7 ms·

The more I read about these things, the more I think I'll be driving my 23 year old Toyota 4Runner until the end of my life

sharkweek 3y ago
Yo fellow 3rd gen driver! Bought my 2000 SR5 in 09 and it’s gone way up in value since then. Have had 3 random people ask me over the last few years how much I’d take for it and the answer is always “not for sale.”
- vannucci 3y ago
  Same here, I bought mine just as pandemic car prices plunged. It's not my primary right now but it might just become it. It's sad because I'm a car guy and I like some of the newer tech and all, I just can't stand all the markups and spyware and most of the time I just don't want to bother debugging my ride.
uberdru 3y ago
I am still driving my '09 4Runner. Cheap to own/maintain, ridiculously reliable. And no touch screen. Perfection! Anything made after about 2015 feels WAY over-engineered, for my tastes at least.
- aftbit 3y ago
  Depending on your climate, you should probably have the right front frame member inspected for rust. My father had an '09 4Runner & got into a front-end crash. In the process that member was exposed, and while it looked fine on the outside, it was full of rust from the inside and quite thin. Don't get me wrong, I drive an '01 Ranger that is more rust than steel at this point, but it is still good to know what you have.
  - wing-_-nuts 3y ago
    >I drive an '01 Ranger that is more rust than steel at this point You poor man. I had a 3.slow 6 cyl. 0-60 in 16s was almost an accomplishment. I guess that's what you get when you have a 155hp motor trying to pull a 3800 lb vehicle.
    - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
      Poor man? Sounds like a happy man to me! I drove a '93 Ranger with the 98 horsepower 2.3L 4-cylinder and the 5-speed manual in the late 2000s from 130,000 miles to 280,000 miles; it carried the supplies to paint dozens of houses and got me through college without any debt on car payments or tuition. My wife still mocks me for the purple pinstripes and the fact it was shorter than her, but I was driving it when she was just an acquaintance and I was still driving it home from our wedding, so clearly she actually liked it and just won't admit it. It could eventually achieve 70 mph on the downhills with a slight tailwind, but it's not a vehicle for people who are in a hurry. I never entered it into any kind of drag race, so I didn't worry about the 0-60 time. Sadly, it died when a neophyte mechanic tried to lift it by the body instead of the ladder frame; the body mounts were able to keep the sheet metal from sliding around but the rust gave way when they tried to put them in tension. No, it would not have been safe in a rollover... I like to imagine there's one still dry and rust-free in a barn somewhere in the Southwest that just needs some hoses, fluids, and a clean paint job (with purple pinstripes, that's important!) I would pick that over a new Maverick any day, never worry for a moment about it selling my data, and I'd have a stupid grin on my face every time I saw it. The only thing that could make it better would be if I could bolt an EV motor to the flywheel, elevate the bed by 6", and sandwich a battery pack under it.
      - wing-_-nuts 3y ago
        the 4cyl was about as fast as the 3.0 6cyl but got much better fuel economy. I didn't hate that it was slow. I hated that it was slow and only got 20mpg lol
- vannucci 3y ago
  I totally agree I just feel like there's a sweet spot in the early 2000s where crash safety was better (not the best, but way closer to modern) and traction controls were standard but you didn't have all the spyware. My 2000 4Runner was unfortunately designed in the 1990s which means the doors are super thin as are the roof pillars. Not a deal breaker mind you, it's just the sort of thing that I won't want it until it's too late.
vidanay 3y ago
My 2002 Ford Excursion says "What's a SIM?"
toastal 3y ago
I switched to a motorbike that has almost nothing ‘fancy’ about it--along with public transportation.
- InitialLastName 3y ago
  Yeah, my bicycle tracks me so little that sometimes I track myself just to feel included.
  - toastal 3y ago
    That was actually adorable. Kudos.
- hedora 3y ago
  If you have a license plate, then its being tracked with cameras when you use it.
AndrewKemendo 3y ago
I've never bought a new car and don't have any plans to soon My 2001 Tundra is a spy-free, comfortable and versatile life/work vehicle that works as well in the city as it does hauling logs and steel on my property. I have three school age kids and prefer my truck to a Van (I've owned one in the past too) any-day.
LeSaucy 3y ago
With the next Gen Toyota platforms all coming to market, it’s the end of an era for sure. I will be driving my 2nd Gen tundra into the ground!
giantg2 3y ago
Not a bad plan. There might still be some options out there. The previous generation of Silverado (14-18?)you could get a work truck without OnStar or anything. Didn't even have a key fob or Bluetooth. Costs a hell of a lot less too.
lost_tourist 3y ago
2012 mustang here, one reason I got it instead of a camaro (which I like better) was because every single camaro I looked at had onstar.
WalterBright 3y ago
My '72 Dodge sez hello.
j1elo 3y ago
Except when you live in a city where they start to limit and ban transit of older cars, to force people transitioning into lower emission models, or public transit. Like in Spain (through rules ultimately coming from Europe) there is a class of vehicles which are gradually being kicked out (banned from crossing certain very ample boundaries around the city): gasoline cars made before 2001, and diesel powered cars made before 2006. For example, your 23 year old Toyota 4Runner would be deemed too polluting (or noisy, or both) to drive near the city center and auxiliary accesses of Madrid, and starting from 2025 it will be outright banned from driving on any part of the city, with a circle area of ~23 Km (14 miles) diameter from the center.
- maxwell 3y ago
  Also rolled out in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Low_Emission_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Low_Emission_Zone
- dangus 3y ago
  American carbrains can’t imagine a society that doesn’t depend on huge ass vehicles for daily transportation. A reminder that driving isn’t a right, it’s a privilege that you have to get a license to do, and many other places that aren’t America don’t design their cities and even their small towns [1] around the idea that you must own a vehicle. Congestion taxes and pollution rules tend to affect city centers where personal vehicle ownership is unnecessary and even something that could be considered detrimental to society as a whole. I didn’t agree to die early due to elevated pollution levels in my city just so you can drive your truck around downtown. Approximately half of all global oil use is associated with roadways. Maybe draining the world’s oil is a solid plan for the oil states and geopolitically massive superpowers of the world, but many countries have to import all of their oil, so owning a 19mpg Toyota 4Runner in a country like Spain is arguably a national security issue. [1] https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg
  - EricE 3y ago
    "A reminder that driving isn’t a right" It is in America. Our constitution constrains the government, it doesn't grant us rights - we already have them as human beings. I can't imagine living under a cynical government that has that equation flipped but obviously you've been conditioned to accept it.

