I'm thinking about jettisoning the 1997 gas-hawg F-1Fitty

[Okla-homey]

for one of these...Toyota FJ Cruiser.

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3784/07fjcruiserintro6sc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

What do you guys think?

[Vaevictis]

Are you planning on getting a rainbow flag to fly from it too?

(maybe it's just that one angle?)

[King Crimson]

do they only let you drive it on Absolut vodka photo shoots?

[Okla-homey]

Are you planning on getting a rainbow flag to fly from it too?

No, I'll just go with the pink triangles.:O

Seriousy, I think it looks cool, it has a 4.0 liter V6, 4WD and its 'sposed to get 21mpg on the highway and MSRP in the low 20's.

[Vaevictis]

Yeah, after I made the comment, I went and looked at some other photos. Other angles aren't bad. It's just that one photo you posted looks... meh.

[ultimatesooner1]

those are sweet, I like the 70's ones even better

I looked at them when they 1st came out and they were selling in the low 30's

[Okla-homey]

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9413/toyo126jx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4062/fj07fjcruiser531na.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[King Crimson]

my buddy has a toyota truck and it uses it pretty hard driving around and to off-road construction sites in the SIerra Nevadas around tahoe and trukee. he loves it.

[Okla-homey]

my buddy has a toyota truck and it uses it pretty hard driving around and to off-road construction sites in the SIerra Nevadas around tahoe and trukee. he loves it.

That's part of it. Ford builds a great full-size truck and I've driven them for two decades, but I just don't see gas going down and it seems kinda wasteful to be getting only 13mpg just running back and forth to work and such. That said, dependability is important to me because I keep vee-hickles a looong time.

[yermom]

that first pic looks and the interior looks like a bigger, boxier Mini

[SoonerWood]

It looks like a Honda Element got rearended by a Suzuki Samarai.

I feel that the FJ-40 is going to be one of those cars where, in about 5 years after the novelty wears off, it'll look just plain ghey. Take the PT Cruiser for example...

[yermom]

i kinda like the PT Cruiser... now if it wasn't a Chrysler...

although after the novelty wore off, the price sure went down

[Mixer!]

i kinda like the PT Neon... now if it wasn't a Chrysler...

Fixed. ;)

[yermom]

i kinda like the way it looks and stuff

i understand that it's a Neon underneath ;)

[hurricane'bone]

for one of these...Toyota FJ Cruiser.

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3784/07fjcruiserintro6sc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

What do you guys think?


Everytime I walk by the Law School Lot...I'll point and laugh at it.

[SoonerInKCMO]

No, I'll just go with the pink triangles.:O

Seriousy, I think it looks cool, it has a 4.0 liter V6, 4WD and its 'sposed to get 21mpg on the highway and MSRP in the low 20's.

I guess 'gas-hawg' is a relative term. ;)

[yermom]

heh, yeah my 300HP AWD Subaru can get 23+ ;)

[Okla-homey]

Well I won't be getting one right away. As others have pointed out, the dealers are very proud of 'em right now and I've never paid sticker for a vee-hickle in my whole dang life.

[oumartin]

i'll give you $350 for the pickup.

[Okla-homey]

i'll give you $350 for the pickup.

I will be selling the p/u myself. Trading cars is generally a losing proposition IMHO. In fact, its counter-intuitive if you think about it. Car dealer has to give you less than he'll realize when he sells it to a wholesaler. You're generally better off just selling it yourself for close to its actual retail value --which is what some guy will pay, not the flippin' "book" value.

[Jerk]

I guess 'gas-hawg' is a relative term. ;)

Sure is! (:

I get 5mpg!

[etouffee]

Trading cars is generally a losing proposition IMHO. In fact, its counter-intuitive if you think about it. Car dealer has to give you less than he'll realize when he sells it to a wholesaler. You're generally better off just selling it yourself for close to its actual retail value --which is what some guy will pay, not the flippin' "book" value.
it's a matter of time and convenience. some people would rather forfeit a couple grand rather than go through the trouble of selling a car themselves. plus, it can take weeks, even months, to find a buyer. if you're itching to buy your new car right now, trading it in facilitates that.

[Vaevictis]

it's a matter of time and convenience.

Not to mention the fact that time is money. And the more money value you place on your time, the faster you have to sell that bugger to make it worth your time.

For some people (although maybe not most), it's more profitable to just sell the bugger for less and spend the time working that you would have spent selling. Especially if you make a decent wage and you run that car into the ground ;)

[etouffee]

Exactly. I don't have the time (nor the desire) to sell a car myself. Having done it several times in the past, I've determined it can be a MAJOR pain in the rear.

[Harry Beanbag]

If the dealer gives you what you want on your trade or close to it, you just got royally screwed on the new vehicle.

[Vaevictis]

If you just bought a new car from a dealer, you just got royally screwed on the new vehicle.

Isn't that what you really meant? ;)

[etouffee]

That's definitely more accurate. Buying a brand new car is a bad idea from a purely monetary perspective, primarily because of the high first year depreciation. But, as with selling yourself vs. trading in, some people are willing to eat a few grand to get what they want right away.

[Harry Beanbag]

Depends on what you buy. Last July I bought a new Accord, and it's still worth what I paid for it. Of course most people don't get that good of a deal.

[Okla-homey]

I also believe its best to go in to the dealer with your financing already arranged so they can't play the finance manager special olympics with you...I've always felt that's where much of the hijinx gets perpetrated..."well yes the ads do say 1% financing, but our finance company simply won't go there for you. Best we can do is 3%" Yeah, right.

best scenario for the customer: No trade-in with the cash ready to plunk down.

[etouffee]

I also believe its best to go in to the dealer with your financing already arranged so they can't play the finance manager special olympics with you...

best scenario for the customer: No trade-in with the cash ready to plunk down.
Yep. Definitely have your financing arranged in advance. And be sure to check out the online lenders. We found loans for our last 2 cars using Lending Tree, and they found us lower rates than any of our local banks would give us.

Also, do your homework on both your trade-in and the car you plan to buy. Know exactly what the trade-in is worth, what the dealer paid for the new one, and any special incentives or "holdbacks" the dealer is getting. All this information is readily available online if you spend the time to look for it. Even if you have to pay to get it, so what? You're talking about a huge purchase here; a few more dollars doesn't matter in the big picture. If you go in there with all that information, plus your financing already arranged, it greatly diminishes their ability to jerk you around.

[picasso]

for one of these...Toyota FJ Cruiser.

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3784/07fjcruiserintro6sc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

What do you guys think?
those things are retro sweet. and they look much better than the new 4runners.

[etouffee]

is that a functional half-door behind the side door? ie. can you open it to put stuff in teh back?

[Okla-homey]

is that a functional half-door behind the side door? ie. can you open it to put stuff in teh back?

It has four doors, the back one is sorta like the ones on p/u extended cabs.

[etouffee]

spiffy.