2011 4Runner Trail Edition - Magnetic Gray

[DarkHelmet]

We searched high and low, worked the deal for about 36 hours and just made the deposit. Vehicle, just arrived in port from Japan and should take delivery in the next 30 days! w00t!

Here was the process:

1) Started thinking about a new car with a growing family. My 2005 Tacoma is mostly my rescue truck and setup for off-road, not daily driver or family car. We had a 2004 Prius with about 98,000 miles and thinking it was about time to get a new rig. Values on used Prius' shot up in the last couple months so we sold it for just a bit under KBB to a private party for about $2,000 more than we would have got two months ago.

2) Started looking around here for ideas and really liked the looks and features of the dark gray TE rig.... but not the easiest rig to find on a dealer's lot right now.

3) Did a full read on http://www.carbuyingtips.com. Great site!

4) Also purchased the package from FightingChance.com. Another great site. Spoke with the founder of the website about our plan of attack since the TE model made up only about 2.5% of the currently dwindling inventory of 4Runners (and Japanese cars in general) in the US right now.

5) Monday we contacted two dealers in the West with TE's in stock. Dealer "A" with Gray and Dealer "B" with a Blue one. Dealer "A" gave us the usual "best Internet price, we'll beat any other written offers, but you won't do better, yada yada yada..." at $2,010 over invoice. They were about 500 miles away and at least 2 hours drive from any major airport. Dealer "B" had sold the rig but the fleet manager gave me intel on 4 mag gray TE's that were on the next boat from Japan and which dealers were getting them (she said she'd get in trouble for doing it). Called all them too. Dealer "A" with the Gray one called me back, and for reasons I'll never understand he gave me the names of two other dealers in the West that also had Gray TE's similarly equipped. Contacted them.

6) I essentially sent them all the same Request for Quote, setting up what amounted to a reverse auction for the car. Bids came in and best price was $899 over invoice from one of the dealers that Dealer "A" had turned me on to (why would they do that?). We gave all dealers the opportunity to beat that best price received. Unfortunately, while that was going on, best priced dealer took a deposit and sold the vehicle. DOH!

7) Second best price ($530 more) was still an "eager beaver" to make the sale. He even knew that the other dealer may have sold the vehicle we were trying to buy. They are 500 miles away in another state and I'd need to buy a $400 plane ticket and spend $200 in gas to drive it back. He was unable to adjust the sale price of the vehicle on the front end (They're one of those "no haggle" places) but made up for it by offering to deliver us the vehicle in Idaho at no charge and offered an 6yr/100K Toyota Extended Warranty "at cost". We opted for the free delivery and no extended warranty and closed the deal at about $1,500 over invoice. They are also working to try and beat our already low financing rates from our Credit Union so we may save a few more $$ with a better rate.

8) Not the exact deal I had hoped to get, but in market where we needed to work with dealers out of state, and with limited availability of TE's in general I feel that we got the best deal out there for the exact vehicle we wanted without a bunch of options that we didn't want (like NAV, "convenience package, running boards, etc.). We didn't want to wait for several months until the inventory of Japanese vehicles improved.

So.... What next?

Here is our list of planned upgrades to turn this into the ultimate family expedition/camping rig (and daily driver):

- 2"-3" Lift (OME?)
- LT265 75R16 Nitto Trail Grappler M/T Tires on Ultra Gauntlet 17x8 rims
- Spidertrax Wheel Spacers (1.25"?)
- BudBuilt hidden winch mount in factory bumper or ARB Front Bumper
- Warn M8000 w/Amsteel Synthetic Line
- BudBuilt TE sliders
- BudBuilt skid plates
- Toytec Rear LCA Skids (?)
- Vison-X 20" LED Bar on license plate mount
- GOBI Stealth Rack
- Vision-X 42" LED Bar on roof rack
- Roof Top Tent (?)
- Toilet/Shower Enclosure
- Portable Toilet
- Sun Shower/Coleman Shower
- ARB Fridge/Freezer with LoadSpotter
- Dual Battery system w/IBS smart charge
- Xantrex LinkPRO battery monitor
- Solar Charging system with folding solar panel(?)
- Icom VHF Radio w/remote head mounted above rear view mirror.
- Rear storage drawers with Fridge on top mounted to LoadSpotter.

