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

[MONTYMTB]

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.

Happy wife/no car payment/3rd gen maintenance cost > car payment/less power. You also have to figure in the higher insurance etc. for the Highlander.

 

[Beaumont67]

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

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...........

What would you do?

Of coarse your wife wants a 2013 Highlander, its 7 years newer bling than your v8-4Runner (nothing else) / that is relatively low mileage still, with tons of vehicle life remaining.
- you already got a long term Toyota / $28,000 debt, isn't necessary
- and the 2006 with its v8, is an added bonus to drive
Don't throw your new "Ramsey" budget and debt-free commitment, on its ears.

My wife has a low mileage 2008 RAV4 Limited v6, that we bought used last year / all 269 HP that is a real treat to drive, and leather heated seats, moon roof, 4x4, etc. Best used vehicle we have ever owned. Wife uses it to commute to work (through the week) and family vehicle on weekends.

My January purchase was a mint 2000 4Runner SR5 v6 4x4 / paid around $7K in USA equivalent dollars.
- styling & size wise, I love the Gen3 T4R's
- 3.4L v6 is a tad slow, for a full frame/heavier vehicle
- the stock brakes, are a tad small on stopping power
But to me its still one of the best used vehicle I've ever purchased / I'll enjoy its reliability, for another 15 years.
- 2 wheel drive, no thanks
Now when wife retires in a few years / our old 4Runner will tow a 22 ft. camper trailer, on vacation.

As a decent family vehicle, the v6-3.5L RAV4 was only available in 2006-12 model years.
- years down the road, her ride will be replaced with a used v6 Highlander or with our sons v6 2015 Lexus RX350, when he is ready to buy new again (in 3-4 years time)

Now a little more math, converted to American $$:
- I privately sold wife's 2002 Volvo v70 with 300,000 Km & that money went on the 2008 RAV4 / difference was $6,000
- I privately sold my 2005 Jimmy with 262,000 Km & that money went on my 2000 4Runner / difference was $3,500
^^ So for under $10K, we upgraded our fleet with 2 low mileage/rust free used Toyota's.
- many ways to avoid spending $28K

 

[1985taylor1925]

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.

Gattcha. My opinion is the same then. I think there are many better options than a 3rd for a daily driver, especially if you're going to be spending much time on the highway. Sounds like the decision is going to be partly up to your wife. So , good luck. To avoid some of the debt, you could sell the 4th gen and get a 3rd gen. Use the extra money from that as a down payment on the highlander. But again, I would take tha 4th gen over the 3rd any day

 

[hgill]

appreciate the great input guys. I plan to keep the 4th gen till it dies since I have had it since it had 30k miles on it and I have maintained it meticulously. 110k isn't really that much considering its been our main family car so alot of that mileage has been highway. Every single item on the maintenance list has been done on it so I know its a rock solid car.

The 3rd gen if i were to buy one would be all drive mostly local with very little highway use (as we have the 4th gen for that). It will see about 20-30 miles of use a day (no biggie). Fuel economy isn't a super big deal for me as I focus more on a reliable solid car that I will enjoy. I've always loved the 3rd gen look as that was the first 4runner that I really knew about growing up. Plus it just looks like its built solid. The $5k budget isn't set in stone, so we can go up a grand or two if i find a really good one.

The 3rd gen probably will not be offroaded as I have a 4wd 4th gen already, so I would be okay getting a 2wd (this should help find a lower mileage one). My plans will be maybe a slight lift and wheels/tires for stance and then interior upgrades to add bluetooth/handfree calling. Nothing super crazy, but just good to make it a great daily. I did look at the Nissan Pathfinder and the Infiniti Qx4, which seem cheaper than the 4runner, but I am bit of a 4Runner fanboy. lol

 

[amalik]

[MENTION=49274]hgill[/MENTION], you are making a huge mistake if you go for the Highlander, IMHO.

Without even getting into complex math, just think about this. Even at $8k base price (Or the $5k one but you dump $3k of parts/maintenance/etc into it), you could get THREE 3rd gen's for the price of 1 Highlander and still would spend $24k compared to $28k. I'm just giving you an extreme example for the sake of the point, you likely won't be buying a 2nd one for a long time, let alone a 3rd one.

At 125k miles, the first one should last you somehwere between 300k--400k or more miles if it's taken care of, AND you're debt free car-wise.

