AJatx

X-REAS really make a difference?
My boss test drove one (after much persuasion from me) with X-REAS and without X-REAS. He didn't notice a difference and he did take some hard turns.

Just curious.

I hope the exterior on the 4th gen changes a bit to make the lines smoother.
Otherwise, it looks like a nice truck from the inside and drivetrain perspective. The uphill and downhill assist would've been a nice luxury on my recent skitrip/roadtrip through New Mexico (Carlsbad, Ruidoso).

J

Tripitz

I actually didn't drive a regular SR5 as the car I test drove was a Limited with the X-REAS option. I was so impressed with the flat handling nature of the truck that I was sold on it. The reviews that I have read about it indicate that it does make a big difference. Enough of a difference so that the tires are a limiting factor.

JGage

Tripitz,
That was the word I was told, I also read it somewhere on Edmunds. The V8 is an upgrade, but was released first.

re: the cladding. The cladding ought to be an option. If I lived in the backwoods and REALLY offroaded the '03, I would want it. Unimproved roads and light trails are the worst mine will see.

X-reas: I think it is an improvement over the standard shocks. The thing is, the seats are not sport seats (hug your body) so while the '03 may not heel or roll, your body does.

My friend's wife has an X-Terra and I think they are okay. The back seat is horrible and cargo capacity is pretty weak. It's pretty good for what it is, they made a small SUV w/o making a car out of it.

Tripitz

I don't mind the seats not having side bolsters as if I'm cornering that hard I should be driving my M3 instead! Basically, for me at least, the flatter handling makes the truck seem less ponderous and a bit more enjoyable to drive. I also think it makes it a better ride for passengers as they don't have to deal with as much body lean.

I might go out on a limb here, but I actually like the way my 4Runner drives more than I did my old 330Xi which I sold. That was a great car, but the cornering limits on the All-Seasons on that car were just very, very weak and somewhat scarey. Maybe its because the 3.0 in the BMW just begs to be pushed hard, but I also felt that the car easily reached its 9/10ths.

BT17R

Tripitz, I came across this info about the free extended warranties being offered up on the E46 M3. You probably know all about it. One thing, though, where do you find the BMW approved 10W-60 synthetic and what does it cost?

http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000116254.cfm

EDIT: This thread became so long that I forgot about your post on the extended warranty. Oh yeah, I love BMW's, am a club member and competition road race instructor at track days. Jeez, I could tell some stories, but that's for another forum!

Tripitz

Thanks for the info. I received my letter confirming the warranty extension last week. Not great, but I can't complain. As far as I understand, 10w-60 synthetic can only be bought at the dealership as I believe the M3 and M5 are the only two cars that use it. I've heard of some dealerships charging $15/quart, which is ridiculous considering the car takes 8 quarts (might be off on that). There are more sane dealerships out there such as the one I use, and I pay about $7.50/quart, which isn't too bad.

Where do you do your track events? I was going to hit the one in Ohio or Limerock in November, but had a wedding to go to. The 2003 wasn't properly run-in until then, so I'm giong to wait until the spring this year to get into it. I'm pretty psyched, but a bit concerned about damaging my car.

BT17R

Tripitz, I run mostly at Portland International Raceway, where the CART show races every year.

http://www.portlandraceway.com/location.asp

It's relatively flat, unlike Lime Rock or Mid-Ohio, but technical with double-apex and off camber turns.

Great fun to run a track day, and it'll make you a better driver, but go in with your eyes open. Stuff happens, and this year waaay too much stuff happened at every BMW club track day. That's where the stories come in. Cars wound up on their roofs (new 330xi), stuffed head-on into walls (new M Coupe), doing a John Deere simulation off-course (new Dinan prepped M5), or involved in multi-car collisions from mechanical failure (E36 M3 blew a p/s hose in a turn sending him off-course and the next two cars sliding into each other). Nobody seriously hurt, but quite a few pretty BMW's totaled. Thankfully, I wasn't involved in any incidents. Most auto insurance companies are on to club racing and will not cover you doing anything within the boundaries of a track. Supplemental insurance is available from the club, but spendy, or take the risk and try to stay clean.

martin

FYI. Here is some info I found on the E46 engine. I want one (M3) so bad. I might have to save some more pennies and saddle up to the M5.

Martin

http://members.roadfly.org/jason/m3engines.htm

Beowulf

I just want to say one more thing and I am done on this topic, that www.carsdirect.com price is not b/s, that is the true price you will get it for (there are no hidden fees, I know because I purchased my vehicle through them). I bought my 2001 4Runner through them and NOT ONE DEALER could beat the price they offered. In fact, you will get it for the above quote or often times even less ... when I bought my 2001 they gave me an even better price than what came up from them on the initial estimate.

IF ANYONE WANTS TO BUY A NEW CAR at least go check them out, it is free and you will be surprised at the deals they can get!!!

Just plug in the car you are looking for, add the options and colors you want and get a "carsdirect quote" (do not get a "free local dealers quote" or you will just get a call from a dealer) make sure its a "carsdirect quote from a vehicle specialist". It requires a credit card (at least it used to, I'm not sure if it still does), but this is for age verification only and there is no charge ... this is completely free and you are NOT locked into anything!!!

It can save you thousands of dollars and it doesn't take more than 15 minutes to input all your data and you will be contacted by one of their vehicle specialist (they have specialists for each car manufacturer) usually within the next business day to verify what you are exactly looking for. And I want to stress that there is NEVER any hard sells pitching from these guys, they simply take your order, find your car and get you the price, if you want it ... buy it ... if not don't, they are not commissioned based. And the price they have listed is the price you will get it for or better (which was my case)!

