Ok I'll try to help you. I have had 4 Toyota 4runners (member on T4R.org) and the second my ass hit the seat of a Land Cruiser that was it for me I was sold and never looked back. It just so much more truck then the 4Runner and you cant beat that 5.7 V8. I loved every 4Runner I had but the LC is hands down the best vehicle I have owned.
You're right. It does feel like so much more truck. It's in a different class all together. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Why are you even thinking of jumping to an LC?
To me, the 4runner is a great truck. My wife had one before I bought my FJ in 2013. At the time I was driving an F350 so, when I got in the 4R I never felt a presence on the road I was used to.
The FJ had that (more so than the 4R IMO). Looking back however, I like the sportiness of the 4r and while I spent 3 years in an FJ- I kind of missed the 4R and the way the truck felt it could drive for miles without tiring me out. The FJ would get a little tiresome after 2 or 3 hours driving.
When I sat in the LC I felt both. The truck has a presence- but it also cruises down the highway at 70 and is equally as relaxing and enjoyable as a 2005 E Class MB I had 8 years ago.
It's luxurious, and confident yet if you take care of it you still have the feeling you can fuel it up and drive all the way down to Cape Horn without any concerns.
It's a Land Cruiser and even stock it is unique and one of the most bad ass trucks on the road. What other vehicle can you put 300k on the clock then sell it to someone for $20k+ who will ship it to Africa (one of the harshest areas on earth) and the new owners will get another 200k or 300k out of it!
As you know the 4R is great- but the LC is a legend. . . LEGEND! It is MUCH more expensive to build so if you are hesitant you should weigh the benefit of a newer but more stock truck for a while than going older, maybe having some problems but getting started on your build is okay if you are going to get a slightly older truck with a slightly higher risk of something going wrong.
I blew my budget on my truck and right now the ONLY thing I can do is throw on aux lamps. I have plans in the future but they will have to wait for better excuses to start spending money again. I don't have them right now.
Look around and keep searching for what you want. If you find a truck somewhere far ask around here for someone to take a look at it for you.
I was told that Certified does get you new car loan rates but I used an online loan shopping tool and found that Suntrust was willing to give me a Personal Loan for a rate lower than Toyota's APR.
Sounds to me like you want a 2013ish with under 80k miles and some money left over to start playing with.
I've fully built 2 FJ Cruisers in my time before I started the 4runner trail. I built a 2008 TT for overland and someone local offered me cash for it. I couldn't say no, really. He shipped it to Russia and made more money than I made on it, for sure. I then took that money and picked up an Audi RS5. WOW! That car was amazing but I hated the fact that I had to be so careful with everything. Too afraid to get it dirty or a rock chip and I missed camping/overlanding so I sold it. Picked up a 07 FJ and went crazy 35's, bumpers, RTT, Linex-d, etc. Someone again offered me money I couldn't refuse for it. This is now 2 builds I made money on. In fact, I'm still friends with the buyer of the 07FJ. We even met up recently when I took a bike trip to CO. Beautiful rig.
Anyways, I took the money from that and picked up the next natural selection in the process since the FJ was being discontinued, the 14' 4RTE. They are very similar vehicles so maybe my longing to upgrade is that now at 'Round 3' I'm left wanting more; feeling a bit stale. And that idea really started to bloom when I bought the wife a new Tundra last year. The thought of that 5.7 v8 in a 4runner package would be SIIIICK. We don't have that, we have the LC200. And I know, it's simply better everywhere.
But yeah, I can stretch the payment on a $63k vehicle (as long as the interest is right). I'm not expecting much equity in my 4runner since it's only about 3 years old. Still a lot of depreciation. My R1200GSA build is complete so all the extra cash I was throwing at that the past 6 months is now done with... But will start again if I get the LC. First things I want are wheels, tires, suspension, UCA's, and sliders (at a minimum) to be ready to hit the road for some back country camping in west Texas or the ski slopes this winter. It's not exactly an inexpensive up front cost.
So yes, you're right the 13' would be the better option for having a lower payment but this 15' in particular is doable, especially if I can negotiate about 2k more off of it.
