Researching Toyotas: What to consider?

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Still a long way from making any decisions, but I'm looking at buying our family's next car in the next 6 -8 months. For where we live and what we'd use it for, I'm looking for something that has plenty of seating and can tow, potentially, a full size camper. I'd be looking to spend $20k or less, go through it immediately with needed fluids, filters, plugs, etc. Annual mileage would be around 10k and we'd want to keep it in service for 8-10 years, at least. It would be my daily driver and see some moderate road trips.

Right now, the leading candidate is a used current generation Toyota Sequoia. It fits all of the requirements and the reliability and reviews seem very, very good. To get the payment I'd be comfortable with, we're looking at something with 110k to 130k miles.

But, in the interest of making a wise choice, what should I keep in mind? Is there a preferred engine between the 4.7 and 5.7? It's the first model year after a redesign. Is that an issue with Toyotas? Are the transmissions strong? What other repairs, maintenance should I expect to do right off the bat? Would a rig that's seen an average maintenance schedule up to 100K last to, say 225k? How hard are they to work on?

Would love to hear any and all thoughts. Thanks everyone.
 
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The 4.7 V8 might just be the most bullet proof engine every put into production both as the cast iron Toyota or as the aluminum Lexus. I have one in my 4Runner and we use 2 of those engines at a hobby gold mine to run a ball mill and crusher. Other engines might be good but this one is the one of you're looking at the long run. Others may produce more power, more torque but none will last longer.
 
i suggest you Land Cruiser Prado / Toyota Prado..in my place which is in Indonesia..a lot of bad traffic, bad lane and hot weather, this is a champion SUV car...and i think it uses ladder frame chasis it really helps you when you tow..

for engine and any other specs you can refer to toyota website...
 
Originally Posted By: nyumski
i suggest you Land Cruiser Prado / Toyota Prado..in my place which is in Indonesia..a lot of bad traffic, bad lane and hot weather, this is a champion SUV car...and i think it uses ladder frame chasis it really helps you when you tow..

for engine and any other specs you can refer to toyota website...


Over here it's called the Lexus GX
 
Yeah, they dont have the Prado there. Their equivalent is the Lexus GX470 for the previous gen or GX460 which is the current gent one.
I'd guess a 4Runner or a Sequoia would fit his needs best.
 
I would suggest you figure out how big of a camper you may want to tow. SUVs run out of payload really quickly when loaded with the family.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The 4.7 V8 might just be the most bullet proof engine every put into production both as the cast iron Toyota or as the aluminum Lexus. I have one in my 4Runner and we use 2 of those engines at a hobby gold mine to run a ball mill and crusher. Other engines might be good but this one is the one of you're looking at the long run. Others may produce more power, more torque but none will last longer.


Actually the Ford 4.7 V8, which was a fuel injected, overhead cam, shrunk 302 V8 was for sure the most bullet proof production engine. Get an F150 delux whatever do dah, and stay away from the nonsense eco-boost 2x turbo V6. Get the real V8 Ford and you will be fine. Also, you will not be a target by FOT (friends of terrorists) looking for spare parts to send to cousin Al in kaida land.
 
Originally Posted By: willyreid
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The 4.7 V8 might just be the most bullet proof engine every put into production both as the cast iron Toyota or as the aluminum Lexus. I have one in my 4Runner and we use 2 of those engines at a hobby gold mine to run a ball mill and crusher. Other engines might be good but this one is the one of you're looking at the long run. Others may produce more power, more torque but none will last longer.


Actually the Ford 4.7 V8, which was a fuel injected, overhead cam, shrunk 302 V8 was for sure the most bullet proof production engine. Get an F150 delux whatever do dah, and stay away from the nonsense eco-boost 2x turbo V6. Get the real V8 Ford and you will be fine. Also, you will not be a target by FOT (friends of terrorists) looking for spare parts to send to cousin Al in kaida land.


While I agree that the 4.6L Modular is probably the most durable gasoline engine ever made it has nothing in common with the 302.
 
Originally Posted By: willyreid
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The 4.7 V8 might just be the most bullet proof engine every put into production both as the cast iron Toyota or as the aluminum Lexus. I have one in my 4Runner and we use 2 of those engines at a hobby gold mine to run a ball mill and crusher. Other engines might be good but this one is the one of you're looking at the long run. Others may produce more power, more torque but none will last longer.


Actually the Ford 4.7 V8, which was a fuel injected, overhead cam, shrunk 302 V8 was for sure the most bullet proof production engine. Get an F150 delux whatever do dah, and stay away from the nonsense eco-boost 2x turbo V6. Get the real V8 Ford and you will be fine. Also, you will not be a target by FOT (friends of terrorists) looking for spare parts to send to cousin Al in kaida land.
If you believe that bleep about car parts you're delusional. Is that the best you can come up with, fanboy?
 
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Originally Posted By: willyreid
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The 4.7 V8 might just be the most bullet proof engine every put into production both as the cast iron Toyota or as the aluminum Lexus. I have one in my 4Runner and we use 2 of those engines at a hobby gold mine to run a ball mill and crusher. Other engines might be good but this one is the one of you're looking at the long run. Others may produce more power, more torque but none will last longer.


Actually the Ford 4.7 V8, which was a fuel injected, overhead cam, shrunk 302 V8 was for sure the most bullet proof production engine. Get an F150 delux whatever do dah, and stay away from the nonsense eco-boost 2x turbo V6. Get the real V8 Ford and you will be fine. Also, you will not be a target by FOT (friends of terrorists) looking for spare parts to send to cousin Al in kaida land.


Stay away from the Ford years with the impossible to replace spark-plug. If you can find any mechanic who is willing to work on them (and they are hard to find because it is such a pain in the a$$) you can expect it to cost you about $700 to replace the spark-plugs on one of those.
 
I did ask for any and all thoughts. Though, admittedly, terrorists' friends stealing parts isn't a huge issue where I live.

Thanks for the thoughts so far. Any comments specific to the Sequioa/Tundra platform?
 
They had frame troubles early in the century. They were recalled and new frames were stacked in piles at the dlr ships.
 
Post your question on tundra solutions - those guys would have better answers for you.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
They had frame troubles early in the century. They were recalled and new frames were stacked in piles at the dlr ships.


Referring to this?

Frame rust
 
We see those 4.7 toyota engines for rebuilds from time to time personally i think you would be better with a Ford with the 5.4 modular They are built to last also that is why you see most of the construction companies using them. Don't get me wrong we see the 5.4 also but there are a zillion of them driving around... The ford is also cheaper to buy and cheaper to fix most of the time. On the other hand the Toyota is a nice vehicle.
 
Why are you limiting your search to a Toyota? With your criteria you are eliminating a lot of good vehicles in your price range.
 
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