Thanks,

DH

 

[SWITAWI]

We expect pictures soon... :sombrero:

And, while I wouldn't trade my Sandstorm-colored FJ for anything right now, I look forward to :drool:-ing over your new TE. Love that color, especially at sunset.

 

[Ramjet]

We expect pictures soon... :sombrero:

And, while I wouldn't trade my Sandstorm-colored FJ for anything right now, I look forward to :drool:-ing over your new TE. Love that color, especially at sunset.

If I had not bought the 2008 Trail Teams, the Sandstorm is the color I would have bought. So while you :drool: over the TE I'll will :drool: over yours. :wings:

 

[COONASS]

Congrats! My wife has a 2010 magnetic gray TE 4rnr, I can't wait until she is ready to get rid of it. I want it in a bad way. Of course it will be several years before I get it. So far it has been a great vehicle (purchased Jan. of 2010 new) now 32,xxx miles.

Jacque

 

[joneseyyy]

Great choice, glad to have another 5th gen person on here. I too have been outfitting my TE for overlanding duties and have been very impressed with the truck's performance and versatility. You may want to check out t4r.org as well for 5th-gen 4runner specific modding ideas. Lots of good folks and cool rigs over there to give you ideas and help you part with your $$$. :sombrero:

 

[Leo504]

Congrats on the TE. I picked up mine in Feb and it has over 18,000 miles on it already. I've never had a better trip vehicle, and I'm slowly building it up to support a year long trip around North America. The only thing I can complain about is the Toyota factory Nav system. It's already been replaced with a Garmin mounted on the dash.



So far I've got a 3" OME HD suspension lift, 285 BFG AT's, ARB roof rack and front bumper. The down side of all of this is that my MPG has dropped to around 16 combined. I'll be looking into the TRD supercharger when (if) Toyota releases one.

 

[7wt]

Holy crap Leo, that thing looks good!

 

[SWITAWI]

Really liking the more up-swept sides on the ARB Bumper for these. I'm sure it was done to match the vehicle's body lines and to clear the headlights projection path, but I like it for the scowl it gives 'em.

 

[Leo504]

Thanks, 7wt. I wish I could take credit for the design.

SWITAWI, I agree. It just looks mean. I turn a lot of heads with it, especially when I was down in Dallas where these types of vehicles aren't very common.

 

[AlexandriaFJ]

Leo504-

Can you tell me why the Nav. system is bad? I am looking to purchase this vehicle, but I can't get the KDSS without the navigation system. I tested one out at the dealership and it seemed okay. I don't have a lot of experience with factory navigation systrems though.

Thanks,

AlexandriaFJ

Congrats on the TE. I picked up mine in Feb and it has over 18,000 miles on it already. I've never had a better trip vehicle, and I'm slowly building it up to support a year long trip around North America. The only thing I can complain about is the Toyota factory Nav system. It's already been replaced with a Garmin mounted on the dash.



So far I've got a 3" OME HD suspension lift, 285 BFG AT's, ARB roof rack and front bumper. The down side of all of this is that my MPG has dropped to around 16 combined. I'll be looking into the TRD supercharger when (if) Toyota releases one.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Leo504-

Can you tell me why the Nav. system is bad? I am looking to purchase this vehicle, but I can't get the KDSS without the navigation system. I tested one out at the dealership and it seemed okay. I don't have a lot of experience with factory navigation systrems though.