Check out the high mileage 3rd gen threads if you don't believe me, 400k+ is more and more common, 300k on a 3rd gen is almost a standard. Consider yourself lucky you even found that mileage. A 4WD 3rd gen in CO with 125k miles or so would sell for like $12k and the seller could still get into bidding wars, as 20 people would be calling in 5 minutes. I'm guessing [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] is correct that it's 2WD.

Obviously, the journey won't be maintenance free. You'll need to take care of things like ball joints, auto tranny cooler (or new radiator), etc various things, but you will have something to take care of regardless of any vehicle. Hell, I see way more technical issues in the 4th gen section between the head gasket issues and exhaust manifold leaks than I've seen with the 3rd gen.

Being meticulous on maintenance with the 3rd gen really pays off. If you do end up with the 3rd gen, you need to visit our section again and find out what all maintenance to get done.

The 3rd gen 4runner (Saying without bias considering what section we're in and that I own one) is one of the best bangs for the buck out there on the road. I've only been to a few states out of CO (Seattle, Texas, a few others), but no matter where I go, you see a ton of 3rd gens on the road. Considering the newest 3rd gen (2002) is 14 years old, that is a testament in and of itself.

The problem starting to happen now in 2016 and beyond is that it's harder and harder to find one under 200k miles & it's a bit risky to buy a used vehicle with that kind of mileage ,(even a 3rd gen) unless the seller has solid maintenance records. Hence why I said consider yourself lucky.

 

[PoshSnoop]

Go low to fly high!

Do whatever it takes to stay as debt-free as possible. Your future self will love you for it. And, since you took the first step, you might be ready to start thinking about cranking it up a bit... then again, you might not, but become aware anyway. Mr. Money Mustache - Early Retirement through Badassity

 

[amalik]

Do whatever it takes to stay as debt-free as possible. Your future self will love you for it. And, since you took the first step, you might be ready to start thinking about cranking it up a bit... then again, you might not, but become aware anyway. Mr. Money Mustache - Early Retirement through Badassity

Why do people need websites and life coaches to tell them debt is bad?

Is $10 in your bank account better, or $20? I'm 30 but I knew that at 15.

 

[PWD4R]

Why do people need websites and life coaches to tell them debt is bad?

Is $10 in your bank account better, or $20? I'm 30 but I knew that at 15.

I agree but people would rather the $10 and a burger in their belly than $20 and make a sandwich. Kind of a weird time we live in


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[Kitsune]

LOL I have an ISF too.

You can get a 2006 is250 for cheap and they're 25mpg. I had a 2006 and got great gas mileage.

Or get a camry for $5k.

If you want a 3rd gen T4R I will be selling mine soon. Does have high miles, 208k but the motor was refreshed with new gaskets and belts but I'm 1200-1400 miles from you. Selling for $5k

 

[Mighty Buffalo]

It sounds like you want to stay debt free, so go with the 3rd gen. I bought mine a couple years ago, and it's been great. I should have done it sooner instead of getting a turd Ford Ranger.

 

[absalom]

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?

Mmm, I get super hard discussing financial goals, especially when it concerns vehicles.

First of all, screw car payments. The depreciation on a 28k car could instead be reinvested into simple index fund, probably convert your losses into double gains in just a few years.

The whole buying for the future thing mindset never made much sense to me. You can swap an entire engine into these trucks for $450 + labor. Transmission? $300 + labor. Everything else is just consumables, no different than the Highlander. It's practically free to drive these, when you factor into how you reinvest the savings of driving a newer, more expensive vehicle.

So in the end, I highly advise keeping your 4th gen and picking up a 3rd gen. I might offer some additional advise, and say don't be mileage conscious when shopping, but instead look for a very clean rig with meticulous maintenance records. The fewer the owners, the better.

If you read Millionaire Next Door, you'd learn that even the average millionaire (net, not gross) doesn't spend more than $25k on a car. So unless you're approaching a 500k net wealth (odds are, you aren't, and neither am I), why spend even half that on a car.

Edit: Also, unless your career is affected by what kind of car you drive, nobody really cares how new your car is. Hell, the only thing I notice is how clean someone's car is. Gross car? Probably a slob that's irresponsible with money, and life in general.

 

[PoshSnoop]

Why do people need websites and life coaches to tell them debt is bad?

good question.

Knowing it often does not equate with living it. I notice that there is very little financial education in the public school curriculum. I also notice incessant pressure to blow currency faster than it can be summed up. programming, de-programming, re-programming...

