Toyota Sequoia...decent family hauler/tow vehicle?

VaSteve · 07-04-2009, 06:35 AM

My wife and I are thinking of dumping this Pacifica. We have 2 growing kids, and often take my mom places with us. The situation screams minvan, however, I also track one of my Porsches, so I think it would be nice to be able to occasionally pull it on a trailer. I don't currently have a trailer and the car is still street legal. Minivan won't tow it.

I'm thinking Toyota since I'd like to keep it for a while...we've done too much car trading lately. I don't think a FWD based minivan/crossover will have the longevity that I think a Truck will. I've also convinced her that the Highlander (her choice) was the same size as our Pacifica and the Sequoia was about the same size on the outside as the Sienna van. We're also opposed to American vehicles the way the world is going....leaves us pretty much with Toyota or Nissan.

Other thing I liked about the trucks was I don't think it had the Tire pressure monitoring system (which broke in the Pacifica) or a Nav system to eventually break.

What does the PPOT brain trust think? We looked at a couple last night. The 06 with 33K miles was $35K and an 04 with 70K miles was $25K. Wife doesn't like the idea of the fact that an 04 is 6 model years old. Big deal I say. This might be the biggest hurdle to overcome. I told her we could save $10K because someone has already done the cosmetic damage my family will ultimately do.

Anyone have one of these, can ring in?

kaisen · 07-04-2009, 07:12 AM

An 06 with the 4.7 is a pooch. Buy an American SUV, or the new-body Sequoia

VincentVega · 07-04-2009, 07:14 AM

The Toyota has a plush ride and is a nice truck, but mpg is horrible. You can get a Tahoe cheap, do it.

kaisen · 06:19 AM

Or look at an Armada if you are Ameri-phobic

JFK713 · JFK713's Garage

Hey Steve,

I picked up a CPO 2004 last year and we love it. You may be able to do better on price, our's is loaded, all options except nav/dvd and leather, and it was $17.5K with 53K on the clock and the full factory warranty for 6 years/100K.

It is light years ahead in quality and ride of my sister's Tahoe. The Sequoia seems to be holding up better also, ours looks brand new inside still. MPG is not great, 15 around town, I have seen 20 mpg on long highway trips cruising at around 75. Towing is not an issue, I don't think I would even know that my 944SPEC car was behind me!

89911 · 07-04-2009, 08:07 AM

I owned a used 2002 Sequoia Limited for 3 years. High points: No problems with it at all. Not a bad riding SUV compared to others. Tows well, but down shifts often under load. Low maintenance cost. It was kind of nice owning a car I cared so little about. Seated 8 with no problem. I may of washed it 2 times in 3 years. Low Points: Turning ratio is REALLY bad. Combine this with poor rear view and a very high seating point and backing up and parking can be very hard for your wife. The interior is really outdated. Has a vintage 90's feel. 4 speed automatic is out of date. And last but not least. THE GAS MILEAGE IS TERRIBLE. You can get these cars for next to nothing now, so this can offset the price of gas for some time

VaSteve · 07-04-2009, 08:31 AM

Cpo for 17,5 is crazy cheap compared the what I posted from my local lot. 89911 what did you replace yours with?

Chris, why say you a tahoe? I know nothing about them and am somewhat adverse to GM....there sure are a lot on the road though.

What mileage do you all consider to be 'high miles' considering we're all driving old cars here.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Toyota has the TPS. At least my Dad's 06 tacoma did.

onewhippedpuppy · 07-04-2009, 09:07 AM

Excellent build quality, excellent resale value, drives like a Camry, will last forever. Somewhat dated inside however, and definitely under-powered. Also not that big inside, the 3rd row is kiddie class only. I would definitely buy one over a Tahoe, the Chevy interior build quality was crap until the most recent generation. Before we bought our van we looked at the Sequoia and Nissan Armada, we both preferred the Armada hands down. Lots of power, good ride and handling, and huge inside. The downside......it's also big outside, though nowhere near as big as a Suburban. You can find them pretty cheap, after the first year (2004) they sorted out most of the issues. It's worth a serious look if you're SUV shopping. We also test drove the comparable domestics and it was vastly superior.

onewhippedpuppy · 09:10 AM

Damn you double post!

89911 · 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Cpo for 17,5 is crazy cheap compared the what I posted from my local lot. 89911 what did you replace yours with?

Chris, why say you a tahoe? I know nothing about them and am somewhat adverse to GM....there sure are a lot on the road though.

What mileage do you all consider to be 'high miles' considering we're all driving old cars here.

