WTF should I buy (A consolidated list of bad decisions)

[JPolen01]

The ISF is old at this point, last made in what, 2010? You would need to look at 2015 or newer IS350 F Sport to get all the bells and whistles. It looks like the larger GSF is still way out of budget at mid to high 50s.

I am eyeing a 2016 350 F Sport. Big V6, comfortable interior, plenty of gadgets (LED fogs, heated steering wheel, air conditioned seats) and Japanese reliability. If you can tolerate the front end they are pretty decent looking cars.

[WRXtranceformed]

Those sure are some of the most German non-German cars I've ever seen

[Jake]

While I do appreciate the wagons and some of y'all have repped them properly, that just ain't my speed man.  Plus, part of the reason for enjoying bigger vehicles is that I feel a lot safer with how shitty the drivers are around here.  Something that low to the ground just doesn't make sense to me anymore unless it's a dedicated sports car.  Good call on the Land Cruiser gents, I had also looked at those as well as the Lexus LX which I believe is same/same.  I had not however thought about the G-Wagen as a legitimate contender in my price range, as I assumed they were unreliable and beat up / high mileage in my price range.

The "large size" argument makes you sound like you're 100 years old. "I want an American car made of real steel and no seatbelts, so I can be thrown clear!" Everything crashes pretty well these days. Attend one HPDE weekend for $400 and you'll be better off - awareness, better grasp of dynamics/limits, etc all help you avoid a crash in the first place. So, sorry, you want a large car but the safety argument doesn't really justify it given you're not looking at a Miata or something.

G-Wagens are pretty reliable, depending on drivetrain. The 6.3L AMG V8 is known for some head bolt issues but the "lesser" V8s are stout. I think the G500 or G55 are the ones to buy, from what I know. A few friends of mine have them and love 'em, they allegedly drive like tractors with leather seats though. 

+1 to the arguments that if you lease/buy new/buy CPO you'll not have to worry about out-of-warranty BS anyway so why not go German.

[Sijray21]

Chevy SS

[JustinG]

Chevy SS

Yasssssssss! Winner

[.RJ]

Chevy SS

It would help Lee blend in down there, but its not going to be any better screwed together than the truck.

[Sijray21]

Chevy SS

It would help Lee blend in down there, but its not going to be any better screwed together than the truck.

i just want someone to own a Holden...

[JustinG]

But V8, magride, NASCAR!!!!

[WRXtranceformed]

We can agree to disagree on the safe car thing because there are some accidents that can't be avoided. But being in a bigger vehicle with all of the same safety features as a sedan gives me an undeniable amount of peace of mind. Barring a tractor trailer or other similarly large truck that will destroy anything they hit, most vehicles that hit the front or rear of your F150 or my Canyon are going to lose that battle.

I mean really outside of something like my old Jag, the best 4 door option would be an S4 ...but I test drove one of those recently and didn't love it. It was stumbling at idle with very low miles on it and had other fit and finish issues that I've noticed with every other Audi I test drove. I think Infiniti has a twin turbo V6 "Red Sport" now? 400ish hp, something like that would be a possibility if the price is right.

I'm leaning more toward Evan and DJ's thoughts of just sticking this thing out and throwing a few grand into it to make it enjoyable for the long haul. My principle balance is about the same on the CX5 we bought last year so I could work on paying that down faster and it would accomplish a similar goal. At the end of the day I really do like owning and driving a truck. We use ours all the time and it's awesome for road trips being able to just throw everything in the back under the tonneau cover. Who knows, maybe when the new Ranger drops I will like that more and can swap out then if my Canyon is still having these annoyances come up.

[Sijray21]

Raptor. Someone. Needs. To. Own. A. Raptor.

[WRXtranceformed]

Raptor. Someone. Needs. To. Own. A. Raptor.

I would leave my computer right now and go buy a Raptor if I could find a twin turbo gen for less than $40 grand.  I don't see a single one in the country, used, for less than $52k.  My wife even said she would get rid of her car and we could go one-car-family if I got a Raptor.  I thought hard on it, not gonna lie, until I realized how inconvenient it would be for us.

