Joey D
Premium
- 47,226
- Boyne Falls, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
Since I'm unable to keep a vehicle for more than two years, it was about that time I got something new. However, unlike the last few times I've considered a new vehicle, I really wasn't planning on this one. A few people know that I'm moving from Utah to Michigan in a couple of months. The initial plan was to get a shipping container for our stuff, have my wife and son fly to Michigan while I sold my wife's vehicle, and then drive the Volvo across the country. That was looking good, but then fuel prices went from adequate to outrageous and it doubled the price of the shipping container. I wasn't going to spend nearly $5,000 to ship stuff that isn't even worth $5,000 across the country. I didn't want to sell the stuff though because I do like some of the furniture and whatnot we do have.
So a new plan was in order and after doing a bunch of math, it actually made some amount of sense to rent a U-Haul trailer and just drive across the country. It's not exactly something I wanted to do with a 3-year-old, but whatever, I'd rather spend $2,000 on fuel and a trailer rental vs. $7,000 on a shipping container and airline tickets. Unfortunately, this is like the worst possible time to buy a vehicle, everything is either vastly overpriced or just doesn't exist. Case-in-point, I originally wanted a 4Runner TRD Off-Road, but there were like two in northern Utah that didn't have an obscene amount of miles on them. One sold before I could look at it and the other choked me it smelled so bad of cigarette smoke.
A 4Runner wasn't my first option though, I really wanted a Chevy Colorado ZR2 or a Ford Ranger, however, both of those weren't big enough on the inside. I also looked at a couple of full-sized pick-ups but I couldn't justify spending nearly $50k on a used vehicle with over 60,000 miles on it and fairly devoid of options. There were also very few certified preowned vehicles floating around too and I ideally wanted that.
After going to a couple of dealers, I landed at one about an hour away on a whim because when I searched AutoTrader then had a 4Runner with a sunroof. The only knocks against it were that it was red and was an SR5, but I figured I could probably live with that if the deal was good. Fortunately, the deal was good. They gave me a hefty sum for my trade-in plus worked with me on the numbers a bit leaving the 4Runner ultimately like $39k and some change, about $5k less than other dealers. Best of all it was certified too plus just had new brakes and suspension bushings installed. The dealer also cut me a really good deal on the extended warranty. I don't think I really needed it, but it's now under warranty until 2030 or 150k miles. Guess I'm keeping this one for a bit.
Anyway, long story short, it's a 2020 SR5 Premium in Barcelona Red with the black TRD Pro wheels. It's pretty much loaded for the trim with a sunroof, heated seats, adaptive cruise control, fake leather seats, and NAV. It also has an aftermarket trans cooler installed too, which I liked since I'll be towing.
I hate the tires that are on it and I'll be getting something a bit more off-road focuses here pretty soon. The glare from the sun is also pretty bad off the hood, but a guy I work with does decal work on the side so he's getting that sorted for me. I'm sure I'll do a couple more things to it as well. It does need rock sliders since my wife has a difficult time getting in and out of it and once I can find a TRD Pro grill available, that'll be going on as well, they're just sold out everywhere for the 2020+ models right now. Probably next summer, I'll get a rooftop tent for family camping trips since Michigan will be good for that. Also, since I can't leave well enough alone, it'll likely get a lift at some point so I can stuff 33's under it.
So a new plan was in order and after doing a bunch of math, it actually made some amount of sense to rent a U-Haul trailer and just drive across the country. It's not exactly something I wanted to do with a 3-year-old, but whatever, I'd rather spend $2,000 on fuel and a trailer rental vs. $7,000 on a shipping container and airline tickets. Unfortunately, this is like the worst possible time to buy a vehicle, everything is either vastly overpriced or just doesn't exist. Case-in-point, I originally wanted a 4Runner TRD Off-Road, but there were like two in northern Utah that didn't have an obscene amount of miles on them. One sold before I could look at it and the other choked me it smelled so bad of cigarette smoke.
A 4Runner wasn't my first option though, I really wanted a Chevy Colorado ZR2 or a Ford Ranger, however, both of those weren't big enough on the inside. I also looked at a couple of full-sized pick-ups but I couldn't justify spending nearly $50k on a used vehicle with over 60,000 miles on it and fairly devoid of options. There were also very few certified preowned vehicles floating around too and I ideally wanted that.
After going to a couple of dealers, I landed at one about an hour away on a whim because when I searched AutoTrader then had a 4Runner with a sunroof. The only knocks against it were that it was red and was an SR5, but I figured I could probably live with that if the deal was good. Fortunately, the deal was good. They gave me a hefty sum for my trade-in plus worked with me on the numbers a bit leaving the 4Runner ultimately like $39k and some change, about $5k less than other dealers. Best of all it was certified too plus just had new brakes and suspension bushings installed. The dealer also cut me a really good deal on the extended warranty. I don't think I really needed it, but it's now under warranty until 2030 or 150k miles. Guess I'm keeping this one for a bit.
Anyway, long story short, it's a 2020 SR5 Premium in Barcelona Red with the black TRD Pro wheels. It's pretty much loaded for the trim with a sunroof, heated seats, adaptive cruise control, fake leather seats, and NAV. It also has an aftermarket trans cooler installed too, which I liked since I'll be towing.
I hate the tires that are on it and I'll be getting something a bit more off-road focuses here pretty soon. The glare from the sun is also pretty bad off the hood, but a guy I work with does decal work on the side so he's getting that sorted for me. I'm sure I'll do a couple more things to it as well. It does need rock sliders since my wife has a difficult time getting in and out of it and once I can find a TRD Pro grill available, that'll be going on as well, they're just sold out everywhere for the 2020+ models right now. Probably next summer, I'll get a rooftop tent for family camping trips since Michigan will be good for that. Also, since I can't leave well enough alone, it'll likely get a lift at some point so I can stuff 33's under it.