Advise needed: get 3rd gen and no car payment or inherit 4th gen

[hgill]

Backstory: so we have a 2006 4Runner SE 4wd V8 with about 109k miles on it.

I starting listening to Dave Ramsey and wanted to get rid of my debt so ended up selling my ISF and used the equity to pay off the 4Runner, credit cards, and other misc debt, which now leaves with me just having our mortgage payment. For the first time in my life i have enjoyed not having any car payments and being pretty much debt free.

Initially we were thinking of getting a 2013 Highlander for the wife and the 4Runner would come back to me, but I am having a hard time wanting to have another car payment since the highlander will be around $28,000.

I have brought up the idea of maybe the wife keeping the 4th gen and maybe i can pick up a 3rd gen around the $5k mark (around 125k miles on it). Seen a few on sale near by. We would be able to pay for this in cash and not have any payments at all, but wifes concerned that getting an older 4runner might not be the proper step since the highlander will be a long term car that we can keep for many many years to come.

I would be daily driving the vehicle (approximately 12-15k miles a year). I know I need to go drive one, which i plan to do when i find one locally to go check out, but figure I ask the real owners about what they would do.

Any advise would be appreciated. What would you do?

 

[Unner]

I won't steer you away from a 3rd gen, but you won't find a 4WD for $5k with those low miles. Maybe a 2WD.

What about older highlanders if she wants something like that?

I'm sure it's nice to be debt free now, and I would think you would want to keep it that way.

 

[hgill]

I won't steer you away from a 3rd gen, but you won't find a 4WD for $5k with those low miles. Maybe a 2WD.

What about older highlanders if she wants something like that?

I'm sure it's nice to be debt free now, and I would think you would want to keep it that way.

4wd isn't mandatory, since we have the 4th gen. She doesn't want an older highlander for her (she said shes happy with the 4Runner and the highlander would have to be newer for her to make the switch).

the 3rd gen would be mostly in town with an occasional out of town trip.

It is phenomenal being out of debt and i would definitely love to keep it that way.

 

[SoCal C4S]

Your situation almost mirrors my own. We recently turned in the wife's leased Volvo XC90, I gave her my '07 Gen4 and bought an experienced '98 Gen3. Sunk a few thousand $ into the Gen 3 and now we both drive 4Runners, and the 4th Gen is nearly paid off. Also starting the Dave Ramsey FPU plan through LifeChurch, so I think your best bet would be to pay cash for a Gen3 and give the wife your 4th Gen.

 

[hgill]

Your situation almost mirrors my own. We recently turned in the wife's leased Volvo XC90, I gave her my '07 Gen4 and bought an experienced '98 Gen3. Sunk a few thousand $ into the Gen 3 and now we both drive 4Runners, and the 4th Gen is nearly paid off. Also starting the Dave Ramsey FPU plan through LifeChurch, so I think your best bet would be to pay cash for a Gen3 and give the wife your 4th Gen.

Thats awesome man. Glad to see other people on Dave Ramsey's plan.

I've always loved the look of the 3rd gen (to me it looks better than the 4th and 5th). lol Just not sure about the power. Coming from an ISF and V8 4runner, im sure i'll notice it somewhat, but I think it wont be that bad. I just have had it with debt. Just trying to convince the wife that buying a older 4runner isn't a bad idea. She thinks i'll change my mind once i get it and then will want to change cars again.

 

[PWD4R]

I quit reading when I saw Dave Ramsey. That dude is something else. I disagree with half his bogus


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[PWD4R]

Thats awesome man. Glad to see other people on Dave Ramsey's plan.

I've always loved the look of the 3rd gen (to me it looks better than the 4th and 5th). lol Just not sure about the power. Coming from an ISF and V8 4runner, im sure i'll notice it somewhat, but I think it wont be that bad. I just have had it with debt. Just trying to convince the wife that buying a older 4runner isn't a bad idea. She thinks i'll change my mind once i get it and then will want to change cars again.

Ok I went back and read. So of course you'll notice a huge difference but I like having a slow vehicle because you don't get road rage and just crank up some tunes and chill. The build quality of the 3rd is great. Mines 17 and no rattles or annoying sounds. If you want one for $5k and 125k miles you need to be very patient though.


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[hgill]

Ok I went back and read. So of course you'll notice a huge difference but I like having a slow vehicle because you don't get road rage and just crank up some tunes and chill. The build quality of the 3rd is great. Mines 17 and no rattles or annoying sounds. If you want one for $5k and 125k miles you need to be very patient though.


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I am not a die hard Dave Ramsey fan, but listen more to it to keep myself motivated to stay out of debt. I dont follow everything that he says, just the overall common sense avoid taking on unnecessary debt parts. lol

I've always like the 3rd gen look and they look pretty solid. 5k isn't a hard number. Its give and take a grand or so depending on the deal.

