Wife wrecked her BMW...buy a FJ Cruiser to replace?

[Texas777]

Wife wrecked her 328i yesterday, and while repairable, we are considering a replacement. I've got a 62 year old buddy that had a 3 year old FJ Cruiser with 8k miles on it that he is about to trade on a 4Runner. His FJ is in immaculate showroom condition, so I'm wondering if we should pull the trigger on buying it? Hoping there are some unbiased former FJ Cruiser owners on here that can weigh in with their opinions on the vehicle?

What did you like and not like about the FJ that may have motivated you to buy the 4Runner? I've got a '14 Trail Premium that I love, but that may end up going to her if we pick up the FJ. Not going to ask this question on the FJ forum as responses likely won't be objective.

Thank in advance!

 

[1engineer]

That's not even an apples and oranges comparison. That's like apples and, and, and, a bar of aluminum or something. You don't need opinions you need to let her drive it for about 30 minutes through town. Take someone in the back seat, go to the store and get a few bags of groceries, etc and load it into the back. Coming back take it on the interstate and make sure you merge into traffic on this test drive. If she still likes it after all that then get it.

 

[rydr1]

I think you shouldn't buy it, but if you do then that's okay too.

I think a few of the other FJ vs. 4Runner threads can help out decide if the vehicle is right for you or not. If you want people's advise here is mine, don't buy it, but again, its a Toyota so buy it... :shrug:

 

[On Point]

posting this question in a 5th gen 4Runner forum makes no sense.

 

[wfo9]

I see you live in H town. The capital of car wrecks. How do I know this, I got smashed by someone while I was there visiting a few weeks ago.

Not sure I would want an FJ in that town. It could work, but you would have to really want it...

FJ is not a good road vehicle. It shines off-road.

 

[Texas777]

That's not even an apples and oranges comparison. That's like apples and, and, and, a bar of aluminum or something. You don't need opinions you need to let her drive it for about 30 minutes through town. Take someone in the back seat, go to the store and get a few bags of groceries, etc and load it into the back. Coming back take it on the interstate and make sure you merge into traffic on this test drive. If she still likes it after all that then get it.

Thanks for the above. Unfortunately the FJ is in Clearwater and we are in Houston, so will need to find a local FJ Trail to drive. The FJ will likely be mine, so I was thinking there might be former FJ owners that can tell me what they like better about their 4Runner than the FJ, before I decide to hand over the keys to my 4Runner Trail to the wife. My buddy is looking to move pretty quickly on his 4Runner purchase so I'm short on time. He's only selling the FJ because he just bought a condo with covered parking and the FJ won't fit with the stock rack on it and the 4Runner will.

 

[Texas777]

posting this question in a 5th gen 4Runner forum makes no sense.

Why is that? There are plenty of former FJ owners that went to 4Runners, so there is a knowledge base here. They now have 4Runners, and I own a 5th Gen., so I am looking for opinions on what former owners liked and didn't like about the FJ. Thanks for your valuable input. Love posts like these. Move along.

 

[Texas777]

I think you shouldn't buy it, but if you do then that's okay too.

I think a few of the other FJ vs. 4Runner threads can help out decide if the vehicle is right for you or not. If you want people's advise here is mine, don't buy it, but again, its a Toyota so buy it... :shrug:

Thanks, I'll start with a search here and see what comes up. Going to head out for an FJ test drive this afternoon.

 

[Texas777]

I see you live in H town. The capital of car wrecks. How do I know this, I got smashed by someone while I was there visiting a few weeks ago.

Not sure I would want an FJ in that town. It could work, but you would have to really want it...

FJ is not a good road vehicle. It shines off-road.

Yeah, no kidding about being the wreck capital. 4th largest city in the nation = more than our fair share of knuckleheads! Plenty of whom are illegal and/or uninsured!

We'll see what the test drive yields. Based on initial responses I suspect it may not be a good trade-off going from my 5th Gen to he FJ. May go with our initial plan before the accident and get her a 5th Gen. Limited. This FJ thing just dropped in my lap this morning.

 

[On Point]

Why is that? There are plenty of former FJ owners that went to 4Runners, so there is a knowledge base here. They now have 4Runners, and I own a 5th Gen., so I am looking for opinions on what former owners liked and didn't like about the FJ. Thanks for your valuable input. Love posts like these. Move along.

this forum is to talk about 5th Gen 4Runners. go to an FJ forum if you want to talk about those, or post in "Off Topic". This thread has contributed nothing of value. Thanks chief.

 

[Mooney]

There's a reason your buddy is trading the FJ for the 4Runner.

