jacksonpt

OK, I've got soooo many thoughts running through my head, I can't keep them all straight. So help me think this stuff through...

The background:
My wife and I just found out we are expecting our second child (woohoo!!!). My wife's BMW 325 will be too small for road trips, and my truck doesn't travel as well as it once did (33" MTs and 3.90s will do that). Since I put the body lift on, the rig has some "idiosyncracies" that make my wife uncomfortable driving my truck.

My options:
(1) Keep going with the 4Runner
Fix said "idiosyncracies", regear/lock, possibly supercharge. Regearing and supercharging would give back power and gas mileage lost, possibly boost power that would be nice when towing our boat. Should end up being a solid trail rig and a good daily driver. Estimated cost: $8k-10k

(2) Keep 4Runner as is, buy a Tundra as a daily driver
Pretty straight foward... keep the 4Runner as is and buy a Tundra as a daily driver. Would also be the vehicle we take on trips and tow with. Estimated cost: $30-$35k.

(3) Return the 4Runner to stock(ish), buy an FJ40 for a trail rig
The 4Runner is still very solid, very reliable, and I love it. I could return it to stock (more or less), and buy an FJ40 to use as a trail rig and fun truck. I'd take everything off the 4Runner except maybe the bumper. Go to 31s and stock suspension (or perhaps airbags if I can find them, or 1" lowering springs). I'd think about supercharging as well. This would make the rig ride very well, get good gas mileage, and have plenty of power for towing. Then I'd get an FJ40, do a SOA conversion and a few other small things. Run split cases if I could fit it in the budget. Estimated cost: $20k

My wife likes option 2 the best because of the warranty that comes with a new truck and because of how versatile a dcab tunra with a cap would be for us. I like otpion 3 better because I would end up with 2 trucks that I absolutely loved. The cost makes otpion 1 appealing.

Any thoughts? Whatever vehicle(s) we end up with, we need to have something that can tow our boat (approx 3500lbs), something is dog friendly, something that can handle 2 adults/2 kids/and gear, something that rides well with decent gas mileage for road trips and vacations, and something that is reasonably trail worthy.

01Mossy Oak edition

Option 2

Hey make the wife happy and get the Tundra, you will end up with a sweet fullsize truck and in the process make your wife very happy. Ya cannot go wrong with that!!!

BT17R

Congrats on the pending arrival!

Well, I'll once again flail the horse:

1) Sell BMW

2) Sell 4Runner after returning to stock. Sell takeoff accessories here.

3) Buy older p/u and convert to trail use, or maybe a more expensive FJ-40.

4) Buy '98-'99 FJ-100 w/factory rear locker (the horse I've been flailing) for $18K-$20K. No matter what you do to your 'Runner, it won't come close to filling your needs like an FJ-100 will.

My 2¢.

bamachem

CONGRATS!!!

Q: how would #1 cost $8k-$10k???

SC w/ URD kit = $3000 installed
Gears + Dual ARBs and OBA = $2200

What else would you do?

Personally, I have 4.10's, so for now I'm not regearing, but I just bought a SC and 7th Inj Kit w/ 7k miles on it. That should help quite a bit.

01Mossy Oak edition

By the way congrats on your news, we have three daughters ourselves.

01Mossy Oak edition

Option 2

Hey make the wife happy and get the Tundra, you will end up with a sweet fullsize truck and in the process make your wife very happy. Ya cannot go wrong with that!!! Hey congrats on your good news, we have three daughters ourselves.

jacksonpt

I was guessing about $2500 for gears and lockers, $3000 for SC, $3-4k for other random stuff to make the rig "wife friendly". The two big ones are fixing the steering and doing a bit of body work. I'd want to fix the sunroof too, which could get expensive in a hurry.

bamachem

Ahhh... Or, do like some other UNNAMED person on here and take the runner to stock, fix the boo boos, and sell it. Pick up a 95-97 FJ for about $10k to $12k and put 33" MTRs on it. You'll have an inline 6, solid front axle, dual lockers, and 33's, but you'll also have 13 mpg's. It's always a tradeoff.

Best of luck.

jacksonpt

My 4Runner is paid for, so selling it isn't really an option.

Rick F.

Hmmm..... My son is looking for a BMW 325i. What year and equipment?

jacksonpt

white '03 325xi (all wheel drive). pretty basic by BMW standards... 5 speed, leather, power everything, climate control, sunroof. No navigation or premium stereo, standard suspension/wheels.

Rick F.

Drat! I'm sure he can't afford that. He was in the market for an early to mid '90's. Thanks anyway.

havic

Sell the BMW and take it from there. Option 3 sounds good if you get rid of the beamer because that would help out with some of the cost, if you are concerned with that. I love the bm, but two toyota trucks sound pretty good.

Roadtripr

Trade the BMW 325 for the station wagon BMW 325, that should do for road trips (the Tundra milage is probably low).
Or return the runner to stock and buy and old PU for the trail.

jacksonpt

We are probably going to dump the 325xi for an X3.

lee

sounds to me like option 2 and 3 are very similar -- you end up with 2 great trucks, but in option 2 you have a warranty, new gadgets and a happy wife!

so 2 it is.

lee

DO NOT get the x3. our family friends have one and it is a piece of crap that is NOT worth the money.

theyve already taken theirs (its about 5 months old now) to the shop 3 times for mysterious noises, one of which was a failed part in the engine... do not know the specifics unfortunately.

plus, imo, the x3 is the ugliest bimmer ever.

bamachem

Oh, hell no don't get an X3. Get an MDX or GX470 but NOT an X3.

jacksonpt

The X3 is all but decided. She's got another 15 months or so on the lease of her 325 and she's way over on mileage. The X3 allows her to get out of her lease with ZERO fees and into an X3 for about $25 more a month. It's zippier than the 325, has a better all wheel drive system, and has much more room. It is ugly, but she can over look that.

jacksonpt

Is that the only person you know with an X3 who's had problems? I'm not likely to make a decision based on 1 person's experience. Sorry, but it's just not logical.