Hey all, I'm new to the Forum, but a die hard Toyota fan since my 1972 Celica ST (a wild ride!). Have a '94 T100 that's still going strong at 200,000 mi. In a month or so I'll be getting rid of an 8.1 ltr, '03 Avalanche (yes, I know; I'll never make that mistake again; tho it's power was great).
I'm looking to replace it with either an FJ (my first choice) or a 4dr, Wrangler, Rubicon (I can get it at fleet price).
I love off roading in the San Juans (my T100 does great, but as a pkup is limited, as you might guess). The people here are religiously die hard Jeep fans. There are a few FJ's around, but the Jeeps out number FJ's about 200 to 1. Moab is three hours away and the proving grounds for local rivals.
My problem: I don't know where to get a reasonably priced FJ (tho' I'd fly most anywhere and drive it back) that would justify the $5k savings I can get on the Rubicon. I'll be buying around January sometime (once I sell the Avalanche). I know this is an FJ forum, but there must be a few owners out there that can say whether they'd rather have the Rubicon, or, maybe not.
Does anyone know of a dealer that would be willing to order me one for even a late winter delivery and I could fly in and drive it back?
A few of us on this forum have gone over this topic a couple of times. Check out this thread, it may help. I would also tell you to post on a jeep forum and get their view as well. Then you can have two biased views to filter. I am personally picking the FJ. I think the styling is great. The capabilities of the FJ combined with its street comfort and ride are more in line with my taste.
A few of us on this forum have gone over this topic a couple of times. Check out this thread, it may help. I would also tell you to post on a jeep forum and get their view as well. Then you can have two biased views to filter. I am personally picking the FJ. I think the styling is great. The capabilities of the FJ combined with its street comfort and ride are more in line with my taste.
This totally depends on what you're buying it to do. If you wanta hard-core 4-wheel right out of the box (so to speak) then probably the Rubi. But if you don't want that, and street comfort and ride are a factor, then no question, you want the FJ. I struggled with this question. Give me a few years and my FJ will be up to going anywhere (I want to take it.) with about anything. But for now, I'm totally enjoying what I got, stock, and have NO REGRETS. For me, priority-wise, it goes like this; 1. Reliability, 2. On road worthiness, 3. Off-road worthiness, and then all the "fluff" like safety, gas mileage, looks, etc...I any totally, (I mean 100% totally) happy with my FJ!
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Od course, as you might expect, we are biased here. However, I'd have to say that the FJ is a very sophisticated vehicle whereas the jeep is more antiquated technology. RubiconSS has both and I think he can best advise you but I think that for overall the FJ would be his choice. As far as deals, they are scattered around in pockets where demand is less than in other places. Eastern dealers tend to be giving better deals than the western dealers due to less demand in the east. Welcome to the Forum Family.
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Look at it this way, the FJ will be just as capable in cheapo base form as a Jeep with the expensive Rubicon package. Get a base model and a $50 A-Track switch and do the hack. With the money you saved by going with the base, you can add better stuff and come out around the same price. You could pay around 24k for the base and have enough for a lift, tires, bumpers, and stereo equipment and come out maybe a little higher, not much, than a stock Rubicon. Just my .02 cents.
Look at it this way, the FJ will be just as capable in cheapo base form as a Jeep with the expensive Rubicon package. Get a base model and a $50 A-Track switch and do the hack. With the money you saved by going with the base, you can add better stuff and come out around the same price. You could pay around 24k for the base and have enough for a lift, tires, bumpers, and stereo equipment and come out maybe a little higher, not much, than a stock Rubicon. Just my .02 cents.
Ditto... You know about Toyota quality already and I'm sure you have heard about Heep quality...
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FJ or Rubicon, that is the question...
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