash my T4R every couple weeks, but the product is flying out of the storage barns out onto the parking lot is probably going to slowly eat away at whatever vehicle I do choose.

Thoughts?

As reliable as 4Runners are, let's be realistic. With over 150,000 miles on it, your vehicle is going to start needing work and parts, so it will be less reliable than a brand new vehicle - especially a Camry. On top of that, 4Runners are worth big bucks right now and Camry's are sinking through the pavement on dealer lots. I'd trade, but that's just my opinion.

Full disclosure: I love my 4Runner, but my daily driver is a 2006 Scion xB - which I dearly love too. In the winter, the xB sits a lot and I enjoy the 4Runner. In the summer, things go the other way.

Same as Too Stroked, except my second is an '07 Matrix w/225K miles that still runs like new with original clutch.

Or buy a used Camry as a beater. That way, you'd be saving the entire cost with the fuel savings, and still have the 4Runner.

Wow! My 2004 just hit 180,000 miles. When I bought it late in 2007, it already had 65,000 highway miles on it.

Since covid hit, I have only been driving about 100 miles a month. Even before covid hit, I took the train to work, and I walked to the train station.

I would think about a used MT Corolla or Civic for the commute and keep the 4Runner.

This. If you’re looking for an excuse to get rid of the 4Runner, do it. It if you like it and want to keep it, I would recommend getting a slightly used Corolla or Civic. They aren’t really holding their value right now so you can get a lot for your money, but they will be solid and dependable…

Yep, I agree. My summer vehicle is an Acura RSX (basically a civic) 5spd standard. Small, nearly double gas mileage, fun to drive, easy to work on. Bought used.

i'm sort of having the same conundrum. my 2019 has 50k on it in less than 2 years. i'm tired of paying the gas and high insurance on it, but I live in the mountains in Idaho where it snows A LOT, and I also ski 3 days a week in winter. I do a lot of offroading, but I'm about ready to give that up to save the ridiculous amount of money I spend on this vehicle.

I used to drive 100 miles a day just going back and forth to work. And I had multiple vehicles for years. The idea of having a commuter only car is great but you have to maintain, register, insure.... I actually sold 2 great vehicles ( a rare RWD sport package manual BMW wagon and a nice early 4x4 tacoma) and bought my 4Runner. And it actually wound up costing me less each month. Now I work 7 miles away. About the only thing extra-vehicle wise that actually saves me money is my motorcycle. 55mpg is tough to beat for something that's dead reliable, cheap to insure, and cheap to maintain. Not to mention loads of fun.

How much is insurance monthly?


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yeah I thought about getting another motorcycle. it would be bike #11 for me. Haven't had one in a few years. at the moment, I only live 2 miles from my job and am not traveling that much, but I take my dog to work every day. otherwise I would just ride my bicycles. normally, I drive a shitload for skiing and to see friends, etc. hence the 50k in a year and a half.

I have an accord (bought used) for my 90 mile round trip to work. I work 7on 7off. The 4r is for everything else. As long as you tell the insurance company how many miles on each, it should be close to a wash.

If you sell the 4r, you’ll be shopping for one next winter.

It wouldn't be practical for me to own and maintain 2 vehicles, I've already thought about the commuter car thing and it wouldn't work well for my lifestyle. Also I am pretty anal about the maintenance schedule and even to do the minimum maintenance and insurance it would not be worth it to me to own 2 vehicles. It's either stick with the T4R or get something else.

Before purchasing my 4R i had a Mazda3 for its reliability, gas mileage and just an awesome fun car. I was doing 25k a year to work and the Mazda3 was perfect for it. It was also quite impressive in the snow as a front drive vehicle with Vredestein Snow tires on it. Now they make them in AWD.

I absolutely love my 4R, and since i am single ill accept the extra cost of gas because i love it so much, even the extra maintenance as it gets older. However i do really miss my Mazda and if i was in your shoes i would consider the better MPG as a logical cost thing, but don't overlook the love of a vehicle ether.

Consider a Mazda 3. Something about long drives to work everyday and having a fun vehicle to drive.