Fun POLL

[ZPDFJ]

So I heard today that gas prices could be up to 5$ a gallon by the end of summer, holy hell!

And so im thinking am I gonna sell my rig? Or maybe buy a more fuel efficient vehicle for a few grand...So this is a two part question..And it must be a Toyota option I only drive Toyotas

1. If you HAD to sell the cruiser and trade or buy something Toyota of equal value to wheel and DD what would you get? Maybe a 4banger w/ IFS and some 32" tires, another type of cruiser, who knows....

2. If you had just a few grand $$ maybe 3-4, to buy a second car, what would you buy, Toyota of course that would be fuel efficient and maybe wheelable or maybe not maybe an old 22r pick up, a Corolla..


Most will probably comment that they would never sell but just humor me...

 

[Ulyses]

1. if I had to sell the cruiser because of gas prices, I would probably get a prius, and forget about wheeling until the fuel cell LC came out

2. Once again I would go for the prius, if I could afford it, of course; it's fugly but at least it's gas efficient

But of course, I'm not planning on selling the cruiser any time soon, or at all for that matter, if gas prices get to outrageous I'll just limit my driving considerably

 

[hawkeye]

The Prius is just to expensive. when you compare it to an old Corolla that gets 25-32 your cost per mile is actually much less with the old banger that gets 1/2 the mpg of its younger trendier brother.

 

[mkfour]

Sooner or later my 80 will be my dedicated recreational rig, regardless of gas prices. I have always planned on a gas friendly commuter, probably something cheap like an old Civic.

 

[Slomo]

I would sell a kidney to pay for gas so I could keep my Cruiser!!!!!!!! Sheesh, silly question.










Honestly, if you consider the cost of the new ride (if I had to I would do a 4 cylinder Camry), the tax on it, the DMV fees, and subtract the gas it would use from what you would spend on gas for the rig you already have it would take you probably a year or more to break even let alone come out ahead and by then gas will be so expensive that the Sierra Club and all of the other greenies will be drilling for oil in Alaska to drive down gas prices to the $2.11 a gallon range so they can spend more on keeping us out of the public land that we have a right to use and then you would be able to afford it for your Cruiser anyway. Might as well just cut out the middle man and stick with the 80.

 

[ZPDFJ]

I figured this would be the response, was hoping for you guys to stick to the parameters more but hey....

 

[Shahram]

The Prius is just to expensive. when you compare it to an old Corolla that gets 25-32 your cost per mile is actually much less with the old banger that gets 1/2 the mpg of its younger trendier brother.

Even a brand new Yaris or Honda Fit, at ~$13k make much more economic sense as daily driver/mileage commuters.

I don't want to give up the Cruiser, but if I did, I could probably pick up a Samurai for 'wheeling, and be fairly happy. I wouldn't go crazy with it, just a little bigger tire and some basic camping equipment. I'd have to give up my trailer, and go back to full time tent camping, because my Cruiser is my tow vehicle.

I'd definitely do more moto trips on my XT350, or I'd pick up another bike. $5.00 per gallon would probably mean a lot of people would be commuting on motorcycles or on public transportation. Maybe I wouldn't be as scared commuting on a bike in a sea of bikes as I am in a sea of SUVs.

What's more likely to happen is it'll just get too expensive to drive the Cruiser every day. Monthly passes for the subway are ~$55, and add a couple of hours commute time each day. That $400-$500 savings monthly will go towards a four wheeling trip or two per month.

$5.00 a gallon will probably spell the end of my job anyway, so....s***, maybe I could get something a little closer to home...

 

[Shahram]

Oh, and to answer your question, yeah, if I had the choice of any other Toyota, definitely a 22R 4Runner. Limit the mods, and rebuild what breaks.

Without a family to haul around, I'd get a mid-'80s to early '90s 4x4 P/U with a "Can-Back" type of canvas shell, haul my bike around and a little gear. Enough room for me and the dog or a buddy.

 

[ZPDFJ]

Maybe I wouldn't be as scared commuting on a bike in a sea of bikes as I am in a sea of SUVs.

Wow that right there gave me a scary futuristic image...one day california might look like china... bikes, motorcycles and those little beemo taxis......

 

[619TOY]

Choice #1
Keep the cruiser and buy an old 4 cylinder Camry for about 3K

Choice #2
If and only if you absolutely had to sell the Cruiser, do it and buy a 3rd gen 4Runner. 4cylinder, 6 cylinder, you decide. Do a small (2-3") lift, possibly a 1" body lift, 285's and sliders and lastly a TJM bumper. Be prepared to replace CV boots and have fun. This is how I plan on setting up my 3rd gen. Well, this and a TRD supercharger, IS300 injectors, bigger fuel pump...

 

[ZPDFJ]

This is what I had in mind....4Runner idea. They are like the small IFS cousin to our rigs.

 

[Giulitto]

I would sell a kidney to pay for gas so I could keep my Cruiser!!!!!!!! Sheesh, silly question.










Honestly, if you consider the cost of the new ride (if I had to I would do a 4 cylinder Camry), the tax on it, the DMV fees, and subtract the gas it would use from what you would spend on gas for the rig you already have it would take you probably a year or more to break even let alone come out ahead and by then gas will be so expensive that the Sierra Club and all of the other greenies will be drilling for oil in Alaska to drive down gas prices to the $2.11 a gallon range so they can spend more on keeping us out of the public land that we have a right to use and then you would be able to afford it for your Cruiser anyway. Might as well just cut out the middle man and stick with the 80.

