Speechless

G

GoBlueBradW

New member
This really is my first post that has any "true" content to it.

My wife and I have been looking at getting a "second: vehicle for quite sometime now. Currently, we have a 2011 Outback which my wife and I drive and a 2007 Trailblazer SS which is my toy with low miles and a bunch of money tied-up into it. My wife's whole family are Toyota nuts and I grew up in a GM family mainly because my Dad is employed by them. With that said, I have always owned Chevrolet's and other GM vehicles and never in a million years thought that I would own a Toyota. I am also the type that does a TON of research before buying anything because I was raised to buy it once! I have looked at everything in the Big Three line-up that is an SUV and in the same comparison class as the 4Runner but skipped right over the Runner.

Then I started speaking to my two brother in laws and my father in law who all own 02-06 runners each with 160,000 miles or more. They have not put a dime into either one of their vehicles other than routine maintenance and it still looks brand new. Additionally, I ran a KBB, NADA and a Black Book on each vehicle and found out that they're still worth quite a bit of money especially when considering the amount of miles on them. I then started to think about all the GM vehicles I have owned and how much money I had to put into them plus I have always unloaded the vehicle at 100,000 miles or less due to squeaks, rattles or was just bored of the vehicle.

I guess what I am trying to say is that a long time GM guy is going to be buying a new Trail Edition 4Runner to park next to our Outback and my Trailblazer SS. The process has been a long road but I asked myself, "what other vehicle can you purchase that is around the $40K mark, drive the hell out of it, put little to no money into it and still sell it private party for a reasonable amount of money?" From my extensive background (automobile sales for 10+ years) in the automobile business as well as research, this IS the best buy in it's price range.

Just thought that I would try to express my newly born, borderline obsessiveness with these vehicles. My wife is literally shaking in her boots because I already have put together a lengthy spreadsheet of several items that will be installed immediately after buying my new Trail Edition. With ALL of that said, I want to say thank you to the gods for letting me run into this site, however, my wife is currently trying to find a way to permanently block it from every computer in our house!
 
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Welcome! If you have been in automobile sales for 10+ years it should be no suprise that Toyota 4Runner resale is at the top. Why are you speechless? Oh, search around the 5G 4Runner threads and you will find some great information that should answer your questions you have not thought of yet!
 
1engineer said:
Welcome! If you have been in automobile sales for 10+ years it should be no suprise that Toyota 4Runner resale is at the top. Why are you speechless? Oh, search around the 5G 4Runner threads and you will find some great information that should answer your questions you have not thought of yet!
Click to expand...

Well, my automobile sales were in Michigan where Toyota's aren't driven as much as GM. Not too mention the fact that working for a GM dealership we rarely saw a 4Runner.

I am speechless as to the resale value and how well these vehicles are built. Riding in my father in laws 4Runner with 167,XXX miles felt like it was new. I really can't believe that there is such a difference. I mean, I know that GM makes a few nice vehicles but I am excited to get a new 4Runner!
 
GoBlueBradW said:
Well, my automobile sales were in Michigan where Toyota's aren't driven as much as GM. Not too mention the fact that working for a GM dealership we rarely saw a 4Runner.

I am speechless as to the resale value and how well these vehicles are built. Riding in my father in laws 4Runner with 167,XXX miles felt like it was new. I really can't believe that there is such a difference. I mean, I know that GM makes a few nice vehicles but I am excited to get a new 4Runner!
Click to expand...

I think there are a lot of folks out there like you who don't even know what they're missing. My wife's uncle, who's a big "buy american" guy told me the other day it was time to start thinking about a new car because his car (ford) had 75k miles, lol! Unlike "domestics", toyotas last well beyond 75k-100k miles. As a Toyota owner, it's great to buy a new car because you want to , and not because you have too!
 
Sad but true - many people don't know what they're missing.

:welcome:

GM Break-in Procedure:

1. drive it gently
2. wonder why it won't start
3. argue with dealer
4. hit a pothole in DC and crack windscreen
5. argue with dealer some more because apparently the windscreen broke the ABS
6. first major dealer maintenance
7. now it ain't running right
8. goto 5.

Toyota Break-in Procedure:

1. Drive off lot onto nearest field
2. Do donuts
3. Go to a FJ Cruiser meet, drive through 3 ft creeks in West Virginia
4. Get West Virginia pinstripes
5. Drive it on the dunes on an Atlantic ocean beach
6. Complain about sand everywhere
7. Wash it, then complain about the pinstripes
8. Complain on 4Runner.org because it does not have LED/HID/whatever headlights
9. goto 2.
 
