Dumb idea or no?

Exact same strategy we took with our truck.

 

I’ve never really had good luck buying used - it’s been hit or miss, mostly miss for me. I’ve bought from dealers, private sales via Craigslist and even tried to buy a car via EBay...drove 700 miles to pick it up and it was not as described so I turned around and drove home! I used to put a lot of miles on my vehicles, not so much anymore.

For the little extra money to get my Tundra new made sense to me.

 

I bought new because i had a series of bad luck on used vehicles. SR5 then made custom on your own would be wise.

 

If you want to do all the upgrades correctly and spare little expense in getting the right stuff first, I would estimate $5k for suspension installed, wheels and tires. If your gonna go Bilstein 6112/5160’s and keep the right height around the same as stock, you could probably be into the big 3 upgrades for $3500.
I’ve priced out going with a full Fox 2.5 suspension kit with Camberg UCA’s and installation, and It came in around $3500-$4k depending on what UCA’s you get.

 

That's either pre 2014, or you stole it lol.

In Feb this year 2020, I bought the lowest mileage, rust free, white 1794 within 400 miles in every direction of Northern Va. Under $35k
I paid $34k with 53k miles, 1 owner. Reserved it within minutes of it hitting the dealer website before anyone else had a chance.

Took me 6 months to find this truck.
But I was after something very specific and top trim in white.

Used Tundras, Tacomas, and 4Runners at low prices is a unicorn.

Buying new is almost always stupid, unless your rich and money doesn't matter.
Everything depreciates badly, toyota just less so.
Every normal vehicle is also a negative investment, they only lose money.
If you have great credit, you can get very low interest on a used truck, and with spare money pay it off early without paying much interest at all.
Best bet is certified pre-owned if you can find one of those, very rare.
I have worked in nearly every aspect of automotive except finance, and manufacturing lol.

 

His profile indicates his truck is a 2010.

 

There you go.
Makes sense.
I was after current body style.
So it all depends on what you like, and are after.
I wanted the newest I could afford.
I wish I had waited until the virus drove down prices for 3 weeks, but who knew that would happen.

I could have maybe got a 2016 with the 38gal tank, the main thing I wish I had, other then keyless entry.

 

Sorry but I have to disagree with you on this one. In the northeast it is very common to see Tundras and similar vehicles towing at a minimum of 75 mph with well over 5k of trailer weight. Oh and typically they are constantly switching lanes and braking hard. Additionally during snowy weather it is extremely common to see these same trucks driving EXCESSIVELY fast in 4wheel drive. You cannot tell me that these behaviors are not putting an extreme amount of wear and tear on a vehicle. A lot vehicle owners lack common sense and don’t even bother opening the manual. For the few extra thousands dollars I would overwhelmingly choose new just for the simple fact I KNOW that the previous owner wasn’t some knucklehead who had something to prove with his 5.7 motor...

 

Same here,I may have 4 vehicles at the moment but I own them all and always have.

 

I buy new. I don’t think it’s “dumb”. I buy new and hang on to them for quite a while.
OP, I think buying a basic Tundra and building it the way you want it is a great idea. But, 8-10 grand in cash is probably a reasonable target to build it right.

 

Glowblue has it right!
Buy a SR and upgrade it.
I couldn't believe SR prices for a 5.7 4x4 were cheaper than a Tacoma ($36K)
The only major upgrade i would make on the SR is the LED headlights.

 

Wowwww there’s a lot of opinions here!

well I was in the same boat. I was after a platinum or limited used and was looking in the 30-35 range and it had me at 14/15’s with 60k-100k miles. The guy that stated the sr5 doesn’t have options must not have a 2020.
I found a 2020 Crew max 4wd sr5 with bucket seats with steel wheels for about 37.5 after rebates and 42 OTD. No matter what truck I bought i was going to do Bilstien 6112 wheels and tires. The only thing this truck doesn’t have that would be nice is remote start (jbl audio upgrade) and leather.
EASY. Katskin leather installed for less than 2k and there are options for remote start with factory fob for around $300? The only other thing on the list is paint to match but I’ll worry about that later.
Do your research and know what you want and what you can add. Don’t get me wrong the diamond stitching in the platinum is sweet!
And to the guy half the price? No. Not half the price I spent months looking and I didn’t drive off the lot upside down nor will I be upside down in the length of my loan.
But again figure out what is really important to you!

 

The 2 speed wipers are the dumbest standard feature I have ever seen I think!

 

I was shopping for a used Tundra and stumbled across a new 18’ SR 5.7 4x4 for less then a 16’ off road with 38k
I don’t need all the bells & whistles, suspension and wheels etc that
I’m just going to change out as I BUILD it anyways

One of my biggest gripes is Toyota can give u TSS and the radio / screen etc but not intermittent wipers or the correct fog light switch why they want to produce two different kinds of switches is beyond me ???
On the search for the pair that I can get out of a wrecked truck at the junkyard or pay a $120 each for new

JM2C

Good luck with your search

 

Yeah I paid up for the Wiper switch during the Spring Rains here and LOVE it!

On the other hand I really have no desire for the Fogs at this time.

What I can not understand is why the Headlights do not turn off with the ignition from a setting on the light stalk?
Every Toyota I have had since the 80's did this until the Tundra that I just bought?

How much could they really have saved there?

 

Is that a cost saving or some new safety legislation?

 

I ask myself this all the time - my 2019 SR had TSS, touch screen radio and AC but they put a two speed wiper switch in it??? Makes no sense...

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And I thought GM liked to nickle and dime customers...

 

^This! Lmao, I couldn’t agree more! Thankfully it’s an easy swap out. I’m an engineer and the only reason I can think is it’s just too much of a PITA for the production team to process all the paperwork to make the change to the SR configuration.

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Get the SR5 and upgrade how you want it to be.......................

 

......aahhhh...GM still does.....

 

True enough. Why does the Custom need a jump seat with no storage in it? To convince you to buy an LT, of course!

 

Some very good opinions on here (both ways). No matter what you decide, the good thing is you are buying a Toyota Tundra. You really can’t go wrong. My advice would be: price out a loaded truck and price out a base model or used truck and figure out what it would cost to get either option to your liking. Nobody knows your life or financial situation better than you do.
I looked for the perfect truck for almost 2 years. I really didn’t want a payment but the used ones hold their value so well that I was seriously considering a new one.
Ended up buying a 2010 rock warrior with 163k for $13,500. Am currently adding my personal touches and am 100% in love with it and happy with my choice.
Thank you for reading my novel...