What did you drive before your Tundra?

Just curious, what did you guys drive before your Tundra? Have you always been a truck person? Why Tundra?

For me, I'm a divorced parent, and my son lives about 3 hours away. Until last year, I've HAD TO have a fuel efficient car (yes, at one time I even drove a Prius) just so I can drive down and pick up my son every couple of weeks. My last car was a 2019 Honda Civic that I just gave to my son when he got his driver's license in October. I knew I was going to get a less practical vehicle as soon as my son was able to drive himself here, and I wasn't on the road 20K miles a year. I toyed around with the idea of a sports car (M3/M4 were on my short list) but ended up with the Tundra because I'm a hobbyist woodworker and I'm tired of renting Home Depot trucks every time I want to buy a sheet of plywood. So far, I'm happy with my choice; I LOVE my Tundra!

 

I enjoyed the Jeep but wanted a V-8 again and a bed to carry stuff.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/what-did-you-drive-before-the-tundra.10522/

I came from a Lexus GX470. The GX was a great SUV but I needed a better tow vehicle.

 

NICE! I thought about a Jeep too, but I honestly think I would have gotten tired of it pretty quickly.

 

Guess I should have searched for this thread before starting a new one...

 

The search feature in this site is not great. I usually have better luck using Google and adding Tundras.com to whatever you’re searching for.

 

My first vehicle in high school was a truck, then a few sporty sedans in my adulthood (Cadillac STS’s, Infiniti G37, Infiniti Q50).
My wife always had a camping / towing capable vehicle (Jeep Cherokee, Dodge Durango, then an Infiniti QX56) so I didn’t really have the need for a truck.
She traded in her 4x4 Infiniti QX56 which was a great vehicle built on a true truck chassis for the new style QX80 which is a 2wd luxury minivan and left a void for something more utilitarian.
Last summer my oldest son and I rented a fully kitted out 4Runner and spent a week in the Colorado backcountry and I was dead set on buying a Toyota to set up for overlanding and camping so I looked at 4runners, Tacomas, Tundras, and all the Lexus offerings and found the Tundra best for me.
It’s been 8 months and I couldn’t see myself in anything else except maybe a land cruiser...

 

I've had a couple of Infinitis also; probably should have kept my 2008, but it was getting up there in miles and wanted to get something for it before it fully depreciated. My wife drives one now, although she has the new car itch

 

2010 Tundra
2005 Tundra
2002 Tacoma
1996 Tacoma
1994 Toyota Pick-up

 

That I owned? Before my first Tundra - a Mazda Protege commuter car that I bought new in 1999 (shortly after college and getting married, before kids). It was white, manual transmission, and had 120k miles on it (in January 2009 when I sold it), but had sat without a lot of use for about 4 years because I was driving a company truck.

Why did I get my FIRST Tundra? I had been looking at the Gen 2’s and wanting something of my own (even though the company policy on my work truck was pretty generous). We had a major snow storm right around Christmas 2008 - 3 feet of accumulation at my house over about a week’s time. My company 2WD Silverado Ext. Cab Long Bed was stuck at the bottom of my driveway, and we were essentially snowed in for the better part of two solid weeks (we made it to town once in the middle of it). Couldn’t even get to family’s house for Christmas. For me, that was the final straw (work would not provide a 4WD, but would put me on a vehicle stipend in place of the company truck).

I started shopping for “new-used” trucks while stuck in the house between shoveling snow off the roof.
Chevy was out because the turning radius of any of them I’d driven (that was all our company owned, and my FIL owned three of them at the time from 1986 through 2007) was just slightly better than an aircraft carrier and I did a lot of work in downtown Portland. I had never had a problem with one, but I was just sort of tired of them.
Dodge and Ford just didn’t sit high on my radar at the time - wasn’t a fan of the Dodge body styling, and I honestly don’t remember why I wasn’t looking at Fords. Probably because my FIL was a Chevy guy.
Toyota had a reputation for reliability. My brother had recently gotten a 2005 Tundra and was in love with it. My parents had a 2006 Rav4 that was great. I considered a Tacoma, but the price difference was negligible to a Tundra and I decided I wanted the full size. Another friend had a 2007 Tundra, and I really liked how it handled and how it looked, but his was a CrewMax and my kids were smaller and I wanted bed space more than cab space (as long as I could still fit car seats in there). I also didn’t think I “needed” Limited, but wanted steering wheel controls and BT phone connection (in the days when few cars had it). The 2007-2009 could be bought in an SR5 package but with the JBL Audio (even in a Double Cab) that had those features, so that narrowed my search down pretty small.

After about two weeks of searching, talking to the bank, negotiating the vehicle allowance at work, and deciding exactly what I was looking for, I came upon a 2008 SR5 TRD OR Double Cab with the JBL package for sale in mid-state at a Ford dealer with about 13k on it for $24k. My brother drove me over (couple hour trip), we test drove it, haggled a little on price, and I drove it home. After I got it home and started checking it out more closely, I discovered it had been optioned out to the max and would have had an original sticker price of about $38k - the dealer just didn’t know what they were sitting on. So I was happy about that! I actually ran into people that bought essentially the same truck 6 years later used and paid more than I did...

Why did I get my SECOND (current) Tundra? Because I was coming up on 300k miles on my first Tundra. As interested as I am to see what the “next gen” will look like (and have for tech, and fuel economy, and all that), I wouldn’t buy the first year of a major model change from any company. I also looked at the other brands - our work had recently switched off of Chevy’s after having a ton of issues over a few years with the new ones they were getting. They bought a few GMs (basically the same thing...), had a few new Dodges in the fleet (nice ride, I like the new look, but hate the shift “knob”...and am leery of the transmissions), and had recently gone to a fleet agreement with Fords (I haven’t been impressed, and a Raptor is retarded $$). The more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to the fact that I had a truck with close to 300k mostly trouble-free miles on it that still drove like the day I bought it. And the current 2020/2021 Tundras were essentially the same truck with some refreshed body lines, updated interior (compared to my 2008), and a few different trim levels. I always liked the TRD Pros except that they had based them on an SR5 trim and then charged a Platinum price for them...Until 2020. And then I saw the Lunar Rock in person...

