Should I trade in our family loved SUV for an FR-S?
 

A little background on myself:
I’m 38 years old married with a 3 month old. We currently own 3 cars (FJ Cruiser in question, a 2015 sedan and a 2010 minivan all in perfect running order).
At 16 I entered the “import scene” with an ae86 and enjoyed many other imports swapping to different platforms like the crx, SR swapped S14, AWD DSM’s. Ive enjoyed autocross, drag racing, and of course a little time going too fast on the twistys. But about 7 years ago I started spending more time off the track and In the FJ as it allowed for more time spent with the wife.

Backround on the FJ:
I built this as an expedition rally vehicle. If you’re not familiar with this. Basically you spend a week or more in the back country competing against other teams to get as close to a set arrival time as possible. We also use it for camping, pulling boats (boats sold now) and hauling around a trailer with normal home owner items.

The problem:
Since having the baby there will be no camping or week long Rally’s for a few years, so now I have a really wide SUV in my garage sort of just taking space. I Could however make day events like auto crosses. So that’s what brings me here.

Do I trade in the FJ for an FR-S? The pros and cons:

Pros:
-The 2007 FJ is worth as much as a 2013 FR-S with low miles, so little to no out of pocket.
-The FRS would have less than 40k miles next to the FJ’s 103k
-I would have more garage room
-I would have a vehicle that I could actually make time for
-Gas mileage would be better

Cons:
-Occasionally it’s nice to have something that can get around in the snow. (Arkansas)
-I know this truck like the back of my hand, its sorted and 100% dependable, who knows what the second hand FR-S has been through.
-Ill have to borrow trucks for things I would normally use my trailer for.
-The FR-S has a lower resale than the FJ, what will it be worth in 5 years?
-Hell I may be too old for this car.
-Last but not least, ive had this truck nearly 10 years and have many good memories with it. If the day comes to let her go it would be heartbreaking to myself and the wife.

Is it time? Would I make a mistake? Thanks for your feedback.

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...e.jpg~original

you only live once.

I'd say keep the FJ and sell the minivan or the sedan for an FRS. I mean what can the minivan do that the FJ can't??

edit: if the payments aren't a big deal that is. maybe just wait and save, then sell one of the two and get an FRS.

yes, close thread...

You do only live once,
Unfortunately the minivan can do a lot. 7 passenger seating, gramma can get in and out of it. cheap maintenance/gas. and most of all, its my "hey I can buy whatever I want, I have a minivan." excuse.

^ Unfortunately?

this one of those cases because you are not a single guy you need to get the fr-s as an extra toy and keep the practical vehicles

I see, I see, that does make sense. I think, though, that you've listed more compelling cons than pros for trading as far as I can see. There's really no substitute for a 4WD truck in the snow, and if you do towing/hauling regularly, you're going to miss it.

It seems to me that the pros for the FR-S are mostly that it's a terrific car that you'll have time to drive and work on. Now that can be worth a lot, but you're probably trading down in terms of practicality. If you were really sick of the FJ I'd say go ahead, but it seems like you're still quite fond of it.

Perhaps you can just save up for a moderate-mileage BRZ/FR-S? Obviously that might not be practical, but unless you're really ready to let go of the FJ I wouldn't necessarily trade it in.

At 38 you barely even come in above the median age on this forum so forget being "too old".


Don't rule out the sentimental attachment to the cruiser. Getting rid of it could haunt you later. Of course it is possible that you could form as strong an attachment to a Twin.


Resale in 5 years is anybody's guess. But the bottom could drop out on the cruiser's value as well so either way is a gamble. I would not worry about resale either way.


There are several guys here that haul trailers with their Twin. A hitch and light trailer is a viable option. Just don't expect to pull bigger loads.


Some snow tires coupled with basic driving skills and these things are a beast in the winter (Canada).

I have a 2013 TE 4Runner (similar to your FJ)...I'd say keep the FJ...

Honestly, if you crave a RWD car that is inexpensive...get a used Miata.

That may not be the answer you are looking for.

@ Tcoat ...that FJ will hold its value...iono about the twins...but clean FJs (and 4Runners and Tacomas) hold their value more than pretty much anything on the road.

My wife sold her FJ and she regrets it. That being said...she bought it used for $23,000 and put miles on it and etc for 2.5 years....sold it back to a dealership for $21,500. It made me regret owning my Titan (at that time)...those drop in value so fast lol.

