I'm stumped...must ask PPOT. Likely, man's greatest resource
Situation:
Wife has '12 Toyota Highlander, great overall condition
Wife has wanted a Suburban since we purchased the Highlander (out of the price range)
My DD is currently laid up, Father in Law is letting us borrow his '14 Suburban, 19k miles in like new shape. Wife is driving it everyday and is in love...
I passively tell father in law she likes it, he offers it to me for $12k under current retail value.
Also offers to finance the remainder for us....
Reason for considering:
Highlander has 63k on the clock, inside the last month it's needed a keyless re-learn (fob just stopped working (not dead battery)), water pump, drive-shaft (center carrier bearing and cv joint just came apart) and the RF strut has been shot for the last 12k miles causing bouncing at highway speeds (I'll be replacing this weekend as the stealer wanted $800). This degradation is disconcerting considering the wife is very easy on this grocery getter. She's a great care taker of vehicles.
We bought a Toyota on the premise of reliability... Not to mention how dad-gum pricey these parts are. The drive-train warranty saved us from a $2750 bill...
Pragmatic me says:
We don't have a payment and don't need a payment. ($10K differential to cover)
The Toyota drive-train warranty is until 100k.
The Highlander does the job.
We'll want to be out of the Highlander within 2 years
It will only depreciate about $7k further
The equity we'd be buying would be gone with depreciation inside 2.5/3yrs
Opportunistic me says:
It is what the wife wants.
It can be very useful in place of a truck and has a towing package (I have a 15' Whaler to tow around-Highlander needs tow-hitch installed if it stays)
Gas mileage is a wash or will be better with the Suburban
WWPPOTD?
(What Would Pelican Parts Off Topic Do!?)
-Sauce-