Vehicle advice: need a 4x4 4 door

[Geardo]

I currently own a 2001 tacoma 4x4 access Cab. Great truck, never let me down, can handle every day driving, snow, road trips, and off roading.




But now I have a kid on the way, and a car seat is pretty dang tight (basically won't fit) in the back.

My wife owns a 2WD rav4.

I would really like a 4WD/4x4 dependable vehicle I can fit the family in for trips or just driving in winter.

My options as I see it are:

Sell truck and buy/trade a similar year/condition 4 door short bed tacoma.

Sell truck/trade for a 1995-2002 4 runner

Keep truck and buy a older Nissan Xterra.

Keep truck and bury my butt in debt buying a newer 4x4 like a Chevy Colorado Zr2

I would like to keep/buy 1 older vehicle that I can beat up on trails and hunting and not feel horrible about.

Thoughts? Vehicles I am not thinking about?

What is My poor truck worth with 180,000 miles and a quality 1.5" lift?

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[slimmer13]

I like 4runners. The bad news is used Yotas are gold for some reason. The good news is that you have one.

 

[Geardo]

I like 4runners. The bad news is used Yotas are gold for some reason. The good news is that you have one.

Yeah they are. Thats why the only way I could afford it is a almost straight across trade, but that has lots of concerns. I know the issues my truck has, but I don't know issues someone elses vehicle might have.

 

[Tarawa86]

Keep truck and buy a older Nissan Xterra.

I was surprised by the amount of problems my Pathfinder had, and I think many xterra years had a problem with radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. I'm not sure I'd trust Nissan for rock solid reliability.

Edit: my brother in law has a lot of issues with his Titan also

 

[Joe13]

Explorer and utility trailer is the way I went.

Lotta parts and easy/cheap to fix, but we've had great luck with it so far.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Nissan suck. Oh here the 1 or 2 that work for some. But overall that company has sucked since Datsun.

It's "1" child bro. Keep the pickup. You'll drive it less than half the time.

Don't ever sell that pickup.
Is it 4 cylinder? If so, don't sell it ever.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

toyotas hold their value. search craigs and see what people are asking for their tacomas. usually its above blue book.

dont get a colorado. im a gm technician. trust me.

id buy a 4runner or a newer 4.0L 4 door tacoma.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

toyotas hold their value. search craigs and see what people are asking for their tacomas. usually its above blue book.

dont get a colorado. im a gm technician. trust me.

id buy a 4runner or a 4 door tacoma.

I've had 2 4 runners in the day. Horrible gas mileage. And gutless. And the older v6 is not a good motor.

I see way to many dudes think when a baby is on the way that they need to geld themselves and by a car.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I've had 2 4 runners in the day. Horrible gas mileage. And gutless. And the older v6 is not a good motor.

I see way to many dudes think when a baby is on the way that they need to geld themselves and by a car.

are we talkin the ones with the 3.0 and or the 3.4L? yeah id have to agree with you. low power bad gas mileage.

we have a 2016 4runner. it has plenty of power. gas mileage is 17 in town and 21 freeway not great but i dont expect exceptional mileage out of an SUV. my truck gets about 11-14mpg. we kept her old car for me to drive to work and back. it gets 28mpg 4 door little mitsubishi. sister in law bought it with 20k on it, sold it to us with 60k on it, has 150k on it now and the check engine light has never been on. all ive ever had to do was basic maintenance. its perfect for gettin our two boys around to school/daycare or short trips.

another option for the OP could be keep the truck and buy a small 4 door gas getter car. toyota camry comes to mind.

 

[s1xty7]

Jeep Cherokee XJ. Any year 1987 or newer with the 4.0. Having owned a 1987, 1990, and now a 1998, I would suggest the 1998 just for the revisions alone, although any of them would work. 1998 is the newest revision before they made some engine changes that are potential minor issues. Only problem is that it is getting harder to find one in nice shape with lower miles for a sane price. They are not super roomy inside and get not great mileage (15 - 20), but there are a ton of them and aftermarket upgrades everywhere. Fairly cheap to work on and very reliable. Their biggest weakness is likely the cooling system which can be addressed and is less of an issue once you get into the later years. I have 9 and 7 year old boys and it's worked for us. With car seats, you can fit a skinny adult in the back as well, but it is tight. If I was doing it over, I'd make the same choice.

Good luck and congrats on the new baby.

 

[Rem700..300]

Keep the Toyota and get a 4door Powerstroke. My 02 7.3 with 35s when I had it was in the same gas milage range as my son's 96 4runner. Way better milage on the highway also. It also opens the door to more and a lot more expensive toys that the kids like. And yes congrats on the baby.

 

[DB is Here]

I picked up an 2009 Toyota Tacoma 2 years ago and yes they are for the most part go anywhere do anything rigs. I'd personally keep your truck and when you go somewhere with the family just take the wife's rig. Save each month what you'd think your payment would be, after two years plus your truck as trade you'd likely be able to step into a 4 door Tacoma and have no payment.