 

[st8rocks]

this forum is to talk about 5th Gen 4Runners. go to an FJ forum if you want to talk about those, or post in "Off Topic". This thread has contributed nothing of value. Thanks chief.

Chilllllllll. People post WAY more off topic threads on here. Why not just ignore the thread... You made your point. Go troll elsewhere.

 

[Texas777]

this forum is to talk about 5th Gen 4Runners. go to an FJ forum if you want to talk about those, or post in "Off Topic". This thread has contributed nothing of value. Thanks chief.

Of which I own, and am looking for opinions comparing and contrasting it to the 5th Gen. I'm not going to the FJ fan boy forum because I'm looking for objective opinions from FORMER owners who now wn 4Runners. Apparently your reading comprehension is lacking. I'm sorry you see no value in it. I suggest you spend your time on something you do value, and quit with the white noise here.

 

[Texas777]

There's a reason your buddy is trading the FJ for the 4Runner.

Yeah, as silly as it sounds, he has discovered that it won't fit under the covered parking he obtained this week, after he bought the condo he just moved into a month ago. The 4Runner will fit. Suggested he to do a rack delete or flat Baja Rack on it but he didn't like the looks of either.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Basically what [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] said (Though I guess it applies to you not your wife )

However, when I was looking at new vehicles last to replace my ageing Tacoma, I got in an FJ as I always loved the way they looked, it was pretty much an instant "no". Didn;t even test drive it. Too small inside and way too closed in feeling. Poor visibility etc. Then looked at the 4Runner which had none of those problems.

But in the end only you can decide I would DEFINATELY test drive one before even considering it though given what I said above.

 

[mattr]

I had an 07 FJ Cruiser, I loved the thing. Tough and well built, very reliable, unique styling - and mine was PM Yellow.

It was great for my wife and I when we had no kids, Canadian winters no problem, enough power, had the MT6 and full time 4wd and was awesome for camping and hiking trips as well as for my city commute - I was sad the day I got rid of it, but didn't have much of a choice at the time.

Buying a new vehicle now, the the wife and I have 2 kids and a dog now, so I didn't even consider the FJ. If you need to use the back seats more than once in a blue moon I wouldn't consider it. They're really only appropriate for children without legs, I did have my 5'3" wife sit back there once for a long road trip and she said it wasn't awful. The visibility sucks, but if you know that and adjust your mirrors it's a minor thing imo. You might want to tell us a little more about how it will be used.

 

[Texas777]

I had an 07 FJ Cruiser, I loved the thing. Tough and well built, very reliable, unique styling - and mine was PM Yellow.

It was great for my wife and I when we had no kids, Canadian winters no problem, enough power, had the MT6 and full time 4wd and was awesome for camping and hiking trips as well as for my city commute - I was sad the day I got rid of it, but didn't have much of a choice at the time.

Buying a new vehicle now, the the wife and I have 2 kids and a dog now, so I didn't even consider the FJ. If you need to use the back seats more than once in a blue moon I wouldn't consider it. They're really only appropriate for children without legs, I did have my 5'3" wife sit back there once for a long road trip and she said it wasn't awful. The visibility sucks, but if you know that and adjust your mirrors it's a minor thing imo. You might want to tell us a little more about how it will be used.

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for here. We would probably use the 4Runner as the (2) 8-10 year old kid, Yellow Lab hauler, and camping vehicle most of the time, but there may be times when we would use the FJ so not having a back seat to speak of could be an issue. My wife is 5'2" so it sounds like she and the kids could fit in a pinch. The second concern is the lack of visibility, especially the way people drive here. Going to drive one this afternoon keeping in mind your points when doing so. Thanks again for your thoughts on it!

 

[1engineer]

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for here. We would probably use the 4Runner as the (2) 8-10 year old kid, Yellow Lab hauler, and camping vehicle most of the time, but there may be times when we would use the FJ so not having a back seat to speak of could be an issue. My wife is 5'2" so it sounds like she and the kids could fit in a pinch. The second concern is the lack of visibility, especially the way people drive here. Going to drive one this afternoon keeping in mind your points when doing so. Thanks again for your thoughts on it!

If you would re read my post I hit all those points (including using the back area) without saying specifically "look at those points!" lol

 

[cjacob316]

I think the first question is, does your wife want the 4runner?

 

[Intruder]

I got in an FJ as I always loved the way they looked, it was pretty much an instant "no". Didn;t even test drive it. Too small inside and way too closed in feeling. Poor visibility etc. Then looked at the 4Runner which had none of those problems.

This describes almost exactly how I ended up with a 4Runner instead of an FJC. Always loved the way they looked but it felt like being in a cave. Plus the suicide rear door seemed like it would be a pain to get my dog in and out of the truck all the time.