Thanks,

AlexandriaFJ

My experience with factory NAV, upgraded stereos, electronics, etc. is that they are dreadfully expensive add-ons that are usually no better (and sometimes worse) than what is available aftermarket. I have had two "premium" stereo systems in my Subaru cars that failed just after bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage expired and they wanted full retail to replace them. For $199 you can go to Costco and get a Garmin GPS with lifetime map updates for free (the dealer usually wants $300 to update the maps in the factory NAV). Depending on where you are in the country it seems that in the East/SE that you can't get a T4R Trail without Nav but here in the west it seemed they were 50/50 with and without. If you are willing to travel to get the vehicle and the price you want then you are in better shape. In fact, we bought ours from a dealer 500+ miles from home to get the color and options we wanted and nothing we didn't want and they are delivering the vehicle to us as part of the sales price.

 

[Leo504]

Leo504-

Can you tell me why the Nav. system is bad? I am looking to purchase this vehicle, but I can't get the KDSS without the navigation system. I tested one out at the dealership and it seemed okay. I don't have a lot of experience with factory navigation systrems though.

Thanks,

AlexandriaFJ

Alexandria,

My dislike for the factory Nav basically comes down to two things.

1. You can't input or change destinations if your vehicle is moving over 5 mph. Seriously annoying, but there are physical hacks that can get around this. Sort of.

2. The final straw with the system was when, four times in one week, the system had me exit the freeway, drive about a mile or so down a side road, turn around, go back up the same side road and get back on the freeway to continue the trip. This happened in four different locations with no slow downs or road construction that would validate the strange maneuver. 90% of the time it would get me to my destination with no issues. It's that 10% that made me hate it.

For me, a full featured Garmin was a better and less frustrating solution. It sucks that we have to pay for the Nav just to get KDSS.

BTW, I have found what seems to be the perfect location to mount a Garmin, or other GPS device. I don't have pictures as I'm Afghanistan and the truck's in WA, but I will try to describe it. Place you hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel. Now move your right hand forward until it touches the dash. There is a slightly curved, triangular bit of plastic between the covering for the instrument panel and the radio/Nav assembly. I mounted the circular base of the Garmin in that plastic triangle. After trying several adhesive solutions, I finally just used two screws to permanently mount it there. The GPS itself is removable, but the mounting bracket is fixed. Garmin seems to be using a universal mounting bracket, so I have no worries about needing to remove the mount to upgrade the GPS. The GPS power cable is routed into the dash at that corner, so no drilling is required for a professional looking install. My particular unit also has some sort of traffic antenna attached to the power cord and it received the traffic updates perfectly fine even though the antenna is inside the dash. The advantage of this placement is that the GPS is in an excellent location to glance at from the road. It's just below the hood line so I'm not loosing any road visibility. Also I can stretch out the fingers of my right hand and interface with the GPS without taking my hands from the wheel. I don't find it to be too bright or distracting at night.

Hope this helps.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Alexandria,

...snip...

It sucks that we have to pay for the Nav just to get KDSS.

...snip...

Regardless of what the dealers tell you, no, you don't have to get NAV to get KDSS. In the South and East all Toyota vehicles are sold to dealers through a couple legacy distributors and that seems to be the only configuration that they order from Toyota for the Trail Edition. Here in the West you CAN get a Trail Edition either "stripped" (no KDSS or NAV), with KDSS but no NAV (that is the way mine is) or with KDSS and NAV. Come to think of it, I have not seen any that have NAV but don't have KDSS.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Pics up...

A little over 2,000 miles on the odometer in 3 weeks and we're loving it. Spidertrax wheel spacers are here. Going to go with the inexpensive Toytec leveling spacers to start with until we decide on a full suspension lift. Still deciding on tires too.

Probably going to pull the factory rims and have them powder coated black when the new tires go on.

Pics attached. At home in the driveway after driving back from Montana and then up at Mt. Rainier on vacation.

- DH

 

[gj91]

I'm thinking pretty hard on getting a Trail with the rusty tacoma buyback money. I would really like to find a striped one need to research the regional options game.