X2,
Do not, whatever you do, do not sell the cruiser! You will regret it, especially after you tricked it out.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Personally, i cant see how people can justify NOT buying a little commuter car.

I Bought mine for $3k 5 years ago, not once had a problem, and it get 38mpg+. I have paid for it and then some (with $ saved for mods to the LC, heheheh)

In My Garage (not literally, as they would not fit)

-96 Honda Civic DX (strippo version) that gets 38-42mpg, daily driver
-06 Honda XR650L (modded to all hell) that gets 25-35mpg, weekend warrior
-99 Toyota Land Cruiser (soon to be modded to all hell) gets 16-19mpg and only driven on long exploration 4x4 trips or camping

Oh, and the 100 series gets 5-6more MPG then the 80

 

[Dan2722]

Option #1 This is not an option for me but if i had to sell it would be to get another LC 80 or 100 series.

Option #2 If I had an extra $3-4K it would go into mods and gas to keep my LC on the road.

Seriously, I did this analysis when gas started going up and it will have to reach around $7 - $8 a gallon before you break even on a car that gets 40 miles to the gallon. But I only drive about 1,100 miles per month so it takes a lot of gas savings to offset another vehicles cost.

Before you sell your cruiser that you have put so much work into take a look at what the actual cost will be you will be surprised at how much fuel you have to save to justify selling.

 

[Bluetribal]

I can't frekin' believe you just did all those mods to your rig and you are talking about selling! WHAT! You realize you will never get your money back on all those mods right? But that's just coming from the budget cruiser guy who only wished he could afford all these mods brand new. BTW this poll was no FUN.
Oh and by the way with the $600 we are getting from THE MAN to boost our economy I will be chipping in $600 of my own to buy a BUDGET BEATER to commute to work in. #1 coice is a 69 BUG, #2 choice any other Asian car that can double my gas mileage and get at least 27mpg.

 

[Slomo]

Personally, i cant see how people can justify NOT buying a little commuter car.

I Bought mine for $3k 5 years ago, not once had a problem, and it get 38mpg+. I have paid for it and then some (with $ saved for mods to the LC, heheheh)

Using myself as an example. I drive approx 40 miles daily to work. With gas now at $3.63 near me (way cheaper 3 years ago when you bought your Civic) and my rig getting 11mpg. That works out to 3.64 gallons a day x 5 days a week plus 11 miles on the weekend equals 19.2 gallons a week. With a Civic with your mileage at 38 mpg you would burn 1.05 gallons a day or 6.3 gallons a week. That equates to 12.9 gallons more a week for me in the Cruiser at $3.63 a gallon equals $46.82 a week or $187.26 a month. At the current interest rate of 7.5% the monthly payment on a 3k loan would be $72 a month plus a reasonable $50 more a month for insurance on the addes car. That would leave me with $65.26 extra a month not counting any maintenance issues or baselining the vehicle. Not all would be as lucky as you with no mechanical issues in 3 years, maybe but not guaranteed.

I don't have 3K laying around to buy another car so the loan scenario above would apply. More importantly I don't hava a place to park it if I did, literally. I won't even get into the cost of a new house to have an additional parking space. It doesn't make sense to me to have a dead reliable Cruiser modded to suit my needs and insured and have it sit and collect dust while I drive a tinker toy and try not to get killed by all the SUV driving soccer moms for $65.26 a month. After 15 years as a Paramedic I have seen the consequences, not including motorcycle accidents ;p, just car accidents. In addition to the safety factor I also have to consider the fun factor, I absolutely love my Cruiser and driving it makes me happy. I know this does not apply to all but I would not enjoy driving a commuter car every day as it is not me. Sitting with all the other ants marching on the freeway is bad enough in a kick ass Cruiser, doing it in a little car would be that much worse. The extra money is not that much and to me is worth it. The more mileage driven would obviously increase the savings factor, I just won't get a job any further away. Whew. You made me think.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Well said Mo!

For what its worth, when i first moved here i had a 82 miles daily commute, now its only 9

Another reason i prefer driving "The Beater" is that is keeps the miles down on the LC for resale value as well.

You bring up valid points though!

 

[619TOY]

Another thing to consider is that adding a second vehicle may actually lower you insurance rates

I bought a '91 Honda prelude about 7 years ago just for commuting for $2800. The combined insurance with my '96 4Runner was a little over $200 less per 6 months than my 4Runner alone.

Soon after, I got a job within a few miles of home. I cleaned up the Prelude, sold it for $3800, pocketed the difference and my insurance rates went right back up

 

[Boston Mangler]

Another thing to consider is that adding a second vehicle may actually lower you insurance rates

Ahhh, good point i forgot to mention! My rates went DOWN when i ADDED the bike, go figure!

 

[g8mfzj80]

Yeah maybe we need a “gas price sticky” reoccurring thread but I sympathize

$70+ fill up’s make me wish I had the stock 2.4l in my mini or runner. Swap the one in the runner w/ a 4.3’s because I wanted more power, MPG was respectable at 18 on the highway

35’s, stock 4.10, bumpers, weight = 12MPG for me but I driving my cruiser so much I don’t even take the families Toyota econbox much, would rather drive my cruiser even over my smaller truck. worth it to me. I would drive a mini or 2.4l runner again over any :gay: commuter.