newbie from southern Illinois

[Buford_VMI86]

I guess this is as close as I can get to being in the right sub-forum. ;p

My wife and I currently have three vehicles (listed in sig block). They're all terrific, and I am not ashamed of any of them... but they're not exactly ideal off-road toys. I have previously owned a '99 Tacoma 4x4 and a '94 Jeep Wrangler. They both saw lots of off-road use, particularly the Wrangler. I miss both of them.

We're a long way from buying another vehicle (since we have two new ones), but I'm hoping that some day we will look at Land Cruisers, 4Runners, or Lexus SUVs. Our family is about to expand, and the comfort of the third-row seat seems to have become rather important.


My old Taco. Kept it about 5 years. Should have never sold it.

The new RAV4. Wife's daily driver.

My old YJ. The last real Jeep ever made. Somewhere in the deserts around El Paso, TX.

edit: I forgot to mention the one other 4x4 we have owned (mostly because we would like to forget it). It was a '94 Jeep Cherokee. We had it for about two years and then it was stolen. We never saw the thing again. If the thief has as many problems with it as we did, he got what he deserved.

 

[hoch]

Post some off-roading pics of the RAV!

Also, you need to track that Miata (unless you are already). Wasn't MY 1990 the lightest of the Miata's?

 

[Buford_VMI86]

I don't track the Miata, but my wife and I are very active in club competitions. I even won two rallies last year (they were Gimmick style, versus TSD rallies... but fun anyway ).

She looks like she is in better shape than she is. When I get the time, I need to work on the brakes, replace the top, and probably install some new shocks.

 

[cruiserbent]

cool,what area of southern ill.?,i'm in paducah

 

[Buford_VMI86]

I'm an hour north of you in Marion. The truth is that we are fairly new to this area. We moved here from Texas 11 months ago (when my wife got out of the Army). We like it here.

My wife's work takes her down to Metropolis IL pretty frequently.

 

[cruiserbent]

cool,did you buy the rav local or before you moved here

 

[Buford_VMI86]

We got the RAV4 and the Sienna here in Marion. In fact, we have only had the RAV4 since Friday.

 

[cruiserbent]

well i guess thats ok.i set ya up.i'm the service manager at mike smith toyota in paducah

 

[cruiserbent]

if i can ever help ya with either rig just call the store.otherwise enjoy the new rav.pretty cool rigs.a whole lot more than previous ravs.good to meet ya

 

[Buford_VMI86]

Cool. I'm a stay-at-home Dad, but my last career was in the motorcycle industry. My last job was as the service manager of a Harley-Davidson dealership.

Every now and then I get cabin fever and decide to go back to work. Last month I even dropped off a resume at Marion Toyota. I figure I would enjoy working as a service writer or a parts guy. They aren't hiring right now, but I figure they might in the near future. About a week ago they broke ground on their new building across the street.

 

[cruiserbent]

maybe.it took over year for us to get into our new building on the interstate.its great being all new & shiny.man i didn't notice the rav was a v6 till now,those things will freakin fly.fun to drive.like a little sleeper grocery getter

 

[Buford_VMI86]

Yep, the RAV has got some beans! I traded a Scion tC in on it, and that thing was fun to drive too. Lots of features for very little money. I just figured something with four doors would be more useful for the growing family.

My daily driver is the Sienna XLE (package #7). Pretty much everything except the navigation system. It's super-nice.