I hope this is the best spot for this post, if not I'm happy to try elsewhere. I'll try to keep this as short as I can.
I'm looking for an SUV or truck (probably SUV) that will be a third vehicle for my wife and me (with one kid on the way). We both have daily drivers that get 28-30mpg so this will just be a spare/vacation/tow/trail/dune vehicle for us. I expect to put 5,000-10,000 miles per year on this. The goal is to keep this for a long time as a family vehicle. I'd love to take something to 300k miles if possible.
Expected use:
- Haul house project material and tools around
- Tow a utility trailer
- Tow a future pontoon boat (~4000 lbs boat and trailer or less)
- Hold a car seat and associated infant/kid stuff
- Travel light to moderate Midwest trails. Unimproved logging roads, ATV parks, etc
- Travel Michigan sand dunes
- Be big enough for me to sleep in the back ~10-15 nights per year
Budget:
$8000 for the vehicle. That's a max budget, I'd love to be in around $5k for the truck to have some room on maintenance/parts. Parts can be added as I go along, but I don't see myself doing anything more than tires and inexpensive DIY projects. Maybe a small spring/lift kit upgrade but that is about the extent of it. If/when something needs a bigger repair (IE, trans work), I'd like to be able to work on it myself. User friendly maintenance is important to me.
That budget puts me into 1999-2004ish range of a bunch of vehicles ranging from 100k to 175k miles.
Current considerations:
Sequoia. Aware of timing belt and door latch issue. Mixed reviews on long term durability. Drive train seems solid at least. Would be an early model, 2001-2002 with 150k ish miles. Frame rust is a concern from Michigan driving.
4runner. V8 needed for towing? Is the back seat big enough for a car seat? Somewhat better vehicle selection in my area for the money, still well into the 100k mile range.
Land Cruiser, 99-00 vintage, at least 150k miles. Bigger than a 4runner with better quality than the Seq?
Dometics:
Ford Expedition. Easily the best value for mileage in the group. Can find some near or under 100k. Many are rusted to **** here in MI. I'm aware of the 5.4L spark plug issues. I've had terrible luck with Ford transmissions in 00-03 Explorers but the Exped seems better.
Chevy Tahoe/Sub/Yukon. Usually a lot of rust. 5.3 is solid, but the trans gives me pause. Most of the high mileage ones in my area are pretty rusty and many have replaced engines/trans.
Trucks:
Haven't found a four door Toyota near my price range. I can find quad cab F150's, but many are beat work trucks with a lot of rust. SUV platform seems better for my uses, but the truck would be great for house projects. This will be a 50% project getter, 25% fun vehicle to drive around, and 25% get the family to interesting places for vacation, so a truck isn't totally out of the question.
I hope I provided some reasonable needs. I'm currently leaning most heavily toward a Sequoia or V8 4Runner, but the 100k mile Expedition for $4500 sure is tempting. I see a lot of 250k+ Toyotas for sale that aren't huge rust buckets (that's saying something in MI). Not many 200k+ domestics and those that are look like a petri dish for oxidation. Thoughts?
I'm looking for an SUV or truck (probably SUV) that will be a third vehicle for my wife and me (with one kid on the way). We both have daily drivers that get 28-30mpg so this will just be a spare/vacation/tow/trail/dune vehicle for us. I expect to put 5,000-10,000 miles per year on this. The goal is to keep this for a long time as a family vehicle. I'd love to take something to 300k miles if possible.
Expected use:
- Haul house project material and tools around
- Tow a utility trailer
- Tow a future pontoon boat (~4000 lbs boat and trailer or less)
- Hold a car seat and associated infant/kid stuff
- Travel light to moderate Midwest trails. Unimproved logging roads, ATV parks, etc
- Travel Michigan sand dunes
- Be big enough for me to sleep in the back ~10-15 nights per year
Budget:
$8000 for the vehicle. That's a max budget, I'd love to be in around $5k for the truck to have some room on maintenance/parts. Parts can be added as I go along, but I don't see myself doing anything more than tires and inexpensive DIY projects. Maybe a small spring/lift kit upgrade but that is about the extent of it. If/when something needs a bigger repair (IE, trans work), I'd like to be able to work on it myself. User friendly maintenance is important to me.
That budget puts me into 1999-2004ish range of a bunch of vehicles ranging from 100k to 175k miles.
Current considerations:
Sequoia. Aware of timing belt and door latch issue. Mixed reviews on long term durability. Drive train seems solid at least. Would be an early model, 2001-2002 with 150k ish miles. Frame rust is a concern from Michigan driving.
4runner. V8 needed for towing? Is the back seat big enough for a car seat? Somewhat better vehicle selection in my area for the money, still well into the 100k mile range.
Land Cruiser, 99-00 vintage, at least 150k miles. Bigger than a 4runner with better quality than the Seq?
Dometics:
Ford Expedition. Easily the best value for mileage in the group. Can find some near or under 100k. Many are rusted to **** here in MI. I'm aware of the 5.4L spark plug issues. I've had terrible luck with Ford transmissions in 00-03 Explorers but the Exped seems better.
Chevy Tahoe/Sub/Yukon. Usually a lot of rust. 5.3 is solid, but the trans gives me pause. Most of the high mileage ones in my area are pretty rusty and many have replaced engines/trans.
Trucks:
Haven't found a four door Toyota near my price range. I can find quad cab F150's, but many are beat work trucks with a lot of rust. SUV platform seems better for my uses, but the truck would be great for house projects. This will be a 50% project getter, 25% fun vehicle to drive around, and 25% get the family to interesting places for vacation, so a truck isn't totally out of the question.
I hope I provided some reasonable needs. I'm currently leaning most heavily toward a Sequoia or V8 4Runner, but the 100k mile Expedition for $4500 sure is tempting. I see a lot of 250k+ Toyotas for sale that aren't huge rust buckets (that's saying something in MI). Not many 200k+ domestics and those that are look like a petri dish for oxidation. Thoughts?