New addition to the family

[philsey]

Early Graduation present....

Good on ya mate. If you're successful enough to be able to afford that, then you're smart enough to know what's right for your kid.

BTW, seeing this "Stable mates: 2013 Audi Q5, 2.0T", you'd appreciate my son's current ride. 2017 Q7 S/C V6, with every option known to man. Best part: company car - works for Audi.

 

[leigh.martin.77]

I bought an '05 sport brand new and drove it for 10 years, when I bought my '15 I gave my '05 to my son when he turned 17 so he would have a great truck for his senior year and for college. He loves it and I know he has a safe reliable truck that's in awesome condition. GREAT CHOICE and congrats to you and her.

 

[Copp4]

Nice gift! I bet she loves it!

 

[03_4x4Runner]

What a f*cker

You guys are awful rough on me. I guess that if your house is paid for, your retirement fully funded and you have excess money just burning a hole in your pocket then go ahead and spoil your kids. Just hope they do not turn into financially dependent kids down the road. I guess I was just raised differently and was taught that if you want something no one was going to give it to you. I passed that on to my son who is now a mechanical engineer working at a big company. His wife is also a mechanical engineer working at a big company. I was always prepared to loan them money if needed to buy their first house but they never needed any assistance. I know to many kids that their daddy's spoiled them and they are still mooching of dad for many years.

 

[whodat]

Congrats! I live in Iowa and would not want to be stranded, especially if I was a girl. If I had a daughter, I would have done the same thing. My sons on the other hand are going to get used cars, most likely my 4runner. I try not to spoil them though, for example, their Christmas present, a half eaten jar of pickles and a rice krispie treat they loved it too haha

 

[2chains]

Is she signed up for the forum and what's her first mod?

 

[1engineer]

You guys are awful rough on me. I guess that if your house is paid for, your retirement fully funded and you have excess money just burning a hole in your pocket then go ahead and spoil your kids. Just hope they do not turn into financially dependent kids down the road. I guess I was just raised differently and was taught that if you want something no one was going to give it to you. I passed that on to my son who is now a mechanical engineer working at a big company. His wife is also a mechanical engineer working at a big company. I was always prepared to loan them money if needed to buy their first house but they never needed any assistance. I know to many kids that their daddy's spoiled them and they are still mooching of dad for many years.

Not really. You forget everyone is not you. I bought my son a new Subaru when he started college. Why? Because he is paying for college himself! Between his academic and athletic scholarships I only have to give him spending money. As a matter of fact I could buy him a new Subaru every year and still save money over what it would cost without scholarships. Different situations.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Not really. You forget everyone is not you. I bought my son a new Subaru when he started college. Why? Because he is paying for college himself! Between his academic and athletic scholarships I only have to give him spending money. As a matter of fact I could buy him a new Subaru every year and still save money over what it would cost without scholarships. Different situations.

I can relate to the scholarship part. I always told my son I would pay for 1/2 of his college. Luckily he got academic scholarships to pay for his half so he graduated college with zero debt.

 

[Avalon786]

That is an awesome gift!
If I had a daughter and I had the means I'd totally rather her be in a brand new vehicle capable of going almost anywhere vs a craigslist beater

 

[sntryplt]

She's already reading all the posts (including this one), and the mod list is long. First thing we are working on is some way to store stuff for travel (MREs, cables, winter gear). FWIW, she knows how fortunate she is. Works very hard, multi-sport athlete, and active in her college community/church.

 

[hearno]

She's already reading all the posts (including this one), and the mod list is long. First thing we are working on is some way to store stuff for travel (MREs, cables, winter gear). FWIW, she knows how fortunate she is. Works very hard, multi-sport athlete, and active in her college community/church.

So... is she single?

 

[Steamfitter]

sweet!

 

[uptheirons]

She's already reading all the posts (including this one), and the mod list is long. First thing we are working on is some way to store stuff for travel (MREs, cables, winter gear). FWIW, she knows how fortunate she is. Works very hard, multi-sport athlete, and active in her college community/church.