 

Needed something to tow so moved from the FJ to the Tundra, still have it though.

 

07 V8 2 seater overland build. Needed more room for kids.

 

Prior to my 2020 Tundra, I owned a 2013 F150.

Honestly, I didn't have any huge issues with it...it never left me stranded. I can't say too many bad things about it. BUT....

What I did have is more than a few small issues - media system constant reboots/freezes, rattles I could not find/fix, terrible rear shocks, faulty rear defroster window (3 replacements in 4 years under warranty), and a faulty rear door latch.

That doesn't sound like a huge deal, but when you realize that a) I owned a SuperCab, b) the rear door is what the FRONT door closed onto, and c) Ford STILL does not recognize it as a legitimate issue....suffice to say that owning a truck whose driver's side doors can fly open at ANY time is a huge deal for me.

That's why I bought my 2020 Tundra.

 

Had a great little Ranger. Kinda wish I had it and the Tundra too. No I do wish I had that truck, it was a gift from my dad as a work truck. Best freaking little beater there was. Also we put a camper on it and it was badass if I do say so myself. Sorry for not having an actual photo of the truck, and yes I kick myself for that too!!!


And mine was the Ford equivalent to our MGM....

 

2016 Mini Countryman, it was a grime mans go-kart on the highway. But prior to that a 2013 FJ Trail Teams. I really miss the FJ, but living in San Francisco at the time and burning a tank of gas a day at $4+ a gallon, had to reevaluate. Glad to be back into a Toyota.

 

Still have a mini for the wife, with a 2 inch lift

 

Lexus GX. God I loved that thing.

 

100

 

After going through 50+ different cars and before I purchased my '07 Tundra, I was driving my other Tundra, and a T100 before that. I also had two different Camry LE, and an Acura RL sedan during the Toyota truck time frame.

 

Another Tundra, and before that a Honda S2000

 

I had a 2002 Tacoma. I had for 16 years and did not spend one penny on repairs - just the regular maintenance; oil, filters, tires, brake pads and wiper blades. It was a bitter sweet day when I traded it. In hind sight I wish I had kept it and just stored it for sentimental reasons.

 

I also had a Ranger (before the Tacoma that was before the Tundra)
Another one of those vehicles that I wish I still had. It was awesome for commuting.

 

An 81 Buick Regal Limited I bought in 86 from a salvage yard. Problem free for 10 years until I moved and the moving/storage company drained out my oil either in transport or storage and neglected to inform me.

 

Had alot of cars in my past. Wish I had pictures of them all.

In order of recent to past to include my spouses:

2002 F250 Powerstroke
2007 VW GTI
2015 Subaru Impreza
2013 Ford Edge Sport
2009 Nissan Titan Pro4x
2006 Chevy Aveo
2010 Toyota Corolla S
2007 Kia Sorento
2002 Chevy S10 ZR2
1999 Kia Sephia
2005 Nissan Sentra S-ER
2004 Chevy 1500
2007 Toyota Corolla S
1997 Jeep TJ
1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
1994 Eagle Talon TSI
1989 Honda Prelude
1970 Chevelle SS
1988 Chevy Cavalier Z24
1989 Che y S10

 

I drove my old Tundra to the lot and then took the new one home lol

Previously, I had all Audis and a work van. I added a Tundra to the mix and decided I liked having a truck enough to add a brand new one to the mix. For me it's an additional vehicle. Every tool has a purpose kind of thing. Van for work, Audis for spirited drives and one for the day to day, then the Tundra as a work horse or adventure vehicle.

The Tundra called to me because of the simplicity, reliability, and the overall look of the 3rd gen. This community has just been a BIG bonus.

 

Damn, you buy more cars than I do in new pairs of underwear.

Good God you didn’t keep the 1970 Chevelle SS? Please tell me it wasn’t 454 LS6.

 

Let's see, I'm 46 and for about 20 of my years I had regionally territories that covered 3-4 states so I've been through some vehicles, and I traded a lot when I was young. Some of these below were the wifes. By far my faves are my Tundra, my WRX STI and the wifes new GX460.

1986-1/2 Nissan P'up
1993 Chev Camaro
1994 Chev Z71 Shortbed Stepside
1994 Nissan Altima
1998 Isuzu Rodeo
1998 - Honda Civic
1999 - Jeep Grand Cherokee
2000 - Ford Ranger
2001 - Chev Tahoe
2002 - Ford F150
2004 - Chev Tahoe
2004 - Ford Taurus
2006 - Nissan Altima
2008 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2008 - Ford F350
2010 - Lexus RX350
2012 - Ford F150
2013 - Toyota Prius
2015 - Toyota Prius
2015 - Toyota Sequoia
2016 - F150
2016 - Lexus ES350
2020 - Toyota Tundra
2021 - Lexus GX460

 

Nope didn't keep it. It was a SS 396 auto. Bought it at an estate sale for 7500 bucks when I was 17. Sold a year later when I joined the military, just didn't have the time for it and needed the money.

 

How did you like the Sequoia?

 

Going from my Tundra back in time:

2013 F150 - steaming pile of dog shit

2011 GMC Sierra - great truck, regret trading it on the Ford

1994 Toyota pickup - amazing and the reason I've come full circle back to Toyota.


The Woman had a 2009 Ram 1500 when we first got together, so I guess that sort of counts too.