2020 4runner, buyers remorse

I mean... I tend to regret every 4 wheeled vehicle purchase my wife makes. With certainty, she facilitates my hobbies and tolerates quite a bit, but fer f*cks sake, she picks out the dullest, most boring, underpowered vehicles ... it’s been Tercel to ****** to Murano to Legacy. She is hard on cars. I compel her to maintain them, but she has never washed a car. ever. Never cleaned the inside of one either, until she buys another one. She does get her moneys worth out of them, but I end up stuck with them too.

This next time I’m imposing a minimum 300hp requirement.

You will either have to bite the bullet now, or, sit on the 4runner and pay some off. Not knowing what you put down or paid, it’s tough to say how long. The good news is the Raptor market globally is stabilized, but you’re not likely to find a deal around any urban area or suburban dealer. You may be able to get one to price match or come close on a dealer stock Rap, but be warned, the stealership order models are almost always 802A, always have the moonroof, and are either fully loaded or minus 1-3 options.

I’ll offer this. I was left a small sum of money from a loved one who passed. Mom asked what I was going to do with it, and I wasn’t sure. She told me - tomorrow is promised to no-one, and we can’t take it with us. The first part is something her dad always said. I found a smoking deal on a 1990 Kawa ZX11 in the next 10 days and bought it. Owned it for 16 years and it was still putting down 149 hp to the wheel when I upgraded. I never once regretted that purchase and I spent a lot of money getting that thing well into the 10’s at MIR.

Sure, you might take a financial hit, but if you’re not happy with what you’re driving, it’s going to eat at you every time you’re in it. Find that ‘runner a good home and get what you want.

FordTechOne said:

Welcome.

Sounds like the Bronco might suite your needs well; I wish I had more details on whether/when a Ford Performance version will be released. As of now, the rumor is that it will have an option for the 2.7 Ecoboost V6, which in the F-150 is 325HP and 400 lb/ft of torque. That should make it quite a beast. They just need to start building them!

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Thanks TechOne. I'm amazed with the minimal information about this bronco since it is supposed to be out to the world in a couple months, but have read some of those rumors on drivetrain as well. Haven't even been able to confirm whether it is a "rock crawler" or a "desert runner"

smurfslayer said:

I mean... I tend to regret every 4 wheeled vehicle purchase my wife makes. With certainty, she facilitates my hobbies and tolerates quite a bit, but fer f*cks sake, she picks out the dullest, most boring, underpowered vehicles ... it’s been Tercel to ****** to Murano to Legacy. She is hard on cars. I compel her to maintain them, but she has never washed a car. ever. Never cleaned the inside of one either, until she buys another one. She does get her moneys worth out of them, but I end up stuck with them too.

This next time I’m imposing a minimum 300hp requirement.

You will either have to bite the bullet now, or, sit on the 4runner and pay some off. Not knowing what you put down or paid, it’s tough to say how long. The good news is the Raptor market globally is stabilized, but you’re not likely to find a deal around any urban area or suburban dealer. You may be able to get one to price match or come close on a dealer stock Rap, but be warned, the stealership order models are almost always 802A, always have the moonroof, and are either fully loaded or minus 1-3 options.

I’ll offer this. I was left a small sum of money from a loved one who passed. Mom asked what I was going to do with it, and I wasn’t sure. She told me - tomorrow is promised to no-one, and we can’t take it with us. The first part is something her dad always said. I found a smoking deal on a 1990 Kawa ZX11 in the next 10 days and bought it. Owned it for 16 years and it was still putting down 149 hp to the wheel when I upgraded. I never once regretted that purchase and I spent a lot of money getting that thing well into the 10’s at MIR.

Sure, you might take a financial hit, but if you’re not happy with what you’re driving, it’s going to eat at you every time you’re in it. Find that ‘runner a good home and get what you want.

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Thanks smurfslayer. Really nice of you to take the time to provide your thoughts and story. I agree 100% with your take on nothing is guaranteed in life, and life is short. I had enough down payment that I wouldn't be upside down, but of course would have been better if I just made the right choice from the start! Live and learn.

I would weigh the options, but honestly, if you are looking for a bronco, you may have time... It is probably going to be hard to get after release. You might want to give it a year or so on that to stabilize or you may not be able to get the setup you want at the price you should be able. If you know you will want a raptor anyway, I would go for that. I learned my lesson after the last time I got a f150 in 2012. I wished I had got a raptor then, but I didn't make the same mistake twice. Haha. I would see what your estimated trade is and that you can afford. Toyota should hold value very well. I have heard of people trading in Tacoma's now than they bought it for. Now that they are going to be made in Mexico idk...

My wife is similar to Smurfs in the washing department... I seem to have to do that all the time. But at least I convinced her to get another vehicle that I enjoy, a Lexus GX460. It isn't too fast but enjoyable on and off road and very reliable so far.

