The Automotive Thread

[Ble_PE]

I'm looking at Colorados, Tacomas, and Ridgelines, not full-sized trucks. Those would be mid-50s with the same options as the CRV minimum, if not over 60k. That's crazy money. I'm tempted to give a Wrangler a test drive, but those are $$ and get shitty gas mileage.

 

[Road Guy]

Are you only looking at brand new? When I bought the jeep Carmax had several four-door Tacoma's for mid 30s.

The rear seats on a jeep Wrangler four-door are larger than what's on the Toyota Tacoma for what it's worth, but I got my jeep that was a year old with 15,000 miles fir under 30K

It will be a long time before I pay $60,000 for a vehicle

 

[jeb6294]

I was wandering around the lot a few weeks ago while my truck was being serviced.  Sticker prices on a new F150 with pretty much the same options I'm running now are over $60k.  Who the hell can afford that?

Try wandering over to the Superduties with the Powerstroke.  I don't even think the start at $60k.  It's hard to call them work trucks anymore though. They are pretty well loaded nowadays.  Guys who use them for actual work have to special order them to get them with the vinyl floors and seats.

I'm looking at Colorados, Tacomas, and Ridgelines, not full-sized trucks. Those would be mid-50s with the same options as the CRV minimum, if not over 60k. That's crazy money. I'm tempted to give a Wrangler a test drive, but those are $$ and get shitty gas mileage.

Sorry, that's not a truck.  That is a Honda Accord with a bed bolted to it.

 

[Ble_PE]

Are you only looking at brand new? When I bought the jeep Carmax had several four-door Tacoma's for mid 30s.

The rear seats on a jeep Wrangler four-door are larger than what's on the Toyota Tacoma for what it's worth, but I got my jeep that was a year old with 15,000 miles fir under 30K

It will be a long time before I pay $60,000 for a vehicle

You can actually get a pretty nice new 4-door tacoma with 4-wheel drive for $35-38. That's the problem with used trucks is that they are almost as pricey as the new ones. Do you use the Jeep as your daily driver?

Sorry, that's not a truck.  That is a Honda Accord with a bed bolted to it.

Yea, I know, but I'm not looking for a heavy duty work truck, so it would serve the same purpose a Colorado or Tacoma would for me. 

 

[jeb6294]

I would be hard pressed to buy a new car anymore.  That's the only way I ended up getting my truck, getting it used.  I found out the original sticker on it back in 2011 was about $55k and to get a new 2015 which is when I got it would have been at least $10k more than that.

 

[jeb6294]

Ford is coming out with the "new" Ranger, but it sounds like it's going to be a little while yet.  I say "new" because they already had them when I was overseas.  They were pretty sharp looking...kinda looked like a scaled down version of the Raptor.

If I were looking for a small truck, I'd still be pestering Toyota every day to bring the Hilux over.  That's what I drove while I was in Afghanistan.  4-Doors with plenty of leg room in the back and a 4-cyl diesel that got excellent mileage and just would not die.  I swear, you could take the oil out and replace it with dirt and I think it'd still go.

 

[Road Guy]

I drive the jeep 4 days a week and a I drive my old Tahoe a day just to keep some miles of the jeep..Its even a manual transmission which I actually like - its great in the snow, I get around 22 mpg - that is with mud terrain tires but not much of  a lift.. It got me home in the snow last winter when we got close to 30 inches of snow at work with no problem and where I saw most vehicles stuck or sliding backwards  that day..

What I liked about looking at cars at CarMax (even if you don't buy one there) is you can look at and sit in different brands without the annoying salesman following you around.  I was also looking at a Tacoma but when I sat in the back seat of the Tacoma versus the wrangler it was a fairly noticeable difference in comfort- which I was really surprised. We have bought several cars there and I believe they do a good job of checking out what they sell. Have had less problems with their cars versus the brand new cars we bought from the stealerships

2 bad things about jeeps IMO is that 1)- they are a gear hog, too many add on aftermarket things you will want to buy, and 2)- is that to get a lot of features (heated seat, leather, premium radio, etc, is all bundled in either the overpriced Rubicon package or their Saraha package, which I never cared for the "street look" of the saraha, and I don't see paying for the rubicon since you still have to pay for a lift to get bigger tires. Jeep should come back out with their big foot package they had in the 90's when they would just come with 33's on them..  But they are not for everyone, however the 4 doors is way more comfortable to drive than either of my previous 3 jeeps.