sharkweek 3y ago

Yo fellow 3rd gen driver! Bought my 2000 SR5 in 09 and it’s gone way up in value since then. Have had 3 random people ask me over the last few years how much I’d take for it and the answer is always “not for sale.”

vannucci 3y ago
Same here, I bought mine just as pandemic car prices plunged. It's not my primary right now but it might just become it. It's sad because I'm a car guy and I like some of the newer tech and all, I just can't stand all the markups and spyware and most of the time I just don't want to bother debugging my ride.

uberdru 3y ago

I am still driving my '09 4Runner. Cheap to own/maintain, ridiculously reliable. And no touch screen. Perfection! Anything made after about 2015 feels WAY over-engineered, for my tastes at least.

aftbit 3y ago
Depending on your climate, you should probably have the right front frame member inspected for rust. My father had an '09 4Runner & got into a front-end crash. In the process that member was exposed, and while it looked fine on the outside, it was full of rust from the inside and quite thin. Don't get me wrong, I drive an '01 Ranger that is more rust than steel at this point, but it is still good to know what you have.
- wing-_-nuts 3y ago
  >I drive an '01 Ranger that is more rust than steel at this point You poor man. I had a 3.slow 6 cyl. 0-60 in 16s was almost an accomplishment. I guess that's what you get when you have a 155hp motor trying to pull a 3800 lb vehicle.
  - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
    Poor man? Sounds like a happy man to me! I drove a '93 Ranger with the 98 horsepower 2.3L 4-cylinder and the 5-speed manual in the late 2000s from 130,000 miles to 280,000 miles; it carried the supplies to paint dozens of houses and got me through college without any debt on car payments or tuition. My wife still mocks me for the purple pinstripes and the fact it was shorter than her, but I was driving it when she was just an acquaintance and I was still driving it home from our wedding, so clearly she actually liked it and just won't admit it. It could eventually achieve 70 mph on the downhills with a slight tailwind, but it's not a vehicle for people who are in a hurry. I never entered it into any kind of drag race, so I didn't worry about the 0-60 time. Sadly, it died when a neophyte mechanic tried to lift it by the body instead of the ladder frame; the body mounts were able to keep the sheet metal from sliding around but the rust gave way when they tried to put them in tension. No, it would not have been safe in a rollover... I like to imagine there's one still dry and rust-free in a barn somewhere in the Southwest that just needs some hoses, fluids, and a clean paint job (with purple pinstripes, that's important!) I would pick that over a new Maverick any day, never worry for a moment about it selling my data, and I'd have a stupid grin on my face every time I saw it. The only thing that could make it better would be if I could bolt an EV motor to the flywheel, elevate the bed by 6", and sandwich a battery pack under it.
    - wing-_-nuts 3y ago
      the 4cyl was about as fast as the 3.0 6cyl but got much better fuel economy. I didn't hate that it was slow. I hated that it was slow and only got 20mpg lol
vannucci 3y ago
I totally agree I just feel like there's a sweet spot in the early 2000s where crash safety was better (not the best, but way closer to modern) and traction controls were standard but you didn't have all the spyware. My 2000 4Runner was unfortunately designed in the 1990s which means the doors are super thin as are the roof pillars. Not a deal breaker mind you, it's just the sort of thing that I won't want it until it's too late.

