Toyota

Capt Sensible

For me, a friend of mine in high school, his dad had an FJ40, and I loved it. Tried to buy it a number of times... by that I mean I offered him a ricockulously low ball offers that he would laugh and say no. Then in 2003 I saw pictures of the FJ Cruiser prototype at the Detroit auto show. Man I was in love. Fast forward a few years, I found out they were making it, to say I was excited would be an understatement. When they finally came out, I was very disheartened, there was no way I could afford one. So I just bided my time till the day came that I could.

At the beginning of 2010 I was driving a 2003 Chevy 1500HD pickup truck. She was very nice, but every time I turned around I was repairing something. So me and the wife talked about it, and decided to sell it. So we did. I began searching for a new (used) vehicle. I was looking in the $10k range, and then it crept up to $15k, and before I knew it we were at $20k She actually is the one who said, why don't you look at used FJ's? So I did.

The dealerships hear were overpriced (in my opinion) so we took it to the net, and found my FJ at a dealership in Louisville, KY for about $5k less then here. Numerous phone calls, faxes, and one greyhound trip later I was there with my FJ. Drove her home and have been in love ever since.


So what is your story?

JackRabbit_Slim

Okay I'll bite...

My brother and I shared numerous 4x4's through high school.. Heck I learned to drive in a 1954 Willy's Jeep... We had CJ's for several years and beat the piss out of them.. Then one day we spotted an add for a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 in the newspaper that was for sale for $2800. This was 1999 mind you.. So we drove over to the guys house and we just happened to be the first people he had answered the phone for.. apparently there were tons of other calls... anyway the thing was cherry... garage kept... 84000 miles.. no rust... everything worked... she was a f*cking 16 year olds wet dream... Oh and did I mention she was the best color Toyota has every done... Nordic Blue...



We had her for a number of years and had a blast with her... Unfortunately my dumbass brother got T-boned in her in 2003 and she was totaled. I was pretty pissed.. That is/was my dream car... So anyway I got over it and got a more practical vehicle to suit my needs at that point in life... But I always missed the 4x4's... The time came again when I was ready to get back into it and I searched and searched for a few years before I found this..



My pride and joy... I spent hours on this thing until it was perfect at which point I realized it was no longer any fun taking her off-road... She was just too perfect... and too rare... At this point I started thinking about the FJ again... I was excited when they talked about doing a retro FJ40 inspiration truck but honestly, I wasn't impressed with the result... I thought Toyota missed the mark on several fronts and the FJC just wasn't what it should have been.. (I still stand by this) But at any rate I searched the market and couldn't find anything I liked better.. So I started my FJ search and quickly realized that buying a niche Toyota vehicle is a pain in the ass... I couldn't find a good used one anywhere remotely close to home, and the savings just didn't warrant the hassle.. I really wanted the all black TT... or a 2010 in Voodoo blue.. I'm not a black car kind of guy... I think it's a safe way to go but a constant pain in the ass in the cleaning department... It got to the point where I was just deciding between what I hated least... The silver's are everywhere and boring.. The green was too plastic for me... The yellow was too loud, the brick was too ugly, and the white was.. well white vehicles scare me.. even though it looks good... So in the end I went black and figured I'd grow to like it... I finally settled on the All-Terrain package since I wanted 16's and didn't want pure street tires, or bogus upgrades... The all-terrain comes with everything you need in an FJ but nothing you don't... I'd have killed for TRD SE Anthracite wheels but the dealership told me to get bent.. Anyway, after a few months deliberating, I bought my FJ in early November of 2010.. I bought a 2010 and in the end I'm glad I did... I hate the 2011 wheels and the rear headrests look uber gay.. I don't really see any beneficial upgrades in 2011 and they're more expensive...

I'm looking forward to seeing the 2011 TT in person and I'm praying for the day they do a fire engine red FJ... that would be a TT I'd drool over... oh well... anyway that's my story..

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Capt Sensible

JackRabbit_Slim

Okay Tom.. Your turn..

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FJTom

Sorry I'm late!

I saw my first FJ in probably 07 or so. I was driving a Dodge Durango at the time. Not 4 wheel drive or anything but I really liked that car. I had never had a 4x4. My GF at the time pointed one out to me and I thought it was pretty cool looking but not much more. The more I saw them around town (was living in Tulsa at the time) the more they grew on me. I had also seen the new Chevy Colorados around and I loved those too. I deliberated for awhile. Gas prices were rising, I was going to buy a house in Atlanta, I thought the FJ was just a 2 door (had never actually seen one up close so I never noticed the suicide doors)...the truck seemed like the way to go. Also one of my favorite vehicles to date was my Chevy Silverado that I decided to get rid of when the lease was up and ended up getting a Ford Exploder Sport (blech!) I missed my Silverado as soon as I left it at the dealer. So I thought maybe the Colorado would bring back a little bit of that feeling.

So anyway, I traded in my Durango on a new Colorado Z71. That was a nice truck and my first 4x4. I bought my house, I moved to Atlanta, the years went by and every time I saw an FJ my eyes longingly followed it down the road. One day I happened to see one in a parking lot and noticed the suicide doors. oh sweet so it isn't just a 2 door! I've always been about a 3 year per car person and that time was coming up on my Colorado and I had just paid it off so I started seriously thinking about getting an FJ. Not forgetting the Ford Explorer debacle, I figured I better go test drive one and make sure I really liked them before pulling the trigger (haha sorry couldn't resist!). I found a local dealer with a used Brick FJ and I went for the test drive. Right out of the lot we passed another FJ and I got the FJ wave. nice! I loved it! I had read some bad reviews about the ride and the blond spots and blah blah blah blah...I thought the ride was great! I really didn't get what they were walking about. I was hooked. But, I was between jobs and wasn't starting my new one for a month or so so I had to hold off a little bit. Feeding the monkey by searching the internet for FJ related stuff I learned of the Army Green 2010. Now I had to deliberate again....used or new? Knowing I really wanted the Army Green I talked myself into it by saying I didn't want to buy someone else's problems with a used one. Learning of some of the issues with the earlier models I am glad I did cos at the time I wouldn't have known to look for things like fender bulges or cracks. Even though these are probably rare on your average non-modded, mall-crawling FJ.

So I called my credit union and got some financing set up, sent out an email to a few local dealers late at night and the next morning a guy called me from the nearest Toyota dealer asked me what I was looking to pay, I said "as close to invoice as possible." He said "How about 500 over." I said "I'll be right there." An hour later i was test-driving my AG. Got back and started the paper work and then got to laugh at another guy who had driven his 07 Voodoo Blue 2 hours to trade in on the AG but I beat him by like ten minutes. Suckah!

So, that's MY story! I kind of agree with JackRabbit on the AG color. Not quite plastic but it has a bit of a weird look to it. Especially stock. I loved the color but didn't fall IN love with it until I got the steelies and BFGs and started blacking stuff out. I think that makes a huge difference on the AG.

So here she is

Then


Now




I really need to get those mirrors blacked out!

Capt Sensible

Awww, that read like a love story! I love your AG, if I could have afforded new I would have gotten an AG for sure. "Blond spots" was that a typo or intentional?

FJTom

Thanks Cap'n!

blond spots lol...I wouldn't mind a few blond spots in my FJ

Capt Sensible

As opposed to the urine spots you have in your FJ now?

FJTom

'zackly

Capt Sensible

Hey, I don't know why you have urine stains, but I can honestly say, I have grease stains, tire stains (when I had my new tires mounted I just stuffed the old ones inside), and any stains that come with having a toddler!