 

[hgill]

thanks everyone for the great input, even thanks to the few that felt the need to comment without providing much in terms to what I was asking. lol

I really dont have a desire to go more into debt. I have just trying to get my wife on board. Sometimes when a person has grown up with always having payments and everyone around them lives on payments, it starts to become a norm. Plus todays society mixed with social media kinda messes with people psychologically.

The wife and I have already made massive improvements from where we were prior to us getting married. We max our retirement accounts and have cut our expenses to where my income alone pays everything and we are able to save her entire salary on top of our retirement contributions.

I have pretty much convinced the wife that we should just get a used car for me and just continue to save her entire monthly salary for years to come. Later on in life we can just buy a slightly used vehicle for her with CASH

That way we can can throw a couple of grand extra a month at the mortgage and pay that off in the next 3-5 years as well.

Thanks for your help guys. I will keep everyone posted on what I end up getting (fingers crossed on a 3rd gen).

 

[amalik]

Edit: Also, unless your career is affected by what kind of car you drive, nobody really cares how new your car is. Hell, the only thing I notice is how clean someone's car is. Gross car? Probably a slob that's irresponsible with money, and life in general.

Awesome point here, absalom. I generally find that the only person who gives a shit about a new car is the person who just dropped 50-70k on a VEHICLE to drive it, I really don't care much beyond saying 'oh, thats nice' if a friend is driving a nice new car off the lot.

 

[ghostmoney]

Since you are trying to be financially responsible why get another SUV when you already have a V8 SUV? Instead I would think a commuter car that gets double the mpg that you can use for daily driving and in town trips and use the v8 4runner only when you need the room?

 

[gamefreakgc]

thanks everyone for the great input, even thanks to the few that felt the need to comment without providing much in terms to what I was asking. lol

I really dont have a desire to go more into debt. I have just trying to get my wife on board. Sometimes when a person has grown up with always having payments and everyone around them lives on payments, it starts to become a norm. Plus todays society mixed with social media kinda messes with people psychologically.

The wife and I have already made massive improvements from where we were prior to us getting married. We max our retirement accounts and have cut our expenses to where my income alone pays everything and we are able to save her entire salary on top of our retirement contributions.

I have pretty much convinced the wife that we should just get a used car for me and just continue to save her entire monthly salary for years to come. Later on in life we can just buy a slightly used vehicle for her with CASH

That way we can can throw a couple of grand extra a month at the mortgage and pay that off in the next 3-5 years as well.

Thanks for your help guys. I will keep everyone posted on what I end up getting (fingers crossed on a 3rd gen).

Being debt free is awesome and should really stay that way if you can at all help it. A mortgage payment is ok, but if you have the means to pay that off as well that's even more awesome (housing prices in CA have gone up the past 4 years and are projected to go higher). So many people get trapped into the "charge it" mentality and never plan ahead. Then they lose a job, then lose cars, then house, and it all unravels really, really fast. 2008/9 was terrible for that in the central valley, as you're already aware. I think you are on the right path.

Toyotas of all kinds are solid vehicles that last much longer than anything else out there, minus Hondas. They are not flashing or fancy by any means, just simple, reliable vehicles. I actually appreciate the 3rd Gens because of all the mechanical parts, nowadays they try and make everything powered by a motor or ECU and are much less reliable.

Awesome point here, absalom. I generally find that the only person who gives a shit about a new car is the person who just dropped 50-70k on a VEHICLE to drive it, I really don't care much beyond saying 'oh, thats nice' if a friend is driving a nice new car off the lot.

Yeah, my boss bought a brand new Chrysler and was showing it off, but didn't have the heart to tell her it was a bad buy. At 5k miles it's already needed major engine service and now is going to need a new transmission... Mine has needed neither after 208k miles...

 

[amalik]

Yeah, my boss bought a brand new Chrysler and was showing it off, but didn't have the heart to tell her it was a bad buy. At 5k miles it's already needed major engine service and now is going to need a new transmission... Mine has needed neither after 208k miles...

Chrysler is pure crap. I also have a co-worker with a new Jeep that is always in for service. Same Chrysler crap.

People that drive all that flashy new crap where everything is controlled by ECU as you said don't know the joys of working on older mechanical stuff. The only thing I like about new cars is seeing the new technology that certain manufacturers are messing with like with new GTR's or new Benz's, etc it's interesting to see the turbo and speed combos etc.

Old and gold reliability kills the new die-fast trash out there.

Even Toyota quality has declined. Look at the 5th gen section complaints on here + new Tacoma complaints on TW etc.