Also, her accident hosed the trade in / sales value of the CX5 so I'll be stuck with that one for a while. We're not underwater on it, about break even, but I don't want to throw away the money I put down on it a year ago

[JPolen01]

Also, her accident hosed the trade in / sales value of the CX5 so I'll be stuck with that one for a while.  We're not underwater on it, about break even, but I don't want to throw away the money I put down on it a year ago

Have you looked into filing a claim with your insurance company for the diminished value? A family friend (who happens to be a lawyer because of course) had his XF hit shortly after he purchased it. He took it to Carmax for an appraisal after repairs and then filed a claim with the insurance company. It wasn't an easy battle, but they ended up cutting him a check for the difference between what the car was worth before and after the accident.

[WRXtranceformed]

Also, her accident hosed the trade in / sales value of the CX5 so I'll be stuck with that one for a while.  We're not underwater on it, about break even, but I don't want to throw away the money I put down on it a year ago

Have you looked into filing a claim with your insurance company for the diminished value? A family friend (who happens to be a lawyer because of course) had his XF hit shortly after he purchased it. He took it to Carmax for an appraisal after repairs and then filed a claim with the insurance company. It wasn't an easy battle, but they ended up cutting him a check for the difference between what the car was worth before and after the accident.

I did yeah.  The trucking company that caused the damage is self-insured and my agent told me it would be a super long process that generally ends in them not being willing to pay.  If it was an actual insurance company I would probably put up the fight but it's pretty unlikely the effort would pay off.

[.RJ]

 Barring a tractor trailer or other similarly large truck that will destroy anything they hit, most vehicles that hit the front or rear of your F150 or my Canyon are going to lose that battle.

Sorry, that's bullshit.  Large body on frame vehicles are not very good in accidents.

[Sijray21]

was that against a concrete wall or a nissan versa?

[.RJ]

yeah, against a smaller car you're probably ahead but in the land of the brodozer, a chevy colorado is basically a smart car

[WRXtranceformed]

 Barring a tractor trailer or other similarly large truck that will destroy anything they hit, most vehicles that hit the front or rear of your F150 or my Canyon are going to lose that battle.

Sorry, that's bullshit.  Large body on frame vehicles are not very good in accidents.

Except it says in the video that the Ford earned a top safety pick.  And pretty much every truck with the mid collision earned a good rating.  The small overlap was mostly a fail across the board but if you look at the actual cabins across all of them, you're not seeing the buckling and cabin crunching like you do in a lot of small sedans.

My neighbor's cousin was just in a 50mph head on collision (old guy came over a ridge, she didn't see him...they think he had a stroke or something) in a brand new Camry which you would assume is really safe.  She barely survived, she broke bones in both legs as the cabin collapsed and crushed her and completely destroyed her face.  Her jaw was in like 20 pieces and she just now got out of the hospital several months later.  I'd take my chances with a broken ankle or leg in a truck versus my entire torso.  But I'm also not a crash safety expert so I could be full of shit

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Here are the GMC Canyon current crash ratings by the way, all "Good" across the board. I'm guessing they won't get a top safety pick only because their stock headlights are absolute trash:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle...cab-pickup

[Evan]

A truck isnt going to save you in a head on. Thats an incredible amount of energy going into your vehicle in a very short amount of time. Based on how a unibody can absorb and spread that energy better than a cab on ladder frame, you could be better off in the unibody.

[Ken]

Lease this, please: https://jalopnik.com/the-ram-trx-is-a-be...1826477403

[WRXtranceformed]

Lease this, please: https://jalopnik.com/the-ram-trx-is-a-be...1826477403

The irony is that I literally just sent that to Joey this morning via FB messenger.  His response:

"we've strayed so far from God's light"


hahaha

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I'm leaning toward keeping the truck now and putting it on a short leash with the electronics and other significant issues. Eibach makes sport leveling shocks that would kill two birds with one stone; it would level it out and due to the superior valving and lifetime replacement warranty they're more comfy and more reliable option than the stock shocks. And believe it or not the GMC dealership is the cheapest option that is willing to install them.

Another bonus: They're available on Amazon Prime and I have a $200 gift card that would take care of the fronts or rears. The guy I bought my tonneau cover from (www.gotexhaust.com) can get me the other pair for sub-Amazon pricing. Worst case scenario this would make this truck more livable for me (along with the tune I'm still debating) until the options I would like come down in price and the Ranger releases next year.