TLDR: Keep FJ and consider a Miata.

There isn't a shortage of used Twins...there IS a shortage of nice FJs.

If you decide to sell/trade the FJ...unless you in a state that credits you on taxes for trade-ins...privately sell it. It will be easy to sell. Heck if you lived closer...I may know someone who would be interested lol.

Some excellent points. The minivan can tow if needed. ive never used it for that but its only a 12 footer.
I think the scariest part of it is what Psilox and Tcoat said. There is sentimental value.
Would I form the same bond? only time would tell and then what happens when I see the buyer of the FJ decide hes got himself a good "muddin" truck and absolutely trash the ol girl.
Would I care as much if I was having too much fun on the autox coarse? Im not an indecisive person, but the fact this decision has me so confused makes me lean toward just keeping her in the garage and waiting it out. BUT THEN WHAT! the bottom falls out of resale and how dare I justify spending money on myself.
I would also miss the FJ online community but ive been trolling here for some time and there seems to be a lot of friendly members. the quick advise in this thread is an example of that.
For those of you still living with your folks... the struggle is real.

The FJ will only increase in value as there is high demand, though perhaps not where you live. Anywhere in the snow belt will command a premium.

Keep the FJ. Dump something else and get the FR-S.

Sell the minivan. I don't think you need a minivan anytime soon.

Test Drive

Beautiful FJ!

My vote, trade in sedan, keep minivan and FJ. Practicality, with a side helping of fun :party0030:

badass FJ!

i say keep the FJ and minivan (i love minivans lol) and replace the sedan for an FRS/BRZ. what kind of sedan do you currently have? i dont see the need for an extra sedan when the minivan is there to do all the family hauling and can do so in comfort.

Not for one second saying the FJ will lose value but prices for vehicles can be a fickle mistress. There is no such thing as a guaranteed resale on any vehicle and they can go up and down for no apparent reason. Right now they hold value but to predict what they will do in 5 years remains a gamble.


The sentimental value to an individual outweighs the true value by miles anyway. I have 3 or 4 vehicles that I got rid of over the years that I sometimes deeply regret (my $800 70 Coronet R/T would now be valued at around $40K). When I think of those cars/trucks I have to remind myself that it is not feasible or realistic to keep every vehicle that I ever owned and that at the time I sold them I had my reasons.


In Fardo's case he needs to consider if the sentimental value outweighs the expense and trouble of storing and maintaining a vehicle he does not use and may never use in it's real capacity ever again. The possible future value of either of the vehicles should be a very minor consideration when looking at the whole picture.

Sell the minivan. Then get an older cheaper one for hauling the family around.

OR

Get grandma a step stool for the FJ.

In any case, keep the FJ. You clearly have put some work into it and love it.

Then...

Buy a twin. Just not one with 40K miles on it. There are plenty of low mileage used ones to be had nationally now that people are turning in their 2013 leases. Also, the deals on these are good as the 2017 Mid-cycle refresh is coming.

With that being said, keep in mind the twin will end up eating all of your time anyhow because they're so damn fun to work on, mod, and shape into your vision. No, Miata isn't always the answer. Twins have proven to be faster, sharper, more flexible 2+2's that have an aftermarket the size of an ocean. Oh... first world problems. Good life man.

Thank you,
The other two cars i have to keep. The FJ and minivan are paid off. the sadan is a new Ford Fusion and our daily driver. Wife and I both work in the same office and take the baby to daycare. So great gas mileage and babyseat fits. so in reality 90% of our driving is done in one car, with Fj as my toy, and minivan for weekends carting the grandparents around. As far as daily minivan if we sell the sadan? that would kill my soul. :cry:

That FJ is bad ass and it'll go to 200 easy. Sell the mini van if you want the FRS. You do need a util vehicle when you have an FRS. We use wifes Soul and she's thinking of trading, for a Wrangler or FJ. Only thing I despise of the FJs, fixed rear windows. Other than that its as capable as a Jeep and really has been jeeps only true competitor.

Take it from a guy that made the mistake you are about to make. KEEP THE FJ!

I miss mine constantly. Sounds like you have other vehicles you can replace with the FR-S

http://i.imgur.com/MpI1S12.jpg

I think I would work around keeping the FJ, I've been wanting one for a while... Yours is badass!

