Could use some advice on financial situation.

[Borderland]

Zero debt for a bunch of years now. The mortgage was the only debt I carried. I will not go into hock for a car, no way!

Also proud to say I have never paid one red cent in credit card interest. Screw those loan sharks!

I hate banks almost as much as Andrew Jackson did. They take the cream and when they fail the fed (tax payer) bails them out. It's a racket.

[TGS]

I don't disagree. The last one I drove was a 5th gen and it was underwhelming. Pathetic power delivery for a 4.0L (270hp / 278lbft). I would have expected minimum 300hp and ~330-350lbft for that engine size. Also, the suspension did indeed suck.

That said, supercharger + Bilsteins. Life is too short to worry about problems that are easily solved for a few grand. Most OEM suspension sucks on most cars, except for maybe a few manufacturers' higher end offerings (e.g. Porsche, BMW M cars, etc.).

As far as fuel economy, some mods can improve it a bit. The big problem is people's external mods (bumpers, wheels, tires, racks, etc.) adding hundreds of pounds of weight or more and drastically affecting aerodynamics. Looks cool but, you pay for it.

I don't think buying a brand new car and voiding its warranty with modifications is a good idea for the vast majority of people, even car guys.

Disagree on the suspensions part, as well. We're talking about street cars being used on the street, not track. The Dodge Charger, Ford Explorer, Chevy Tahoe, Toyota Landcruiser, and Toyota Venza are examples off the top of my head which all have competent suspensions for their intended street use. I haven't driven the 4Runner in question, but his comments remind me of my ex's 2019 Subaru Outback and virtually every USGOV Chevy Impala I've driven, and to a lesser extent the Dodge Durango. The suspensions were under-dampened, and would bounce so much in highway-speed turns that it would lose stability and even tire grip. That 2019 Outback did not compare favorably to the 2013 Subaru Outback I had, which was properly dampened and didn't have any of those control problems.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Like I said, see what you can negotiate for loan price and no loan price. See if there is a penalty for earlier pay off. If no and loan price cheaper - sign up. Get statement and pay it all off.

Funny story, told it before. Bought a Civic (had to have a loan then) - got home and dealer calls and says you have to bring the car back. Why we gave you the wrong one. Same car but a different VIN. I said, I'm about to leave - I'll do it Monday (it was Friday). OMG! Or just rewrite it for this card. We can't - blah - blah.

Well, that's the way it is. He says - Ok. We will rewrite. I get the new paper. Then a month later, I get a check for the loan company - thank you for paying off the loan on the car, I didn't have. So I get about $147 back for no reason.

[Nick B]

Life is short OP. If you can afford it then buy what you want .

[0ddl0t]

US culture fetishizes consumption.

Yep, probably by design. Percentage of GDP based on private consumption:

Greece: 69%
USA: 68%
UK: 62%
Cyprus: 60%
Italy: 60%
Japan: 55%
Canada: 54%
France: 53%
Iceland: 52%
Finland: 51%
Austria: 51%
Germany: 51%
Belgium: 51%
Switzerland: 50%
Israel: 49%
South Korea: 48%
Sweden: 44%
Denmark: 43%
Netherlands: 43%
Norway: 33%

If everyone suddenly started living like a thrifty midwesterner our economy would probably crash.

[Sig_Fiend]

I don't think buying a brand new car and voiding its warranty with modifications is a good idea for the vast majority of people, even car guys.

You seem to have missed the part where I was talking about a 10-12 year old car, NOT a new one.

[idahojess]

Another reason why 4Runners are good investments. I mean, in what other vehicle could you survive a butane explosion?

[Hambo]

If everyone suddenly started living like a thrifty midwesterner our economy would probably crash.

There are people who don't scrape the peanut butter jar clean?

You can take the boy out of Ohio, but you can't take Ohio out of the boy.

[TOTS]

Time to start paying down that mortgage. It's nice to walk into a dealer and pay cash for a new vehicle. They get long faces when they don't have an opportunity to write a 6% loan for a 50K vehicle. Cash is king.

Mostly they don’t anymore. Most dealers won’t sell you a car at the lowest price anymore when they know you’ll pay cash as they make most of their profits from financing and insurance. The haggling model isn’t the same post-internet either. The best way is to keep your mouth shut about having cash and get the absolute lowest price (most purchasers are trying to get a monthly payment they can afford). Ensure there is NO penalty for early payoff and then pay the full amount about a week later (however long it takes for the dealerships banks to set up the account) to whomever holds the loan. You get all the benefits of the absolute lowest price and don’t have to pay the extra interest. I’m always having to remind my mother in law that, in the low margin world where the model has profits in the financing- cash sometimes isn’t king (which is pretty much her mantra; why I bought her up)

Like I said, see what you can negotiate for loan price and no loan price. See if there is a penalty for earlier pay off. If no and loan price cheaper - sign up. Get statement and pay it all off.

Funny story, told it before. Bought a Civic (had to have a loan then) - got home and dealer calls and says you have to bring the car back. Why we gave you the wrong one. Same car but a different VIN. I said, I'm about to leave - I'll do it Monday (it was Friday). OMG! Or just rewrite it for this card. We can't - blah - blah.

Well, that's the way it is. He says - Ok. We will rewrite. I get the new paper. Then a month later, I get a check for the loan company - thank you for paying off the loan on the car, I didn't have. So I get about $147 back for no reason.

Perfect example of my point. Although accidental!

[mmc45414]

To answer some questions, my mortgage is very affordable and I think fairly low for my age (not trying to sound like Im bragging). I have a 401K Im maxing out and I have another retirement account that I put a few hundred in a month. I also have a high yield savings but there isn't a lot in there (less than buying a truck outright).

Depending on your mortgage, making some extra principal payments is another option. If you have a 30yr variable it could be huge. If you do not intend in staying in your house forever and it is appreciating, growing the principal will have a big impact when you move.

As I stated in my OP I was looking at it more so from a "let me sell my car now where I can get something for it" vs waiting for the wheels to fall off and get nothing.

If you finance a 4-Runner it is going to cost $600-$800mo, and at least initially depreciate significantly every month. OTOH your CRV is depreciating very slowly at the point, it is going to almost be driving a free car.

Devil's Advocacy Alert:
On the other other hand, the sooner you buy what you want the sooner you will have what you want. Is a 4-Runner what you think you will want until it is worn out? Will you stay in your house another ten years?
IMO I have been reasonably financially responsible (ETA: Without living like a monk), but I have financed a lot of stuff I wanted, but I have kept the stuff I financed, and in many cases flat worn it out and used it up. in 2003 we bought a new Suburban (~$40k, back then), put nothing down, and financed it for as long as they would. My wife drove it daily until 2010 (when she got the Honda Element we just sold), then I drove it daily until 2014 (when we got the F-150 that is still out in the driveway), we kept it until about 2016 when one my wife's employees crashed it, and we sold it for $1k. We used it for our business during the week and had a ton of adventure on the weekends, it was a great truck and I am comfortable we got our money's worth out of it.
If you ultimately want a 4-Runner you might get one, if you are going to finance it finance all of it, sell the CRV for ~$25k and make a principal payment on that (presumably) 30yr that probably has almost $1k of interest a month.