Vehicular Wisdom needed

What should I do?

  • Buy the 4Runner, Sell the ZJ

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • Buy the 4Runner, Sell the Passat

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • Sell the Wrangler and Duramax, buy a newer truck

    Votes: 5 25.0%

  • Keep the Duramax

    Votes: 2 10.0%

  • Keep the Wrangler, it's got too much history, and you'll always regret it

    Votes: 9 45.0%

  • Keep everything

    Votes: 3 15.0%

  • Stop asking random people on the internet

    Votes: 6 30.0%

  • Make shorter posts

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • See answer in thread

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    20
I'm going to avoid the "that wasn't safe" and "not enough seatbelt" Nazis on this one and save it for the campfire and beers. Don't let me forget to tell you about the bar in Harlan;)
 
I saw a ghost this past Saturday at an event.
Mr. Watson
Thought you killed and ate him.
 
GONOVRIT said:
Am I the only person that thinks part of a mans masculinity is lost when they start driving a mini van?

If I've offended anyone please speak up:flipoff2:
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I still enjoy having sex with my wife just as much today as I did before buying a minivan. I have not noticed any loss in size or firmness of my penis or frequency of erections and I just turned 40 years old too.:D
 
drkelly said:
I still enjoy having sex with my wife just as much today as I did before buying a minivan. I have not noticed any loss in size or firmness of my penis or frequency of erections and I just turned 40 years old too.:D
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This thread is getting really off track.
We made a decision last night. Sell everything and buy 2 of these:
amedia1.break.com_dnet_media_2014_2_10_89dc5349_cba9_4e7d_8b80_f9c4e307f174.jpg

and 1 of these for when we're feeling awesome:
acarphotos4.cardomain.com_images_0016_31_47_16331374_large.jpg_5e1f15b6b06c4b6cc29ea86fae840200.jpg
 
Aah, the Pontiac Asscrack. In an attempt to make something cooler than a minivan, they somehow made something worse. Much much worse. Lambo doors don't help.
 
Likewise, could one imply that driving a Hemi cured cancer? :driver::burnout:
 
GONOVRIT said:
And to all you people that are saying a 4runner isn't big enough, what the hell are y'all carrying around?:lol:
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Here is how it happens: off-road/jogging stroller with large wheels so we can walk on the beach, regular stroller for everywhere else, pack-n-play for the boy to sleep in, a high chair insert for him to sit in and eat, toys for him to play with in the house and on the beach, beach chairs, an umbrella, a cooler with food and drinks, a box full of food and drinks, two boogie boards, a big box of diapers, plus our regular luggage and I’m sure a bunch of other stuff I am forgetting. Try to put all that stuff in the back of a 4-runner, and we only have one kid!

I’ll break it down for you. Summer of 2011, my boy is 9 months old, and we are getting ready to go to the beach for a week with my in-laws. At the time, we owned my wife’s car which was a Hyundai Santa Fe, my Ram, and my 2-door Tahoe. The Santa Fe is the only logical choice to take to the beach, so I start packing the Santa Fe the night before the trip, and quickly realize there is no way we are going to fit everything in there. We end up needing to take a load over to the in-laws for them to bring down for us in their mini-van. That trip was about the time where my frustration with driving my Ram every day to drop off and pick up my boy had peaked. With another beach trip planned 3 months later with my parents, and no option of having them take stuff down for us since they both drive Caddy’s and were going down a week ahead of time, I decided to buy a minivan. I was originally planning on keeping the van until my boy turns about 6-8 yrs old, then buying something else, but I’m not sure what I’ll do. My wife was against getting a mini-van, but loves it now. We might trade my van in when it gets some high miles on it (79k now), and buy a newer AWD Sienna for her to drive so we will still have a van in the family. At that point, I might sell my Ram and upgrade to a newer truck as my DD.
 
That's GM's Marketing Department for you.... Design a vehicle with what they touted as the largest technological advancements in engineering and name it after a 14th century civilization. From the same company that tried to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico and wondered why nobody bought it, only to figure out in Spanish it means, "No Go".

The Aztek literally looks like someone took a dull butcher's cleaver to a hunk of modeling clay and called it done.
 
