Thoughts on a trade?

[Phares]

I was at the Toyota dealer today buying the wife a new Rav4 when I came across one of the Trail Team FJC. It got me thinking about trading in my 2010 Tacoma for it. I have a 40 and the Tacoma and now the Rav4. Any thoughts on whether or not I should trade in the Tacoma for the FJC? I have wanted one since they came out but really enjoy having a truck.
It seems like the FJC is as reliable as the other models and it gets better gas mileage then the Tacoma. I don't know if I like the plastic bumpers though. Thoughts and advice are appreciated. Sticker price is 37K which seems a little high. Again, advice is welcome. Thanks.

 

[speedrye]

I posted some thoughts on the ONSC thread, but I'll add a few thoughts here since you gave me some more info.

Most people I've seen in the 2013 TT have been getting them around 34k out the door. To me it's still high since I found a good deal on a used one, but they do have one of, if not the best, resale values of ANY vehicle sold in the US. I purchased mine three years ago and could sell it today (even without all the mods) for more than I paid for it after putting over 60k miles on it myself.

I don't know that gas mileage is any better on the FJC though. Stock, I got around 17 on the highway and 16 around town. Modified (35's, lifted, ARB bumper, skids, etc) I get around 15 on the highway and 16 around town still. Not stellar by any means, but I am a 6MT with the full time 4wd and lower gearing than the automatics.

The plastic bumpers are easy to take care of. All it takes is money! I've never had any issue with the rear bumper off road, but the front bumper is a problem in the rocks, so I'd recommend something metal up there.

 

[Phares]

Thanks for the advice Ryan. Is the TT package worth the 6K price or would you be better off buying a regular FJC and then using the difference to upgrade the sliders, bumpers, etc. myself?

 

[Dbradford04]

Trade

My wife just got a 2012 used with 12K miles on it for 28K...she LOVES it. I'm on the FJ board and Diesel board with my 81 BJ42. We are now "cruiser buddies". She went from a very sporty VW Jetta to this, and wouldn't go back.

 

[BirdManzFJ]

My opinion is, the FJC is crazy with options for mods. You will want to make it YOUR truck as soon as you get it. Buy a base model or even slightly used and put the extra cash into making it the truck you REALLY wanted. Then you can buy a trailer to haul the stuff you wanted a pickup for. win win.

Bird

 

[Mtbcoach]

My opinion is, the FJC is crazy with options for mods. You will want to make it YOUR truck as soon as you get it. Buy a base model or even slightly used and put the extra cash into making it the truck you REALLY wanted. Then you can buy a trailer to haul the stuff you wanted a pickup for. win win.

Bird

X2...

 

[speedrye]

Thanks for the advice Ryan. Is the TT package worth the 6K price or would you be better off buying a regular FJC and then using the difference to upgrade the sliders, bumpers, etc. myself?

This is going to depend a lot on you. If you're likely to upgrade the truck, the first things a lot of people upgrade are the suspension, sliders, wheel/tires. Those are the main differences in the TT vs. lesser models. The biggest problem is color and roof color. The 2013's look awesome and you can't get that color otherwise (short of a custom paint job). Basically, what I'm saying is get a TT if you have to have it for the color. Otherwise, you'll probably replace the components that make the TT a TT with better components, so you'd be wasting your money on a TT. If you get a base 4wd model, make sure you've got the rear locker, but otherwise the options are up to you. If you usually upgrade your stereo, the base model stereo is much easier to upgrade since it doesn't run on a BUS system. I don't know much about the new crawl control since I'm a 6MT and all 6MTs have had crawl control from day one (that would be your foot for those of you that don't know).

 

[dcoy]

I don't know if I like the plastic bumpers though

Agreed. It has taken an enormous amount of self control to keep the stock bumpers on for the 5 years that I've owned the FJC so far. I've focused on more "functional" mods, like suspension, dual batteries, S/C, etc and hoped that I'd get used to the bumpers (esp the front), but every time I look at it I still think: "Geez, I've got to get rid of that plastic". As mentioned above, the cool thing is there is a vast selection of aftermarket bumpers to choose from. A good thing about all of this not so patient waiting is that Demello now produces Aluminum bumpers so if you can deal with the notion that they're "not as strong as steel" (with unclear functional impacts), there is very little weight burden of the Aluminum bumpers.

So aside from the bit about the money sucking obsessive modifying behavior the FJC fosters, there's no down side.

 

[Phares]

Hendrick Toyota in Charlotte has a 2008 trail edition with 36K miles on it for 26,000$. My co-worker will pay me 25K for the Tacoma so I think I am going to pull the trigger. Plus the TE in 2008 was Iceberg which just happens to be extremely close to Herman who is Cygnus White...Meant to be?