FJ Pricing (what's going on here??) (1 Viewer)

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Thanx to a yellow cab running a red light, I'm now in need of a new daily beater


Before

After

My 91 LC is too filthy to be a daily driver (weekend mudder)


Anyhoo, I've been eyeballing the new FJ for some time now and I figure it's quite a bargain an MSRP under $22k



Thing is, I have yet to actually see one sell for that price


Even a 2WD base model is selling for $28K+ (and this is right off the Toyota website)


All I really want is a basic 4WD with a roof rack (preferably MT6) (this should start at $22,890 if I'm not mistaken)


Are the dealers just jacking up the prices and milking the newness for all it's worth?






Rick

 

[Runner Ryan]

Lots of people are getting them for MSRP. I did. Some are getting them cheaper. Shop around, you'll find one.

By the way, I love your bumper sticker.

"Warning. Dirt adhesion test. Do not wash."

 

[corsair23]

What the heck was that DD? A Previa with Audi hood emblem? And all those lights? Pretty cool...

Good luck on the new FJ...I'm in CO and there is ALWAYS a "market adjustment" here for anything remotely considered an SUV, pickup, etc...

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

What the heck was that DD? A Previa with Audi hood emblem? And all those lights? Pretty cool...

Yep, '95 2TZFZE Previa (SuperCharged)

The Audi emblem was actully used to throw off the meter maids (in NYC, if you get a parking ticket and the vehicle is make is written incorrectly, it gets thrown out)

And I had a bit more than just lights up there

I made biweekly trips from NYC to Orlando in that thing and she had just turned 275K miles that night


Funny thing is, I only paid $500 for her and she was far more reliable than any of my other cars ever were

 

[corsair23]

LOL...I don't think I want to know any more details...

 

[archie]

Sorry to hear about the bad news. Is that roof rack made of electrical conduit and how is it attached vertically, welded?

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Sorry to hear about the bad news. Is that roof rack made of electrical conduit and how is it attached vertically, welded?

Yep, I had a ton of leftover conduit in the back of my shop after we added new lighting


Basically just put the horizontal pieces together using standard aluminum couplers, then hacked up a bunch of vertical pieces and notched the ends before standing them up and welding them in place

Used a couple of angle iron strips to mount the train horns:

Added a couple of legs up front to help distribute the weight:

Then black bombed it in Rustoleum Flat:

Since I didn't really want the horns to be visible, I added wood siding and covered it in black HD wind screen:

Didn't want to block the sound from the horns with a wood panel up front (not that it would make a difference) nor did I want a solid flat panel as a windbreaker, so I fabbed up a wood frame and stapled a double layer of wind screen in place:

And later on I decided to add lights, so I just chopped up some leftover angle iron and went to town:

What's really funny is that for the past 6 months, the whole thing was held down using 4 large ZipTies



Everyone thought it would never hold, but they worked just fine


Unfortunately, when I got T-boned by the yellowcab, the right rear hit a pole and the roof rack went flying :whoops:


The ZipTies still held strong, but the weight of the safari rack actually ripped the stock roof rack right off the roof

Found the whole thing laying on the street about 50 feet away from the point of impact....

Everything was still in one piece, but the foglights were all toast

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

I think you should get a blinged out escalade.

 

[Biff]

That is a cool looking minivan. How load were those horns?

 

[John Smith]

Is that a wood sunroof? I think you should get another minivan, there is no more stealth vehicle for a bi-weekly NY to FL run. Since that one treated you so well I would buy another and buy your old one back from the insurance company to use for a parts vehicle. With the same replacement vehicle you are not going to have to rework the whole horn rack either.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

That is a cool looking minivan. How load were those horns?

Loud enough

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4979107809374899759&q=98+SNAKE+EATER+horn&hl=en

Is that a wood sunroof? I think you should get another minivan, there is no more stealth vehicle for a bi-weekly NY to FL run. Since that one treated you so well I would buy another and buy your old one back from the insurance company to use for a parts vehicle. With the same replacement vehicle you are not going to have to rework the whole horn rack either.

Actually, it was just a wind deflector that kept the rack from whistling when driving over 90+mph


It was the perfect daily beater since it had a ton of space, got great gas mileage and was rock solid reliable


My only gripe was the fact that it wasn't an All-Trac model


It's gunna be kinda hard to find another since most Previa owners swear by them and refuse to give them up (got mine from my aunt who was upgrading to a new vehicle)





Rick

 

[alkaline747trio]

Wow, killer van...and killer idea with the Audi emblems! I vote 4-Runner or another minvan over FJ Cruiser...your person might be more comfortable on the trek up and down the coast, but your gear might not fit.

 

[Runner Ryan]

Loud enough

I love it!

 

[Quixote]

That is one *sick* minivan! Forget about the FJ, get another one of those!!

 

[Brazenhead]

Having the Audi emblems in Canada wouldn't matter much, if you own the plate you own the ticket!

 

[archie]

Having the Audi emblems in Canada wouldn't matter much, if you own the plate you own the ticket!

Really, I would think if there was a error in the plate number entry that you could actually recieve a ticket that isn't even yours. Vehicle identification would be another way to reconfirm any errors by law enforcement.
OK, I finally gonna ask, what's all that stuff on top of the van for?

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

OK, I finally gonna ask, what's all that stuff on top of the van for?

Basic hand tools, an air compressor and tank (mainly for the train horns, also used for air tools and tire inflation), tow straps, bungee cords, ratchet straps, jump box, etc., etc., etc.

 

[OlyWaFJ]

Checkout this Excel file, the pricing is still current. Don't pay a penny more and delete the "dealer fees". Don't put a down payment anywhere, but tell the dealers in town that you have a $500 down payment at the "other" dealer and if you can find what I am looking for I'll buy from you. That's what I did and took receipt of my new Black Cherry FJ after 3 weeks. I contacted every Toyota dealer in Western Washington & Oregon and ended up buying from a Titus-Will only 30 miles from my house.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3257

 

[Quixote]

Yep, '95 2TZFZE Previa (SuperCharged)

The Audi emblem was actully used to throw off the meter maids (in NYC, if you get a parking ticket and the vehicle is make is written incorrectly, it gets thrown out)

Did that trick work? Did you get a ticket that had 'Audi' listed as the make?

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Did that trick work? Did you get a ticket that had 'Audi' listed as the make?

Yep, and had them both thrown out


I usually make it a habit to make my cars stealth by pulling the stock badges and emblems for this very reason (and also because I like a clean car)



Like my T/A for example:


I yanked all the side mouldings, Trans Am badges and had the PONTIAC logo on the headlamps shaved and the one on the rear bumper filled in

I also have a plate frame that covers up the State which has gotten me out of a few BS parking tickets cause the meter maids wrote it them up as NY plates (all my cars are registered in FL)