KCcarguy said:
I think there are a lot of folks out there like you who don't even know what they're missing. My wife's uncle, who's a big "buy american" guy told me the other day it was time to start thinking about a new car because his car (ford) had 75k miles, lol! Unlike "domestics", toyotas last well beyond 75k-100k miles. As a Toyota owner, it's great to buy a new car because you want to , and not because you have too!
Click to expand...

I agree and that is definitely the case in Michigan. Now that I am in Colorado I see 4Runners and Subaru's EVERYWHERE and it just so happens that I will own one of each in the near future.
 
My wife comes from a “buy America” household and it was a hard sell to get her to agree to a Toyota. I sat her and her father down with spreadsheets and said, given the fuel economy and resale value, we could not afford an American SUV. After owning my 4Runner for just over a year now I can say it’s the only new vehicle I have ever owned that went more than 12 months without a trip to the dealership for something other than routine maintenance. That includes two (U.S. built) Hondas that had issues in the first year of ownership.

I would buy a used Grand Cherokee Limited with the 318 V8 in a second for 2,000 because I know my way around it and the parts are dirt cheap. But there is no way I would spend $35K on one just to see it loose half its value in 3 years, especially if it were my family’s only vehicle. On a side note, it may just be my experience with dealers, but the Toyota folks were great while I have always had issues problems with Ford, Jeep and GM dealers. My experience with GM salesmen in the past has been so bad that I have taken all GM vehicles off my shopping lists, they have so little interest in vehicles (in my experience) that they may as well be selling washing machines or air conditioners .
 
homeyclaus said:
Sad but true - many people don't know what they're missing.

:welcome:

GM Break-in Procedure:

1. drive it gently
2. wonder why it won't start
3. argue with dealer
4. hit a pothole in DC and crack windscreen
5. argue with dealer some more because apparently the windscreen broke the ABS
6. first major dealer maintenance
7. now it ain't running right
8. goto 5.

Toyota Break-in Procedure:

1. Drive off lot onto nearest field
2. Do donuts
3. Go to a FJ Cruiser meet, drive through 3 ft creeks in West Virginia
4. Get West Virginia pinstripes
5. Drive it on the dunes on an Atlantic ocean beach
6. Complain about sand everywhere
7. Wash it, then complain about the pinstripes
8. Complain on 4Runner.org because it does not have LED/HID/whatever headlights
9. goto 2.
Click to expand...

We should get the above put into a nice neat flow-chart to be pasted-in and used when necessary:)
 
rickwol said:
We should get the above put into a nice neat flow-chart to be pasted-in and used when necessary:)
Click to expand...

10. Continue to drive your Toyota truck until:
a) Your newborn child turns 16 and you pass it down to him.
b) You get bored and sell it (refer new owner to step 2).
 
I think we need a new rule that if you're the new guy with less than 10 posts and bragging about their new 5th gen and you don't post picks you will be BANNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
My Dad retired from GM. I worked on the assembly line during the summer while in college. The stuff they tell you about Friday night vehicles is true! First Friday night I worked, I was shocked by how many people were drunk. You could see the lemons coming down the line while being built. Each Astro van had a build sheet with codes for every work station. You would mark the sheet if you had a problem- damaged part, incomplete job, scratched paint, etc. Most jobs would have one or two marks on the sheet. The lemons looked like a coloring book. Between lines, repairmen would have a little time to try to fix the problems. The line did not stop. Most of the workers really did care that they did a good job, but the system was working against them...It was sad.

I was raised as part of an "American car only" family. Unfortunately, I have lived through my fair share of GM junk, lured in by employee pricing. This is my first Toyota, but I have owned Fords, Chevy's, GMC's, VW's, Buicks, Nissans, and a Jeep TJ.

I am confused as to why it took me so long, as a self proclaimed "gearhead", to see the light. This vehicle has opened my eyes! First one I've ever owned that can be taken apart over and over with no rattles. I love it!
 
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GoBlueBradW said:
Then I started speaking to my two brother in laws and my father in law who all own 02-06 runners each with 160,000 miles or more. They have not put a dime into either one of their vehicles other than routine maintenance and it still looks brand new.

I guess what I am trying to say is that a long time GM guy is going to be buying a new Trail Edition 4Runner to park next to our Outback and my Trailblazer SS.
Click to expand...

You'll never look back, now. I'm only at 90k but the truck has been used almost like a ranch vehicle with zero problems and only routine maintenance. No alignment, still tracks perfectly -- and the 5th gen frame is even stronger. No unusual rattles or broken interior pieces. Pretty astonishing, in my view.
 
RonMAIDEN said:
I think we need a new rule that if you're the new guy with less than 10 posts and bragging about their new 5th gen and you don't post picks you will be BANNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

I don't have a 5th gen yet but I assure you that I will post pics as soon as I pick one up. How about I substitute with pics of a 500+ RWHP Trailblazer SS?
 
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