Here I stand at the crossroads edge...
01-16-2012, 08:27 AM
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Here I stand at the crossroads edge...
…afraid to reach out to my next vehicle!
My ’98 4Runner is done; she’s been a faithful beast, but she’s old and tired. Pushing 300k miles on the original powertrain, interior is falling apart piece by piece, new squeaks and rattles appear every day, and the entire front suspension & steering is shot (ball joints, springs, shocks, steering rack, CV’s, etc etc). I had it in my mind to fix her up, but I can’t see myself dropping some serious coin into a 14 year old vehicle with such a high mileage and such high use.
The 3rd gen 4Runner has suited me well, and is a perfect fit for what my family needs (my daily driver, and a 4x4 to get us out on the beach/camping far away from the rest of the demon horde). I do miss the utility of having a bed and figured a DoubleCab Taco would be a good move, but I also like the fact that I can store things locked up inside the cargo area 4Runner and access them from the back seat (coolers, kids toys, etc). Now adding to this mess I am finding prices on early year (2003/2004) 4th Gen 4Runners to be almost the same, or cheaper than either 3rdGen 4Runner or a DC Taco!!
So, here is my conundrum:
Stick with a newer (99+), lower mileage 3rd Gen 4Runner (no surprises, already know models quirks/maintenance needs),
OR
Move to a DC Taco, but lose the usefulness of having covered storage, but gain a bed (while keeping most of the quirkiness/maintaince of the 3rd Gen 4Runner),
OR
Move to a 4th Gen 4Runner and see what it brings.
So far I’ve just been weighing my decisions on regular use of a stock vehicle, no offroading or other mods added into the equation. I’ve always wanted to spruce up my current 3rd Gen to make it more expo friendly, but the thought of putting high-zoot parts on such an old vehicle made me think otherwise….but now with a newer vehicle you can bet your butt I’ll be equipping it!
What would you do??
My ’98 4Runner is done; she’s been a faithful beast, but she’s old and tired. Pushing 300k miles on the original powertrain, interior is falling apart piece by piece, new squeaks and rattles appear every day, and the entire front suspension & steering is shot (ball joints, springs, shocks, steering rack, CV’s, etc etc). I had it in my mind to fix her up, but I can’t see myself dropping some serious coin into a 14 year old vehicle with such a high mileage and such high use.
The 3rd gen 4Runner has suited me well, and is a perfect fit for what my family needs (my daily driver, and a 4x4 to get us out on the beach/camping far away from the rest of the demon horde). I do miss the utility of having a bed and figured a DoubleCab Taco would be a good move, but I also like the fact that I can store things locked up inside the cargo area 4Runner and access them from the back seat (coolers, kids toys, etc). Now adding to this mess I am finding prices on early year (2003/2004) 4th Gen 4Runners to be almost the same, or cheaper than either 3rdGen 4Runner or a DC Taco!!
So, here is my conundrum:
Stick with a newer (99+), lower mileage 3rd Gen 4Runner (no surprises, already know models quirks/maintenance needs),
OR
Move to a DC Taco, but lose the usefulness of having covered storage, but gain a bed (while keeping most of the quirkiness/maintaince of the 3rd Gen 4Runner),
OR
Move to a 4th Gen 4Runner and see what it brings.
So far I’ve just been weighing my decisions on regular use of a stock vehicle, no offroading or other mods added into the equation. I’ve always wanted to spruce up my current 3rd Gen to make it more expo friendly, but the thought of putting high-zoot parts on such an old vehicle made me think otherwise….but now with a newer vehicle you can bet your butt I’ll be equipping it!
What would you do??
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