The wife and I are looking to get (in 3.6 years when kids are out) is either a Tacoma or 4-Runner so we can pull a small trailer or either get a Tacoma with a hard top so we can camp in the back. We have seen some cool configurations where they build a floor in the bed where you store ski gear and then you can camp on top of it- like say when you are trying to get "first chair" at the resorts (that may not be a thing outside of our state though)  But what I was getting at is if I was getting a truck I would get the Tacoma, resale value just cant be beat.

 

[mudpuppy]

Speaking of Jeeps, anyone experience the Jeep Death Wobble?  My Cherokee has come down with a serious case of it.  Scary when you're driving 70 mph down the expressway and suddenly the whole front end starts oscillating to the point where it feels like the whole vehicle is going to fly apart, and it won't stop until you pull over and stop.

 

[Road Guy]

how old / new  is your front stabilizer? 

I only had it a few times on my 99 TJ but the drawback to having a solid front axle is those parts do wear out - I think I put in a really beefy front stabilizer shock and then replaced the links & stabilizer bar and that seemed to fix it.

 

[mudpuppy]

I just replaced the shocks and the steering stabilizer, which actually made it worse.  Going to take it to the shop to check out the track bar, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. 

 

[jeb6294]

You have a lift on it?  Sometimes the cheaper lift kits skimp on the steering components and can screw up the geometry which makes wobble worse.

 

[mudpuppy]

You have a lift on it?  Sometimes the cheaper lift kits skimp on the steering components and can screw up the geometry which makes wobble worse.

It has a cheap 2" body lift that my dad put in it when he owned it.  I honestly don't know what all he messed with on it, so there could be something there.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Ford is coming out with the "new" Ranger, but it sounds like it's going to be a little while yet.  I say "new" because they already had them when I was overseas.  They were pretty sharp looking...kinda looked like a scaled down version of the Raptor.

If I were looking for a small truck, I'd still be pestering Toyota every day to bring the Hilux over.  That's what I drove while I was in Afghanistan.  4-Doors with plenty of leg room in the back and a 4-cyl diesel that got excellent mileage and just would not die.  I swear, you could take the oil out and replace it with dirt and I think it'd still go.

We have both those here in NZ. The Rangers are nice, definitely a mini-Raptor. They get expensive very quickly.

I've seen Hilux's everywhere except the US. Things are a half step below a tank in their indestructible capabilities. 

 

[Road Guy]

It has a cheap 2" body lift that my dad put in it when he owned it.  I honestly don't know what all he messed with on it, so there could be something there.

when I was more active in the jeepforum community it seemed like the non suspension lifts were a lot of times to blame.. we are looking around for an XJ for one of our kids so let me know what your shop says about them.

 

[jeb6294]

A body lift shouldn't have any affect on the steering.  All you're doing is, literally, lifting the body above the frame a couple inches.  Worst case scenario, you would get made fun of in the "real" Jeep world unless it was done in conjunction with a suspension lift to clear some ridiculously big tires.  Of course, with any kind of lift, I'm guessing it's got bigger tires on it.  Even that can increase the chances for death wobble.  If it's got a lot of miles on it, may just have to go back to checking for worn parts.

 

[snickerd3]

Ford is coming out with the "new" Ranger, but it sounds like it's going to be a little while yet.  I say "new" because they already had them when I was overseas.  They were pretty sharp looking...kinda looked like a scaled down version of the Raptor.

If I were looking for a small truck, I'd still be pestering Toyota every day to bring the Hilux over.  That's what I drove while I was in Afghanistan.  4-Doors with plenty of leg room in the back and a 4-cyl diesel that got excellent mileage and just would not die.  I swear, you could take the oil out and replace it with dirt and I think it'd still go.

We have both those here in NZ. The Rangers are nice, definitely a mini-Raptor. They get expensive very quickly.

I've seen Hilux's everywhere except the US. Things are a half step below a tank in their indestructible capabilities. 

fall 2017 if the interwebs is to be believed

http://www.2016toyotahilux.com/2017-toyota-hilux-usa-review-news/

 

[jeb6294]

fall 2017 if the interwebs is to be believed

http://www.2016toyotahilux.com/2017-toyota-hilux-usa-review-news/

Pfffft...that's not a Hilux.  I'll bet half that fancy body moulding would fall off the first time it got air.  And no diesel?  This is a Hilux:

 

[Master slacker]

We just keep cars till they die.  And then I bring them back to life.  Repeat.

 

[Ble_PE]

So now I've almost decided to just go with my wants and get a Jeep Wrangler. The problem is there are just way too many builds and accessories sold with them that push the price up to a ridiculous level. Not to mention I want a soft top and almost everything on the lots around here are hard tops. Might have to travel a bit to get what I what whenever I decide to pull the trigger. 

 

[kevo_55]

So, does this mean that Bigfoot is no longer in the running?