Just want to pass this on to anyone considering the new 4Runner or any new car for that matter. It is an awesome way to buy a car, there is no haggling, no back and forth banter with the sales manager. In fact, after I agreed to purchase the car and it was ready to be picked up, I walked in the door and all my paperwork was waiting for me, I checked out the 4Runner thoroughly to make sure everything was the way I wanted it and walked out the door in less than an hour with the best deal in town.

So check them out before you make your purchase, it is free and couldn't hurt ... it could also free up some dough for that future S/C purchase!!!

Edit: I just priced the Sport Edition V8 at carsdirect.com and here are the results:

2003 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 SR5 Sport V8
Loaded with nearly every option including Nav System.

Carsdirect price: $35,141(including tax)
Invoice price: $33,841

Difference over invoice = $1300 (I am telling you these things are not selling ... $1300 over invoice is absolutely ridiculous).

I priced a limited at $42,155 (including tax)fully loaded with Nav System, etc. Hopefully you are getting it at this price or better!!!

Hope all works out!

You can also call them direct at 1.800.431.2500

BT17R

Hey, that sounded like good advice so I clicked on the link, saw the photo of an '02 instead of an '03 in the "New" section and clicked through. I configured the truck exactly as I'm getting mine. They returned a claimed MSRP price off by hundreds, but only offered to sell at the same MSRP = no discount at all. Yet their claimed invoice price was off by +$1,865, close to my $2,000 estimate, and proving they don't show the net invoice as I wrote about above. I have all the numbers and paperwork in front of me for comparison. In short, if your claims of the new Runner being sold at invoice are true, any Joe Schmoe walking off the street will do better without the service. I did. I ordered my Runner to spec and saved thousands, but I have fun negotiating with my dealer.

Can anyone get through to them on the 800#? I tried but kept getting cut off...

BT17R

Someone finally picked up the phone there and confirmed the numbers on their Limited price workup as spec'd. He said it depends on the geographic area and what dealers are getting for certain models now. So, yes, I handily beat their quote by thousands. If anyone wants to see my BOS, send your email in a PM and I'll send it along when I get the truck (next week?).

Beowulf

I'm not sure I get what you mean, what is the MSRP and invoice for your truck? Do they not match up? I clicked on the 03 and did the all the options and came up with the prices above? Are those invoices incorrect? If so, what are the true invoices?

And just to be checking things, this is not the first time I have been hearing from a few different sources about them selling close to invoice so I'm sticking to my guns here.

The main point is I was hoping you could beat or get a good price with your 03 purchase by going through them ... Were you able to get it at or around the price I have listed above of $42,155 loaded with every option? If so it seems like you got a good deal! If not look into it more deeply, you never know til you try ...

Edit: just read your above post, good deal then and I guess that proves my point; they are selling around invoice!!!

Good Times

congratz on your new 4runner. you'll definitely love it once you drive off in it!

handling should be pretty good since you'll have the x-reas system in it.

gas, well except crappy gas milage since u'll have the v8. but highway mpg should be around high 18's or even up to the 20's if your conservative.

Beowulf

It also makes sense about geographic location. Depending on where Toyota sells and moves the most vehicles is probably the where the better deal is. I live in San Diego and had to go to L.A. to pick mine up because the dealer there moves more 4Runners than down here, so this pretty much sums up that idea.

Congrats on your purchase and have fun with it!

Tripitz

Interesting about the carsdirect pricing. I ultimately paid $1300 over invoice after I hit several dealerships. The dealer I bought my car from had 13 cars on the lot just sitting there since early December. I was counting on this to hit him for every penny. Then something wierd happened..... 9 of his 13 cars sold during the Christmas week (every single Limited and Sport). That's pretty insane. The other dealer was the same way. As I had a friend who was personal friends with the dealer, I still got a decent deal, but the attitude at the shop was that they didn't need to move any more of their 4Runners for the month.

Tripitz

Thanks for the lowdown. No one openly talks about the crashing issue. I seriously need/want to track my E46 M3 as the car's limits are so ridiculously high, I have a bad feeling that somethign terrible will happen on the street if I ever really test them. It honestly doesn't suprise me about a 330Xi flipping. The handling on my 330Xi was absolutely TERRIBLE with the stock setup. The engine was way too much for the suspension/tire setup. If I can change my employment in the next month or two (plenty of time right now to enjoy the 4Runner.....) I might pickup an older 3 series to use for the track, especially since I now have a tow vehicle

E-Man

Hi Tripitz and all,

I'm new to this board and it looks like Tripitz and I now have identical '03's - color and all! I've had my '03 since late October and now have 3100 miles on her. Oh, what a ride........

Eric

Paul H.

Eric, welcome to the board and congrads. on your new ride.

Vato Loco

My local dealer is selling the 03 Limited's for $50000cdn.

http://autonet.ca/UpperJamesToyota/N...ection=NewCars

BT17R

So let's see, in USD that comes out to $9,000, right?

That's a great MSRP deal. It motivated me to call and chat with the GM. They're sold out of 4Runners through early March already! The one on the website is a "representative sample", so I'm assuming it's new with 0 miles. Worth the 2-3 month wait to save big.

Too bad they can't sell legally into the US. Instead they sell to brokers with a CDN address who convert the cars (speedo/odo switch) and re-sell them here legally as used.