 

[SoCal C4S]

I'm with you there. I definitely moved from "I'm gonna kill all you mother****ers" to "Netflix and chill" once I got into the 3rd gen. Put in a decent BT ready head unit and cruise.

 

[hgill]

I'm with you there. I definitely moved from "I'm gonna kill all you mother****ers" to "Netflix and chill" once I got into the 3rd gen. Put in a decent BT ready head unit and cruise.

Yea i felt a ton of road rage in the iSF and other v8 muscle cars i've owned. The 4runner is a nice cruiser for me. I think its helped lower my blood pressure quite a bit when driving.

 

[SoCal C4S]

I went from a 911 C4S > new Tacoma > 4th Gen T4R > 3rd Gen T4R over the past 4 years. So, I guess I'm starting to mellow out some lol.

 

[hgill]

I went from a 911 C4S > new Tacoma > 4th Gen T4R > 3rd Gen T4R over the past 4 years. So, I guess I'm starting to mellow out some lol.

haha thats quite the change man. Especially from the 911 to tacoma.

 

[SoCal C4S]

It was time to hang up the bachelor mindset and get into married & want a family mode. Good while it lasted. Dumped the Taco when I went out on a few deployments and ended up with the 4th Gen right before my daughter was born.

Not to muddle this up too much, but I would just get a 00-02 Gen3 and drive it until the wheels fall off.

 

[theesotericone]

I have no clue who Dave Ramsey is nor do I care but being debt free is something I've done for a very long time. I still owe on my home and will for a number of years to come. It is the only thing I owe on and there is no way I could have saved enough to buy it until I was really, really old.

Go the debt free road with the rig if you can. Even if you have to maintain it I can promise you it will be cheaper in the long run then payments on a newer rig. Plus it's a 3rd gen. Everyone here knows that is the best set of years that was ever made.

 

[1985taylor1925]

I think I'm not really understanding the question. You said you would be "keeping" the 4th gen for your wife. So you already own it? In that case why would you be choosing between the 4th and 3rd gen? You will need another vehicle anyway so get the 3rd gen if it's what you want, then you have both. This is the 3rd gen section so most here are going to rave over it. But I will be objective and say that it's probably not the best choice for a daily driver, especially if you don't need 4x4. There are many options that will give you better mpgs and be more comfortable, especially on the highway. But If I had the choice between my 3rd gen and a 4.7l 4th gen, I would take that v8 without a second thought

 

[GrassFed]

+1 with Taylor. The the v8 4th gens are the bees knees. Going from one to the other is a huge difference. I drive a 99 LS 400 so I don't mind the weekend 3rd gen trips. My mom's 4th gen however is such a dream in just about every aspect as far as daily comforts go. Lots of torque, smooth ride, crazy stopping power.

Once you drive a 3rd gen you'll see how handicapped you feel.

Congrats on the debt situation. That's always a plus

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[hgill]

I think I'm not really understanding the question. You said you would be "keeping" the 4th gen for your wife. So you already own it? In that case why would you be choosing between the 4th and 3rd gen? You will need another vehicle anyway so get the 3rd gen if it's what you want, then you have both. This is the 3rd gen section so most here are going to rave over it. But I will be objective and say that it's probably not the best choice for a daily driver, especially if you don't need 4x4. There are many options that will give you better mpgs and be more comfortable, especially on the highway. But If I had the choice between my 3rd gen and a 4.7l 4th gen, I would take that v8 without a second thought

Sorry if the post was confusing,so i'll try to clarify. So we own a 06 4runner V8 free and clear. So the choice is literally buying my wife a toyota highlander for $28k or so and I would get the 4th gen back or let the wife continue to use the 4th gen and i pick myself up a 3rd gen as my daily and avoid any type of payments or anything. so it was more of a choice for me to either have a 4th gen for myself and have debt or get a 3rd gen (while still having the 4th gen on the weekends) and avoid all debt all together. Sorry about the confusion.

 

[SoCal C4S]

Avoid debt altogether. That's the bees knees right there...

 

[KidVermicious]

Stay debt free. There's lots of vehicles out there in the 5-6k range that will be reliable for years to come.

Alternatively, buy something for 2k now and save up to pay cash for the 28k Highlander that she wants.

 

[Rock_Rat]

Pretty simple...no reason to even start a thread on this...stay debt free as others have said.

Wife - Keeps the 06
You - Pick up an inexpensive DD with good MPG if you're driving 12K a year

If you must have a 3rd gen and it can be 2wd, (not sure what you plan on doing with two 4runners and one not 4wd) then wait patiently for the one you want and pay cash.

28,000 not including taxes, fess, interest, insurance, etc is $466 a month for 60 mos. That's a decent size chunk of change out of your budget for the next five years.