after the FJ, next in line??

[nopistons96]

the current rig: 96 FJ80

the situation: my wife will be finishing up school with her 4 year RN ticket. she currently is driving the FJ. it has 206K miles on it as of last night. the birfs need to be replaced as do the 33" X-Terrains that are on it. the exhaust leaks in multiple places and there is some serious pulsing when the brakes are applied. i rebuilt the top end after the head gasket went 2 years ago. it runs like a top but the Minnesota winters have not been kind the the body. we took it on a few camping trips over the past 6 years but rarely trail ride with it. (it's mostly urban rated) so my question is...

do i fix all the things wrong with it and keep it around or send it on down the road for something that would fit our family better? its been a great rig and served us well over the years but time is catching up with the ol' girl.

we plan to spend about $12-15K on something newer. but i can't decide which route to go. any suggestions? what are you guys driving other than your FJ80's? 4Runners, FJ Cruisers, Sequioas FJ100? or maybe a Tahoe or Expedition? although i'd rather stick with the imports.

hoping you guys can give me some direction. its appreciated.
mike

 

[80BajaBound]

sell your 80 and buy a 100!

 

[ERG80]

sell your 80 and buy an 80 with less rust. With your budget you can get one and still have money left over.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Buy a 100, 2003 or newer, if you can. I have an '02 and although I love it, you get another gear in the tranny with '03 or newer. On days like today, when we both want to drive a 4X4 because of the weather, I take the 80, and she takes the 100. I never have to worry about her and she gets seat warmers, which make her very happy.

My $0.02.

PS You will get better gas mileage out of the V-8 in the 100 too.

 

[86tuning]

We have a Highlander as well as the 80. If you're looking for a strictly urban vehicle, these work great. Roomy, good fuel economy (especially the hybrids) more legroom in the back seat, available 3rd row seating, yada yada.

If you have the funds, a nice RX330/350/400h/450h would fit the bill as well, but they are smaller than the current Highlanders.

I'd stick with Toyota vehicles, they're still miles ahead of the competition

 

[greentruck]

We have a Highlander as well as the 80. If you're looking for a strictly urban vehicle, these work great...

I got a chuckle out of this. I had to winch my little bro's Highlander out of the ditch on Xmas Day
See: https://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-recovery/445327-xmas-winch-story.html

But I digress.

I'm with selling the old, rusty 80 and buying a nice specimen of the same from drier climes.

I used to have a 93 Rodeo and it held up pretty well until the last few years. Sold it and bought our 80. It spent most of its previous life in Kansas and Illinois. The underside of the body looks very good. Running gear does have lots of surface rust, but no show-stoppers look imminent there yet. The rest of the body is nearly perfect. I was amazed at how much better the 80 is in corrosion control, especially after owning a 1976 FJ55 and watching it crumble over the 8 years after I bought it new. But if you're in MN, I could see how that is an issue for your truck.

We paid $7500 for ours, which seems to be around a median price. The market for 80s has rebounded a little since Cash for Clunkers, but high gas prices and a depressed economy still make them a great deal in a used 4x4. Clean ones seem relatively easy to find, based on new folks still popping up here on MUD with nice examples they got at reasonable prices.

With the kind of money you are willing to put down, you could buy an 80 and have enough left to service the front axle and other PM so it would e in great condition. So you're either happy with what you have, just want a fresh example, or you're looking at something else. That'll tell you which way to go with other suggestions.

 

[jlm43]

If I was to replace my 80, it would probably be with a 100 or a V8 4th gen 4runner. I like the full time 4wd and the V8 4th gen is the only way to get it on a 4Runner.

 

[nopistons96]

this is good info. thanks for chiming in guys. i'm not surprised to hear the FJ80 loyalty. and the 100 always catch my when i see them pass. problem with that is that there are very of them around. not that i cant roadtrip to pick up a clean 100 below the snow/salt belt. but is there any reason i should steer clear of the sequoia's?

 

[greentruck]

Well, a Sequoia is basically a crossover, a truck-appearing body on the (beefed-up) underpinnings of a car (Camry?). As long as you know it's not a Land Cruiser, it may serve you well if you stay close to the pavement.

 

[86tuning]

Well, a Sequoia is basically a crossover, a truck-appearing body on the (beefed-up) underpinnings of a car (Camry?). As long as you know it's not a Land Cruiser, it may serve you well if you stay close to the pavement.

not quite. a sequoia is a tundra SUV. The highlander is the crossover.

we took it on a few camping trips over the past 6 years but rarely trail ride with it. (it's mostly urban rated)

How about a Highlander

I got a chuckle out of this. I had to winch my little bro's Highlander out of the ditch on Xmas Day

But I digress.

Lol that's some funny stuff there. Ice is a harsh mistress.

But for a strictly urban machine, the Highlanders are great. Ours is a 4WD one, with 4 snowys for the Canadian winters.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

My in-laws have an '03 Sequoia. Great people hauler. Definitely not a Cruiser. Seats are better in the Cruiser, driving is tighter in the Cruiser, and off-road is night and day. Now, I am comparing my 100 to his Sequoia. He most definitely has better leg room. If you have 4 kids or more, the Sequoia is a great option, but it is definitely NOT the Cruiser. Now, between he and I we have the Sequoia, my Hundy, my 80, and his FJC. Of all of those trucks that I have driven, I love my 100 the most. The 80 would be next, followed by the FJC and last would be the Sequoia, but those are my tastes. My wife's too.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

If you are just going to drive the new one it until it also rusts out and are not going to drive it on any trails then why not just buy a nice disposable minivan with better gas mileage and save the cruisers for the folks who will not let them rust out and will wheel them.