I bought mine for $18K 3 years ago and it had less then 50k on it. The gave me $10k for it at trade and I was happy with that. I would think in these parts you would have no problem finding this car for $12-15k. I have driven a 4 runner, Land Cruiser, GMC Envoy, BMW X5 prior to this. The X-5 was nice but my family grew to 6, to I needed something bigger. My main hauler for the family is my wifes Honda Odyssey. We sold the Sequoia because me oldest daughter is driving and I didn't picture that as being a young drivers car. I bought a used 2007 Acura MDX that she uses in the summer and at times over the winter. I drive the BMW and 911 in the summer and on bad winter days, the MDX. One other point about the Sequoia, it's not that great in the snow. I had all seasons on it and it was average at best, due to its weight and height. I would say I averaged 12mpg. I thought for the first few weeks that there was something wrong with my gas gauge!

VincentVega · 07-04-2009, 12:14 PM

Quote:

why say you a tahoe?

Cheap and they are tanks. Plus parts are everywhere and you can get it fixed on the way to VIR if it breaks down. Did I mention they are cheap?

Nothing wrong with Toyota, but they are more expensive to buy and maintain. You know I'm cheap.

onewhippedpuppy · 07-04-2009, 12:55 PM

Chevys are cheap to fix. Toyotas don't break. I know my preference.

VincentVega · 07-04-2009, 02:33 PM

I hear you. But, what happens when you are leaving Watkins Glen or VIR and in the middle of no where when your fuel pump craps out? I bet you can get most GM parts and have them installed in most small towns.

Not saying the Toyota isnt dead reliable, but Chevy's arent bad at all.

berettafan · 07-04-2009, 04:08 PM

i bought my '06 tundra dcab 4x4 w/ about 39k on the clock for $17k from the dealer. CPO. it was my own lease turn in.

$35k for an 06 sequoia (same truck but with a roof over the bed) is NUTS.

for light duty work there is no better pickup on the planet. comfortable as heck, sporty and fun. great trucks. i'm sure the suv version is similarly nice.

Zef · Zef's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Chevys are cheap to fix. Toyotas don't break. I know my preference.

You just got it....stay away from GM crap....life is short...time is precious...no time to waste in dealer garage to wait every month that the GM crap is finish to be repaired....again.

Zef · Zef's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Martin

I hear you. But, what happens when you are leaving Watkins Glen or VIR and in the middle of no where when your fuel pump craps out? I bet you can get most GM parts and have them installed in most small towns.

Not saying the Toyota isnt dead reliable, but Chevy's arent bad at all.

That's the fact...You will not have to replace a Toyota fuel pump....Why do you think that you can find a GM crap fuel pump everywhere..?..Sure...because they fail....

kaisen · 07-05-2009, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zef

You just got it....stay away from GM crap....life is short...time is precious...no time to waste in dealer garage to wait every month that the GM crap is finish to be repaired....again.

You should just copy and paste the same post over, and over, and over..... oh, wait - you did (do)

89911 · 07-05-2009, 06:31 AM

As I mentioned, I owned a GMC Envoy for 3 years prior to the BMW. It never really had any major issue (unless you count the 4 wheel drive switch going out!) The biggest problem that they could never fix is the sound system would just go completely out with no warning. The only fix was to turn the car off and let it sit for a few hours. I had it in many times with the radio being replaced at least twice, still with not fix. This is after me telling them that replacing the radio wasn't the answer. Seems these cars have lots of little problems that go unpublized, unless it happens to you. Then when you take it in and describe it to them, they are very familiar with the problem.

kaisen · 07-05-2009, 06:37 AM

Here are my 'expert' opinions:

The Toyota is a nicely finished machine with excellent build quality. If you are looking for a minivan alternative, it will do fine. But if you are looking for a TOW vehicle, it does not have enough power to consider it over the competition. Also, the 4.7L still uses a timing belt (not chain) like every other V8 in the class including the newer Toyo 5.7L. And they're very expensive compared to your other consideration. So you get to pay up front for that perceived quality.

If you want to stay Japanese, Matt is dead-on with the Armada. It has so much more torque than the Sequoia you'd think it was a semi. The earlier interiors were not finished in materials that were as pleasing as the Toyota, but they were high quality. Find a used 2008 with high miles. They had changed the brakes and other minor bits. The Armada doesn't get great mpg, but not much different than the Sequoia. You can get a 2008 Armada SE for $25K-30K.

I really don't know why people ***** about American trucks. It's what they do best. A Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon/Denali, Expedition, etc are all great tow rigs. I have so many friends that have them I can't count. Some have had perfect experiences. Several have well over 100K miles with no troubles. I had my 99 GMC Suburban until 127K miles and the worst thing that happened was an alternator wore out.

My wife has a 2005 Lincoln Navigator Elite. Every option you can think of. 305hp ZF 6 speed automatic. 8300 pound tow rating. Air suspension, independent rear. And we just turned 83K miles. Zero problems. Was a $65K vehicle new. You can pick one up for under $20K.

Why anyone would even consider paying $10K more for a Toyota Sequoia is beyond me.

E