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Smart Shopper What's the best vehicle for my needs?
1145 messages, Last post on Sep 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM
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Replying to: demigawd (Jun 21, 2009 8:31 am)  Hold their resale value as well. A 10 year old Tacoma 2wd can't be given away, yet the 4x4 versions still sell for 5-6K+. So buying one a few years used might mean well under $1000 a year depreciation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Tacoma IMO, you want a 2004 model. This is the last year of the older smaller body. Less plastic and cheaper to maintain. It should also be right in your price-range. (about 12-15K should get you a good condition low mileage one)
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Replying to: plekto (Jun 21, 2009 10:36 am) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Tacoma IMO, you want a 2004 model. This is the last year of the older smaller body. Less plastic and cheaper to maintain. It should also be right in your price-range. (about 12-15K should get you a good condition low mileage one) Allowing you want to drive a truck. There is going to be a big difference between ride quality, handling, fuel economy, and various other things comparing a G35 to a truck.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Jun 21, 2009 10:59 am) To be honest, it's all about degrees here. My Friend's 5 year old 4Runner is big, heavy, and smooth as glass on the highway. With the V6 in it, he gets almost 20mpg highway as well. It doesn't feel like a truck. Not all SUVs are created equal.
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Replying to: demigawd (Jun 21, 2009 8:46 am) You could look at models you are considering and see if there is a big difference...for example a 2006 GLI comes in at about $8800 for repairs and maintenance, so it looks like there would be little difference between that and the G35. In contrast the one that I mentioned being a bit scared of, the 2004 x-type comes in with almost $21,000 in repair and maintenance costs...so still scary. For most cars I have looked at there is not enough difference to affect our decisions, but once in a while there is one like that x-type. |
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With 10 of the 12 inches on the ground at 7AM, I shoveled away enough to get the door open, fired up my low ground clearance FWD and drove off on unplowed streets that had one set of tracks already that morning. The floorpan was into the snow and backing up in the unplowed street packed one of the exhaust tips. Years ago with my V6 M5 Camaro, I backed into a driveway to turn around and barely got up a very slight upward slope to get out of the driveway. There was 2 inches of snow that day. maybe it took 30 seconds of spinning to go the 20 feet. |
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| Many tire shops will store the spare set of wheels and tires for their customers for a nominal fee. You might look into this as an option since you say you're not allowed to store them in your parking space. | |
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Replying to: plekto (Jun 21, 2009 11:08 am) From Cars.com - '04 4Runner vs G35x 0-60mph (estimated) 7.6 seconds 5.4 seconds 1/4 mile (estimated) 15.5 s  90 mph 14.1 s 96 mph Lateral acceleration .79 G .84 G Slalom 57.4 mph 60.1 mph So over 2 seconds slower, .05G lower, and 4mpg under in the slalom, and that is a better performing SUV... If I HAD to drive an SUV, I would, but I can't think of a reason why I would ever HAVE to do that. |
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yeah, an SUV isn't really an option for me. I've never liked them, the ride, the handle, nothing. The whole SUV thing never caught on for me at all. i haven't test driven the G35x yet, so I can't comment on the ride quality, but in general, I do prefer smoother rides. For those of you driving cars with traction control - does it significantly help pulling into and out of snowed in parking spaces without the aid of ripped up cardboard boxes and two people? |
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Replying to: demigawd (Jun 21, 2009 8:46 am) For example, a set of four tires for G35x will cost you $1K, and they don’t last as long since there are performance tires. Same applies to brakes, cost more and don’t last as long. My rule of thumb is, if I can’t afford to buy a car new, I wouldn’t be able to afford to maintain this car used.
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Replying to: exb0 (Jun 22, 2009 5:20 am) However, the one thing I can say in favor of the costs is that I've spent exactly $0 in repair over its 92,000 mile lifespan. Nothing's gone wrong - just regular maintenance stuff like brake pads, tires, and just replaced the belts.
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