Check out GooseGear drawers... That's where I got mine through and I love em. Or alternatively build some of your able! GooseGear makes some specifically for the 4Runner, fit quite well in the back. Of course that's if it what's she's looking for...

 

[ic0517]

Mods? Don't do it right now.

She has a very reliable vehicle. The stock tires, which is usually the first mod, on a 4runner were selected by Toyota to get about the best gas mileage you are going to get. The moment you start messing with it, you might start a problem that should not be interfering with school work. I said *might*, not will.

In my opinion, keep it stock, finish college, get the first job, then consider mods.

Will, ok, maybe floor liners.

 

[Quentin]

Mods? Don't do it right now.

She has a very reliable vehicle. The stock tires, which is usually the first mod, on a 4runner were selected by Toyota to get about the best gas mileage you are going to get. The moment you start messing with it, you might start a problem that should not be interfering with school work. I said *might*, not will.

In my opinion, keep it stock, finish college, get the first job, then consider mods.

Will, ok, maybe floor liners.

I agree with this.

I'll go further regarding tires. The OEM tires are excellent for what she will likely ask of them. I drove on my stock bridgestones for 3 winters on my first 5th gen before I decided that I "needed" new tires. The Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor tires were probably the worst mod I've ever done to a vehicle. The acceleration got much worse, fuel economy tanked by 10%, and they didn't grip any better in bad weather. I kept the stock size. The tire shop had a heck of a time balancing them, too. I'll be leaving my stock tires until they are worn out this time.

 

[philsey]

She's already reading all the posts (including this one), and the mod list is long. First thing we are working on is learning how to search.

Fixed that fer ya.

 

[Copp4]

I agree with this.

I'll go further regarding tires. The OEM tires are excellent for what she will likely ask of them. I drove on my stock bridgestones for 3 winters on my first 5th gen before I decided that I "needed" new tires. The Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor tires were probably the worst mod I've ever done to a vehicle. The acceleration got much worse, fuel economy tanked by 10%, and they didn't grip any better in bad weather. I kept the stock size. The tire shop had a heck of a time balancing them, too. I'll be leaving my stock tires until they are worn out this time.

Ha! Those GDY Silent Armors have been horrible since they started manufacturing them back in the early 2000's.

A great option would be a Michelin. There are other good tire manufactures as well of course. I haven't owned a set of Michelin truck or Sport tires that weren't excellent all the way around.. Well almost. Their high performance sport tires don't last very long, but that's not abnormal for most similar type tires.

I just haven't had luck searching for a slightly larger and wider tire for my T4R 5th gen Limited with the 20's. Not many options.... Not that I found. I don't need them yet, but I like to do my homework before that day comes. Probably about 6/32 of tread life left.

 

[sntryplt]

Thanks all... She'll hit reality when she figures out that mods cost her money. We are adding supplemental cargo area lighting with the Oznium 1W LED bolts (as added to mine), and some basic Plano, or such, cargo boxes for storage. Otherwise, the OEM tires are good. No need to mess with anything at this point. And yes, I will teach her all about the search function.

Cheers!

Dave

 

[Copp4]

Check out GooseGear drawers... That's where I got mine through and I love em. Or alternatively build some of your able! GooseGear makes some specifically for the 4Runner, fit quite well in the back. Of course that's if it what's she's looking for...

I have that same bike rack. It has proven to be one of the best ones I have ever owned. My only gripe is when it is in the upright position not being used. You have to be careful when releasing it to let it down or it will or can go forward right into the lift gate. Yeah...it happened once to me. No damage, but I can see it causing damage if in a hurry and careless. Other than that, it is an awesome bike hauler!

 

[Quentin]

Ha! Those GDY Silent Armors have been horrible since they started manufacturing them back in the early 2000's.

They were very well rated by TireRack... Oh well.