Raptorrunner2019 said:

I would weigh the options, but honestly, if you are looking for a bronco, you may have time... It is probably going to be hard to get after release. You might want to give it a year or so on that to stabilize or you may not be able to get the setup you want at the price you should be able. If you know you will want a raptor anyway, I would go for that. I learned my lesson after the last time I got a f150 in 2012. I wished I had got a raptor then, but I didn't make the same mistake twice. Haha. I would see what your estimated trade is and that you can afford. Toyota should hold value very well. I have heard of people trading in Tacoma's now than they bought it for. Now that they are going to be made in Mexico idk...

My wife is similar to Smurfs in the washing department... I seem to have to do that all the time. But at least I convinced her to get another vehicle that I enjoy, a Lexus GX460. It isn't too fast but enjoyable on and off road and very reliable so far.

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GX460 is a great car. Great mix of off road chops and luxury. My issue with buying cars is I always tend to settle and be rationale. Buying cars should never be a rationale decision. Plus I fully admit I have car A-D-D

We have both. Raptor and a 4Runner TRD Pro. Both awesome. Different but both well built and capable. Don’t sleep on the 4Runner. Raptor resale is higher but the market for potential buyers is without question higher for the 4Runner.

C


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DropTheMike said:

New guy to this forum, just wanted to introduce myself, also to get a dialogue going about trade in of newer cars, not really about getting beat up for how the 4runner compares to the raptor.

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Sorry, I wasn't trying to beat you up, just trying to point out that the 2 vehicles are very different. One looks kinda jazzy and seems relatively sensible. The other looks badass and turned out to be the king dingaling of trucks. Just take your medicine and go get a raptor. Your not gonna be happy until you do. After a few months you will have forgotten about the $$.

On the car washing, I average washing mine about every 2 months, my wife however, washes her escalade every week, invariably a day before it rains.

Anyway, get what you want, nobody here is gonna talk you out of it.

DropTheMike said:

nothing is guaranteed in life, and life is short.

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Would it be a bad time to say life is too short to drive a 4runner? Better to sell now while it's still current model year, it's only going to go down.

(just teasing, just teasing by the way)

coachhomer said:

We have both. Raptor and a 4Runner TRD Pro. Both awesome. Different but both well built and capable. Don’t sleep on the 4Runner. Raptor resale is higher but the market for potential buyers is without question higher for the 4Runner.

C


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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All great points, thanks coach. I "settled" for the SR5 premium, not the Trd pro, dealerships wouldn't budge at all on Trd pros. Didn't want to spend the extra money... In hind sight...... Whoops

DropTheMike said:

Have had a 2020 4runner for about 3 months now, and I have a bit of buyers remorse. Wish I would have sprung for the Raptor. Now buying my time until I can make the switch after enough time has elapsed so my whole family won't call me crazy for not liking a brand new car.

Anyone had a similar situation? Any luck trading in a quasi new car and not losing your @ss?

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To answer your question: Not really. I've always been in a position where I would sell my vehicle privately and get the most for it based on the market. Unless you have a friend at a dealer or otherwise some edge case deal, you'll get a lot less when trading. But yeah, if you are on loan, you can't sell it witout the title so you'd have to find someone to work out the deal or sell on consignment. In a few years, the prices we paid will result in a 25% less return. So, if you wait until the value of the trade equals what you owe (i.e. you're not upside down), you can trade without much loss. I'd say 1-3 years may bring you there depending on the market. But, as others have said, be happy. If you can't wait, do it now!

I'm in the same boat actually. I love this truck but little issues and possible bigger issues (in the future) leave me wondering if I'll trade it in a few years. In all my new vehicles, this would be the lowest quality I've owned. Nothing major, just little things (like I just discovered my washer fluid leaks out over a week without using it) and noises that I know are not normal that occur randomly. Anyway, I may go to a later Raptor in hopes that I get a perfect one or I'd fall back on my #2 requirement: quality, and that's Toyota. I owned Toys most of my life. I had a 4Runner in 2007. Loved it. Perfect (until my job turned on me so had to sell it).

The first thing you could do is make a list of all your requirements then what's nice to have.

For me, performance is always #1 on the list. Quality is #2.

In my area, when it rains, roads are super slippery. So, 4WD was a requirement. I do love the Raptor's 4WA feature. Toyota doesn't have this so hard to say if that would be a deal breaker.

4 doors is the next requirement. I got the SCAB but didn't learn about how the rear seatbelts for the occupant are attached to the driver's door so I have to actually open the door to let the passenger out. But I love that there is no pillar there.

Then, I wanted something really high.

I love the 360 cam. I love LED lights everywhere. Remote start, keyless entry etc.

I looked at Raptors (gen1) 5+ years ago and the performance wasn't there.

I don't off road and don't haul stuff. So decide if having an open bed vs a closed interior works for you.

Just going by memory, before the gen 2 Raptor, nothing really matched my above criteria. And I wasn't going to spend more than $60K for any vehicle.

Gen 2 Raptors, mostly, have it all for me.

So just decide what you really need, then want from the vehicle. Make a list. Then decide if the 4Runner has what you need. If you're not into performance (0-60s) then maybe Raptor isn't for you. If you're all about 4WD and off-roading, both would be very capable but Raptor has an edge since it was purpose built for that and you get the benefit of gobs of power (for those 0-60 moments).

I'd say sit in it for 1-3 years and re-evaluate then...