 

[Brian894X4]

I would never invest in anything domestic. Having driven domestics at work for years, their lack of quality in parts and engineering is beyond shameful.

However, that said, if I was to buy another Toyota, my number one criteria is that it be Japanese designed and assembled. I have good quality reasons for that as well. That criteria eliminates a few models. Also newer definately isn't always better, since Toyota has gone the way of other manufactures and cut corners. When you pretty much own the global market and don't exactly have competition on the quality side of things, there's no reason to over engineer vehicles anymore and that's the problem. The whole reason Toyotas were kick ass, is because they were so over engineered, not because they were just good enough.

With that in mind, a 100 sounds like just the ticket, but if this is going to be any kind of a commuter, given the volitility of gas prices, I think it be far wiser to buy something more economical. Especially if it's only going to be used as a commuter and highway duty.

Another brand to consider is Subaru. I have two for commuters. In terms of their AWD systems, they're not as a good as anything full lockable 4WD, but their AWD system is lot better than most other AWD systems, including the HiLanders. And they are very reliable, well engineered cars, once you get past the headgasket issues of the 1999-2003ish models.

Just my opinion.

 

[nopistons96]

If you are just going to drive the new one it until it also rusts out and are not going to drive it on any trails then why not just buy a nice disposable minivan with better gas mileage and save the cruisers for the folks who will not let them rust out and will wheel them.

this stings a little. sounds like you want to kick me out of the FJ club for not trail rigging my truck. lame. stopping japanese metal from rusting in MN isn't possible. its isn't something we choose to do up here. it just happens. drive your rig through the ocean for 6 months out of the year and see what it looks like after 17 years. the truck itself still looks pretty good. however, the lower seams on both rear doors are starting to split and the tailgate has some spots. i just don't think the rust is something i can stop without replacing a bunch of sheet metal and i struggle to spend large sums of cash on it knowing that it only has that certain value to me. i guess i was looking to find a way to split the superb trail-ability of the 80 with the highway comfort of a LS430i. maybe that's exactly what the 100 series is. we do put a lot of miles on throughout the state so it'd be nice to have some more room for the 3 kids and the 140lb harlequin. especially when we have all of the camping gear with. i'm going to have to do me some research.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

this stings a little. sounds like you want to kick me out of the FJ club for not trail rigging my truck. lame. stopping japanese metal from rusting in MN isn't possible. its isn't something we choose to do up here. it just happens. drive your rig through the ocean for 6 months out of the year and see what it looks like after 17 years. the truck itself still looks pretty good. however, the lower seams on both rear doors are starting to split and the tailgate has some spots. i just don't think the rust is something i can stop without replacing a bunch of sheet metal and i struggle to spend large sums of cash on it knowing that it only has that certain value to me. i guess i was looking to find a way to split the superb trail-ability of the 80 with the highway comfort of a LS430i. maybe that's exactly what the 100 series is. we do put a lot of miles on throughout the state so it'd be nice to have some more room for the 3 kids and the 140lb harlequin. especially when we have all of the camping gear with. i'm going to have to do me some research.

I am not trying to "kick you out". I am just saying that if you are mostly using your vehicle for family hauling on the road and it is going to be disposable due to rust problems a Toyota minivan is a viable option. better comfort, more space, better gas mileage. You can still keep the rusty 80. You can always bed liner over the rust repairs and you can also use it more on the trails (with less worry about denting it) since you have a minivan to haul the family. You can drive it in the winter since its already rusty and not rust out the mini van. I guess I am partial to keeping paid off vehicles on the road. If that paid off vehicle is already a bit funky and is not your primary mode of transportation then you can afford to have fun with it.

 

[Marco7]

Hi nopistons,

In similar situation...
Due to my family dynamics changing, I will be needing something a little more smooth riding( for pot-hole ridden city) and lower entry/exit than my FJ80, yet I do not want a crossover.

I plan on keeping the LC and possibly adding another vehicle.
Would love to go with a 100 series but for my budget they are hard to find with less than 180k miles on them. I'm sure they'd go for another 100k but prefer to get something with less miles.
I don't care for the 03+ styling of the 4runner.

With gas prices going up, it will be a buyers market again for SUVs.
The last time gas skyrocketed there were some great deals on some 4-5 yr old Navigators with super low miles.
I wouldn't even mind a first gen Navi with low miles if the price was right ($5-10k). I've seen plenty of them with over 250k miles. Not Toyota reliability but they seem pretty durable. Very comfortable, especially the 2wd models.
My folks had a Town car that had over 200k trouble-free miles before selling it and getting a trouble-prone Cad Deville...which I get to work on.

 

[JTseed]

My in-laws have an '03 Sequoia. Great people hauler. Definitely not a Cruiser. Seats are better in the Cruiser, driving is tighter in the Cruiser, and off-road is night and day. Now, I am comparing my 100 to his Sequoia. He most definitely has better leg room. If you have 4 kids or more, the Sequoia is a great option, but it is definitely NOT the Cruiser. Now, between he and I we have the Sequoia, my Hundy, my 80, and his FJC. Of all of those trucks that I have driven, I love my 100 the most. The 80 would be next, followed by the FJC and last would be the Sequoia, but those are my tastes. My wife's too.

Yup, love the Sequoia for long highway trips but it's not for off road. Love the FJC for both highway and off road but there's not much rear seat room for a family.