Undecided

Alright guys, I'm new here. Huge fan of Toyota, but am no where near as knowledgable as needed. I have a 2014 white fj cruiser 4x4, all stock. Just had its 30,000 mile service 2 weeks ago. I love it. It was in a wreck a few months back but has been fixed with all factory Toyota parts. No frame damage, no salvage title, thing still drives and looks new. Now don't hate but my question is (and with the fj being out of production) should I hold onto it for a while or sell it? I was planning on trading it in for a 16' trd off road Tacoma. If not I'd keep it and throw some goods on it, I just want to hear any major benefits or down sides I'm not seeing. Or possibly waiting until the 2017 trd pro is out? HELP

 

Hard to say. Do you need a truck?

If not, keep the FJ. The accident will lower it's value greatly, and you might as well keep it for a while.

 

Welcome to TW!

I'm not a big fan of the current styling, so if it was me I would wait until the next version of the Tacoma comes out. Besides, the FJs are just cool.

 

Well, for one; trading in a wrecked anything won't do you any good. I'd try and private sell it.

I also I don't believe FJ will have any long term value if kept. It would be a unique one off in say 10-15 years but I doubt the "want" will exist.

My final conclusion is to keep it. Strictly because it's wrecked and you look to gain little to nothing in your favor by trading or private selling. Id say if you like the idea of waiting for the '17 TRD pro, I'd do that and save loads of cash until then. Two years of savings, if done right, when buying a new car goes a long way.

(For what its worth I'm doing the same thing right now, except I want to keep my Tacoma and own a TRD pro 4Runner) I've got a five year or less plan and I'm sticking to it!)

 

Save the money that you're going to put towards the truck. Save the FJ. Mod the shit out of the FJ.

If you need a truck, please test drive first. Don't just go out and buy a 3rd gen because it's new. Many are very unhappy with its quirks, the engine, the transmission, to hoods, to even dipsticks. Test a 2nd gen to feel the difference in power and decide from there. If you do decide 3rd gen though, get a 2017 pro. Why not.

 

So... you're telling him to wait til 2026.

 

My thought exactly

 

Not necessarily. The 2nd Gen had a seven year run of trucks with very similar styling from 05 to 11. In 2012 they gave the front end a facelift. I suspect the current look of the 3rd Gen with undergo some similar changes so we might only have to wait until 2022 before Toyota makes a truck that will appeal to me.

 

If this helps any of you and I am thankful for the info you guys are sending. I'm heading back up to college in a few weeks. The fj isn't as gas friendly as a Tacoma though I'll have only small commutes. Lots of off road trails/ fire roads where I'll be in. And I would consider a 14' or 15' Tacoma. But yes if I keep the fj then some nice mods would be added (method double standards or scs sr8's, icon bolt on kit? Etc)

 

You sure? Don't expect more than an avg. of 18-19mpg with a taco...

 

My experience is 20 around town, and 25 on the highway. I'm at sea level.

 

Keep the FJ please I miss mine had an 07

 

I don't see another 10 year production run on this body style. Especially since it's starting to get so competitive again and also since the Tacoma didn't receive that huge of a change to begin with. I'm sure they will go to the normal 5 year cycle. Maybe 7 at most depending on the competition. A lot of manufactures now are having to do face lifts after 2-3 years because the original design was ugly and sales were down

 

I will be selling my FJ come fall time for a PRO. Although FJ's have a high value right now, I am not sure what wrecked ones are going for. Crunch some numbers and go from there. Maybe waiting for a 2017 Tacoma would be a good idea.

 

Doubt it. The 4 runner is in a pretty competitive category, and it's going on near 8 years now.

Are you saying the 3rd gen isn't a huge change from 2nd? I beg to differ. I owned both. Other than both having a truck bed, they drive, ride, sound, feel nothing alike.

 

Had the same thing happen on my wife's previous 2006 RAV 4 Was hit head on six years ago by a drunk and suffered $10,000 damage. We decided not to sell it for two years . We received $2500 diminished value and sold the RAV for $9000 a couple years later. The buyer knew if we kept the vehicle two years after the wreck, it probably was ok and it was.

If we would have tried to sell or trade it after the wreck we would have had to take a lot less IF we found a buyer

 

wait for gen 4

all electric tacoma 2022
single cab
dump body
all plastic

 

Appreciate the input guys. Also so you know, Toyota dealership near me offered 27.5 for trade in on the fj toward a new taco a few weeks ago. That was after I told him about the accudent. The ran the vin and the accident hadn't shown up yet and I believe it still is that way. There was 20k in damage, driver side front and driver door where it all was but absolutely no frame damage. I'm not sure if the salesman just wanted to make a sale or what but there's that.

 

Trading will almost always result in a significant monetary net loss for the customer. Selling privately can make you an extra $2k or $3k in most cases when you're talking vehicle value over 20k (which in this case I assume we are)...trade it in and you get screwed but it does save you some time and convenience. Comes down to how much you value the convenience and time-savings for being able to just hand over the keys and walk away. It could take 3 hours to sell your FJ on craigslist or it could take 3 months. You never know.

Also when trading you really really really need to pay attention to the numbers between the lines. Actual purchase price of vehicle, all fees and taxes, then also the trade value and compare that to the Invoice/Dealer cost of new vehicle to see if you're ACTUALLY getting a good value for your trade. Lots of ways for them to razzle dazzle you with the "monthly payment" numbers and hide profit in there.

My dad ran and owned a ford dealership for almost 30 years.

 

The 4Runner is on its 6th model year for the current generation. If they unchange it in 2017 then it will be the seventh year. Not sure where your getting 8 years from.

The 3rd gen isn't a "huge" change. Even Toyota basically says it's just refined. Sure they made a lot of little changes to most everything on the truck, however it's not a fully different truck. Just like the tundra. Is it going to feel like a different truck of course it is. You could take a 2006 Tacoma and put a new frame and suspension on it and it's going to drive and feel differently too, from the time you drive it before doing all that stuff and the parts are exactly the same. A car/truck that's only 3-4 months old could already have a different feel to it as the day you drove it off the lot. The biggest changes were in the power train obviously, and the interior overhaul.