I'm sure you will be able to find second hand FRS/BRZs without too much trouble if you continue to feel the urge to get one

I'm in my thirties, live in Arkansas, use my FR-S as a four-season daily, and autocross it regularly. Nothing to fear. Get one and enjoy it.

I shed a Miata and a Mazda6 to get mine, and the switch was fun and surprisingly uneventful. The Miata just sat there, while the FR-S actually gets driven. Aside from caution around parking curbs and steep drives, I use the car for everything like normal.

I have a crew cab truck for trailering and hauling. If you have a four-door something in the household, you don't have to worry about the liability of the twins' slim rear legroom.

fusion is cool, but i dont see how much more exciting that could be compared to a minivan if you compare BOTH cars to a toy car like an FRS and FJ.

to me, daily driving a fusion is only marginally "better" than a minivan. either way neither of them would ever be about a fun drive so i'd just get rid of the sedan and keep the van since i think minivans are awesome hahaha

Sell gramma and the minivan. Keep the FJ. :D

Shes got a ton of miles.

Buy FRS.
Keep sedan for your wife.
Keep either FJ or mini for family activities.

Problem solved.

Get rid off of the family. But test drive and hope the lack of power doesnt bother you

First test drive an FR-S if you haven't already - you will absolutely know what you need to do after the test drive...

And you are not too old...many, many older owner here with a few old enough to be your grandpa...(not me, I'm about to turn 40.)

Personally If one vehicle had to be sold to get the FR-S, my choice would be the Fusion...FR-S has back seats that can at least fit small children. It also is an EXTREMELY safe vehicle - top tier safety rating due to the Subaru cage structure built into the chassis. Very much can be a small family daily driver if you don't mind the 2 doors. The minivan and FJ do their job quite nicely with no other vehicle that could substitute.

What part of Arkansas bro I use live in Rogers lol and trade in the mini van imho you can customize the fj to your needs too remember that 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼


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Get the twin.
Get gramma a step ladder.
Get rid of either the Minivan or the Sedan.

You'll have every angle covered.

Dump the sedan, keep the 4x4, love the FRS

(Careful, I ramble, but I usually have a point)

I'm 38, I thought I was one of the old guys on a forum filled with young 'uns. According to Tcoat, that's evidently not true, and he would know. He was waiting on this forum before the internet was a thing.

Wow, what a *really* tough call!

Your FJ is phenomenal, and looks close to what I'd envisioned for my FJ. I heard about the FJ's in development, I'd find spy shots with all their camouflage, save them all to look at later, I was obsessed. I went to forums where we theorized some of the unknowns, and generally shared each other's excitement. Anyway, when they finally came out, I went to just look and test drive (in reality I was convinced we would be bringing it home that night). I wanted the same color as you, which is clearly, clearly, the best FJ color out there. Scientific fact. My wife liked it more than I thought, and I almost couldn't formulate sentences I loved it so much. We found the one with the exact options, came up with a semi-legit price, (remember how I said I was only going to look?) yeah well earlier that day I'd already secured financing for it. We got right down to the end, about to sign papers. My wife was pregnant, but we had our infant seat already in our car. She just wanted to "make sure." I thought it didn't matter, it was bigger than the damn Golf GTI we drove up in. Try as we might, it absolutely would not fit. Not even close. Shit! So what to do? What any rational FJ obsessed father to be would do of course. I borrowed a used Tacoma, and drove around, picked up 4 (I think) different brands of infant seat. Smart of course, those aren't returnable, and not cheap. I couldn't have done one at a time? Nope, in a hurry. Brought them back, looked silly as hell with 4 boxes of seats next to the FJ in the middle of the showroom. One after another, they simply didn't fit. With that, my dream of making an FJ like yours disappeared. I was crushed. I mean, logically I knew once my son was in a forward facing, that I could try again. But, of course, by then we had a minivan, my 3 motorcycles (yes I know), and that Golf. The FJ's time had passed. I had an emotional connection already, and it wasn't even mine. I can imagine the thoughts you have about yours.

So, sell it or don't? I say sell it to me, maybe we can timeshare it and my Fr-s? (pm me, lol)

What I would say is the Fr-s is not a practical car (depending on what you compare to and use it for), at least to what you've grown accustomed to. But, that doesn't matter much, you can go shopping in your Fusion or van, haul friends, etc. So it doesn't HAVE to be as practical.

So basically it boils down to one thing. Emotions/bonding. You can have a car worse in every conceivable way to another in front of you, and still pass on it, because there's just... Something about the old one.