Good grief, you just reminded me how good I've got it:flipoff2: Some people do it differently I guess. I just CAMPED for two nights on the beach a month ago with some friends and their 4yr old. The father drives 4dr Tacoma with a bed cover. I'm not sure how they did it looking back now but they had room in the truck and the bed?

Another close friend of mine took off on a road trip a few yrs back with his wife and 2yr old son. They were gone over 3wks and camped all but 4nights of that....out of a 90's model Subaru forester:eek: Our crv is bigger than that car:lol:.
 
ManglerYJ said:
The Aztek literally looks like someone took a dull butcher's cleaver to a hunk of modeling clay and called it done.
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That same guy designed the new C7 Vette...must have sharpened that cleaver at some point over the last decade. :lol:

Only thing I could add to the actual topic is that the 4Runners are nice. I love my 3rd Gen's. Went back to one after 7 years of vehicle ADD and know a bunch of people with 4th Gens as well that are happy with them. Since you seem to keep vehicles for a long time, I highly doubt you will go wrong making the 4Runner the DD/family hauler for the misses. They hold their value well too so getting upside down in one isn't as likely as it would be with some other newer cars.

Everyone works their finances differently based on personal need/want so its kind of an skewed argument based on who you talk to. I am pretty debt averse, especially when it comes to vehicles because everything I own has a price and they are depreciating assets. This time last year I got into the first "new" car with a payment thinking it would nice to be able to not have to make the higher mileage/age repairs and it was gone 10 months later. I couldn't justify the payment every month vs what I could just keep in savings in case an older car needed a little work from time to time and have something that was paid off. The couple hundred dollar a month swing is allowing me to put a little more in savings each month and pay my remaining debt (student loan and an emergency CC) in a matter of months vs years if I had remained on the same financial track. Seems like you have done roughly the same thing I did, just in a diff order. Pay off home/land and freed up money for a newer vehicle vs pay off vehicle to free up money for home/land. Either way just do what you and your family's finances allow and youre comfortable with, but as for the 4Runner. Cant go wrong with it IMO.
 
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just do something...I hope all this discussion isn't wasted.

I hauled my babies every weekday roughly 15 miles to my inlaws from nov.1994 to oct.2007 when my oldest turned 13.First 7 years was in a 94 dodge ram and from nov.2001 till oct.2007 on my tj.That was 2 car seats and bags or car seat/booster and bags, coats, book bags.Don't want to hear no bitchin on room. My ram was a standard cab so I had 2 car seats beside me plus the other crap. I also toted my babies asleep and put them in their seats.Then toted them inside and put them down on the couch,still asleep. You conform to the vehicle to get what you need done.
 
Boring update:
We test drove a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder tonight. It was fine, but didn't really "speak" to her. But the 2012ish Pathfinder is about the same price as a 2009ish 4Runner...
Also test drove a 2013 4Runner w/19k miles. $38k. Seriously? That's almost as much as it cost to build our house... The wife liked all the niceties, but I didn't find it to be particularly any better than the 05-09 models, and I like the look of the 05-09 better anyway.
 
Also, for anyone who likes spreadsheets, here's the one I made with specs for ZJ, WK, WK2, 3rd & 4th Gen 4Runner, and Pathfinder.
 

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ord.sgt.26NC said:
just do something...I hope all this discussion isn't wasted.

I hauled my babies every weekday roughly 15 miles to my inlaws from nov.1994 to oct.2007 when my oldest turned 13.First 7 years was in a 94 dodge ram and from nov.2001 till oct.2007 on my tj.That was 2 car seats and bags or car seat/booster and bags, coats, book bags.Don't want to hear no bitchin on room. My ram was a standard cab so I had 2 car seats beside me plus the other crap. I also toted my babies asleep and put them in their seats.Then toted them inside and put them down on the couch,still asleep. You conform to the vehicle to get what you need done.
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What did you drive 300 miles to grandma's house for thanksgiving and Christmas?
 
^^^^^^^ hmmmmm,I pull a M416 soooooo.Again,I conformed to what I drive.Need some room,get a reciever rack.Need more? Get a trailer.We have other things to drive anyhow if we want.I only remember taking the voyager one time to wilksboro.Rest of the time if I'm driving,I'm taking the Tj.
 
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