vidanay 3y ago

My 2002 Ford Excursion says "What's a SIM?"

toastal 3y ago

I switched to a motorbike that has almost nothing ‘fancy’ about it--along with public transportation.

InitialLastName 3y ago
Yeah, my bicycle tracks me so little that sometimes I track myself just to feel included.
- toastal 3y ago
  That was actually adorable. Kudos.
hedora 3y ago
If you have a license plate, then its being tracked with cameras when you use it.

AndrewKemendo 3y ago

I've never bought a new car and don't have any plans to soon My 2001 Tundra is a spy-free, comfortable and versatile life/work vehicle that works as well in the city as it does hauling logs and steel on my property. I have three school age kids and prefer my truck to a Van (I've owned one in the past too) any-day.

LeSaucy 3y ago

With the next Gen Toyota platforms all coming to market, it’s the end of an era for sure. I will be driving my 2nd Gen tundra into the ground!

giantg2 3y ago

Not a bad plan. There might still be some options out there. The previous generation of Silverado (14-18?)you could get a work truck without OnStar or anything. Didn't even have a key fob or Bluetooth. Costs a hell of a lot less too.

lost_tourist 3y ago

2012 mustang here, one reason I got it instead of a camaro (which I like better) was because every single camaro I looked at had onstar.

WalterBright 3y ago

My '72 Dodge sez hello.

j1elo 3y ago

Except when you live in a city where they start to limit and ban transit of older cars, to force people transitioning into lower emission models, or public transit. Like in Spain (through rules ultimately coming from Europe) there is a class of vehicles which are gradually being kicked out (banned from crossing certain very ample boundaries around the city): gasoline cars made before 2001, and diesel powered cars made before 2006. For example, your 23 year old Toyota 4Runner would be deemed too polluting (or noisy, or both) to drive near the city center and auxiliary accesses of Madrid, and starting from 2025 it will be outright banned from driving on any part of the city, with a circle area of ~23 Km (14 miles) diameter from the center.

maxwell 3y ago
Also rolled out in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Low_Emission_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Low_Emission_Zone
dangus 3y ago
American carbrains can’t imagine a society that doesn’t depend on huge ass vehicles for daily transportation. A reminder that driving isn’t a right, it’s a privilege that you have to get a license to do, and many other places that aren’t America don’t design their cities and even their small towns [1] around the idea that you must own a vehicle. Congestion taxes and pollution rules tend to affect city centers where personal vehicle ownership is unnecessary and even something that could be considered detrimental to society as a whole. I didn’t agree to die early due to elevated pollution levels in my city just so you can drive your truck around downtown. Approximately half of all global oil use is associated with roadways. Maybe draining the world’s oil is a solid plan for the oil states and geopolitically massive superpowers of the world, but many countries have to import all of their oil, so owning a 19mpg Toyota 4Runner in a country like Spain is arguably a national security issue. [1] https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg
- EricE 3y ago
  "A reminder that driving isn’t a right" It is in America. Our constitution constrains the government, it doesn't grant us rights - we already have them as human beings. I can't imagine living under a cynical government that has that equation flipped but obviously you've been conditioned to accept it.