Unfortunately we can help with telling you what the Fr-s is like, how much you get sucked into modding, and how you'll love the car. But we can't help you trade in that beautiful FJ and not miss it dearly.

One thing I can tell you as someone who has (clinically) obsessed about the two vehicles in question. I drove the FJ for a few hour test drive, enjoyed every minute of it, became really excited about it, was determined to get it. With the Fr-s though, I took it for only 45 minutes or so, but my face hurt from a 45 minute huge smile. Giggled like a school girl when I drove through some twisty corners, and had an absolute ball. And that wasn't like you for instance, coming from a much different form of vehicle where any car feels nimble in comparison. That was from me owning motorcycles, and the car I came to the lot with, a BMW M3. The 'ultimate driving machine' could obviously outperform handily the Fr-s in every performance test you could devise. But it was different. 0-60 numbers don't make you have a shit eating grin. The *feeling* of doing it is what matters. And I'd spend all day competing and losing every test against an M3, the whole time thoroughly enjoying losing. I loved my Beemer, but I immediately had a connection with this little, impractical, some say underpowered (when compared to the M3 especially) little car that just begs you to drive it, wind it up, and take off in your new Go-kart.

So, maybe drive one some more, don't take it where you'd take your FJ necessarily, take it on back, windy roads, do some shifting, see if it gives you a start to the same emotions you had at first about your FJ. Think about how you would mod it (I assume you would end up modding it, you did a hell of a job on your FJ).

It all boils down to emotions. If you can't bond with it, you'll be kicking yourself every day. If you can, great, even though you will still miss your FJ like crazy, no getting around that.

I've been a member of the FJ community (forums especially), BMW, all my motorcycles, Mr2 (which is my 'one that got away', an 88 supercharged MR2 that I let slip away because I was young and dumb), anyway, a lot of vehicle groups and forums. Now this one. I'm new here, but I think I'll find a home here, the people are great and helpful (mostly ;)).

So, do you think you can bond with the Fr-s? How much have you driven one?

I've babbled enough, and I seriously doubt I even made my point, but there you go. Here's the point I suppose.

All things being equal, don't get rid of a vehicle you've bonded with, unless you're reasonably certain you can bond with the replacement , or you'll be miserable. And bonding is completely subjective. On paper, I would have bet money I would have bonded more with my BMW... Or my Lotus even, than this Fr-s. People on my Beemer forum thought I lost my fucking mind when I told them I traded it in on a Fr-s. Lol

I'm very, very passionate about, well, I guess all things internal combustion, but FJ and Fr-s are two of my favorites. So, I ramble more than usual. I'm done now though, don't worry! :)




All we know is.... He's called The Stig

This hits home for me. I sold my 2 door BMW E92 335i before my wife gave birth to our daughter. I still miss it, it was done, perfect, I was totally bonded to that thing. I wanted to drive it all the time. I sold it and got a BMW E46 ZHP Dinan tuned sedan, cause it was a 4 door for the baby, and enthusiast minded enough to where I thought I'd bond to it too. Wrong. I tried. I tried so hard, getting the suspension how I wanted it, looking at wheels and aero bits, and then I realized after a year that it wasn't going to matter. the car was great, but it didn't click. I sold it after just over a year. I was worried that maybe I'm getting too old and bored with cars, and it took me two more cars until I found my BRZ, and I found that feeling again. I was nervous because I thought the joy would only last for the honeymoon stage, but after 4 months I still get giddy firing her up. In a certain sense the BRZ is the antithesis to my 335i, and yet they both stir my heart the same way.

In short, DO NOT take this lightly and DO NOT sell that FJ if you're not really sure. Have the fusion or minivan beat it, you won't care about either being gone.

Sell the sedan, what person needs a minivan and a sedan.

Before you bring up age... dig around in the forum😀

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To answer your question, yes.

To be truthful, I didn't read your post, or any others between this and them (those?). I promise I will later.

But still hang around here too, we rock!

And post up more pics of that FJ!

All we know is.... He's called The Stig

Yea I wanna see more pics and specs of the FJ!

-Josh

I have to critique it a little though, just to be an ass. :)

Exact correct color to get, but what kind of person repaints that roof?? Lol

All we know is.... He's called The Stig

WOW! ............ :eyebulge:

(jest ah messen wich ya ..... ;))


humfrz