 

[RVTECH]

I'll have to support the 4Runner.
I recently bough a 2004 and love it.
A couple minor things I don't care for but they are not 'quality' issues but design stuff and are insignificant. Otherwise literally one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. I have never owned a Toyota 4X4 and bought it on faith but I am 100 % satisfied.
On the 'flip side' I also own a 1999 Cherokee that I really like as well.
It is my 2nd Cherokee and one of many Jeeps I have owned over the years.
When I bought the 4Runner I 'waffled' between selling my 97 TJ or the Cherokee and wound up keeping the Cherokee.
Ditto on the lack of 'roominess' and mileage but as previously mentioned easy to work on, typically pretty reliable.
I get offers on mine regularly as it is in very nice condition and has not been abused.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

are we talkin the ones with the 3.0 and or the 3.4L? yeah id have to agree with you. low power bad gas mileage.

we have a 2016 4runner. it has plenty of power. gas mileage is 17 in town and 21 freeway not great but i dont expect exceptional mileage out of an SUV. my truck gets about 11-14mpg. we kept her old car for me to drive to work and back. it gets 28mpg 4 door little mitsubishi. sister in law bought it with 20k on it, sold it to us with 60k on it, has 150k on it now and the check engine light has never been on. all ive ever had to do was basic maintenance. its perfect for gettin our two boys around to school/daycare or short trips.

another option for the OP could be keep the truck and buy a small 4 door gas getter car. toyota camry comes to mind.

3.0

 

[Member 34319]

@Taco_lean we did somewhat similar when our kid came. I was driving a two door Ranger and she had a Subaru Crosstrek.

After looking at everything, well minus trucks, we went back to Subaru as we figured we would just get a second crosstrek since we liked it so much.

Sales guy got his car seat out of his car and walked around with us putting it into everything we asked him to.

Bought a Forester because of that guy.

Anyways, I'm not saying a Subaru is the fit, but I am saying. Buy a good car seat and bring it with you as you look. A stroller too. Make sure the vehicle you pick can hold a stroller folded down and a car seat comfortably with some room for other things like a big ole diaper bag.

As for keeping the truck or not. We sold our Ranger, it helped as we were able to pay off the brand new car within a year. However it totally sucks not having a truck now when we need it. The Subaru does better in the woods than my truck ever did though. It's a toss up. If you can squeeze the extra car in, I'd say do that before loosing the truck. Unless you replace the truck with a roomier truck.

 

[308]

Our 4 door Tacoma has plenty of room even for normal size adults



...our Subaru Crosstrek will stomp the Toyota in ice or snow..tho.

 

[EUGENE the REALTOR]

4 door Wrangler. Can do everything you're doing now and more. Even better resale value and you can take the top and doors off.

 

[PNWguy]

I was surprised by the amount of problems my Pathfinder had, and I think many xterra years had a problem with radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. I'm not sure I'd trust Nissan for rock solid reliability.

Edit: my brother in law has a lot of issues with his Titan also

I used to be a Nissan fanboy in the late 90's and early 2000's. Had an `87 Pathfinder that was tight and trouble-free with 170k miles on the odometer. Bought a `97 Pathfinder that was also trouble-free until the ex-wife totaled it. She had a short-lived phobia of smaller vehicles and wanted a full-size pickup to drive.

After disastrous experiences with a low-mileage and clean `99 F-150 and a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, she finally agreed to go back to a 2001 Infiniti QX4.

Drove it for another few years until the kids were simply too big for it. We then bought a brand new 2006 Chrysler Town & Country. That was a disaster as well. Lots of issues.

I started looking at new vehicles again and the Nissan ratings were pretty bad. Seems that somewhere in the early 2000's, reliability fell like a rock.

I was looking at used Xterras and Pathfinders a couple of years ago and the Craigslist ads are very revealing. Nearly every single one has a laundry list of parts that have been recently replaced that aren't regular maintenance items.

My girlfriend owns a 2017 Nissan Juke (ugly, ugly car) with 25k miles on it. She hasn't had any mechanical issues yet, but it has worn out the tires at 20k miles and the rear brakes need replaced, which is weird for such low miles.

With one kid, a small SUV is your jam.

My brother bought a used Honda CR-V with 100k miles for $7k when he had his first kid a couple of years ago and it is the perfect size. It's his wife's daily driver, and he has a Jeep Wrangler and a full-size pickup.

My daughter and son-in-law bought a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Limited with low miles and in perfect condition when they were stationed at Lewis-Mcchord.

What a complete POS! It ALWAYS had problems; either electrical or fuel system related. I mean, it was randomly having problems with lights, door switches, cruise control, dash panel, etc.

Then they switched to Subaru and love them.

Now, they have 3 little boys and are stationed in Japan. Mini-vans are the only way to go with three toddlers and Japan has some very cool mini-vans. And used vehicles are super cheap over there.

My daughter's van is a 2006 Toyota Alphard and has 70k miles. Cost them $5k.



Japan has some awesome mini-vans, including a ton of off-road versions that the US desperately needs...

 

[Geardo]

I've had 2 4 runners in the day. Horrible gas mileage. And gutless. And the older v6 is not a good motor.

I see way to many dudes think when a baby is on the way that they need to geld themselves and by a car.

What vehicle would you suggest then?

 

[Geardo]

Wow. Lots of Great replys! Thanks everyone.

Sounds like I should keep the truck! Lol

The jeep cherokee was one I had kind of considered, but not in depth. My friend has one and loves it. He is building it into a very off road capable vehicle.


Guess I could save up for a year or so and get a used suburu....or maybe a honda CRV....


Going to pass on the xterra.