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Earlier this week I purchased for my wife a 2010 Toyota Sequoia Limited. This is a huge upgrade over her previous vehicle, a 2008 Chevy Uplander. The Uplander was a horrible vehicle. Aside from it being ugly, it was poorly designed and its day-to-day utility was horrible. It has ruined Chevy/GM for me, as it will be a long time (if ever) that I spend $$$ on one of their vehicles.
The thing about the minivan is this: I didn't even pick it out! I know this is going to make me sound like a horrible person, but I'm not going to hide the truth. My in-laws bought the minivan for us. Now on the surface, it seems like a very generous thing to do. And it was, they certainly didn't owe us anything. But they bought a vehicle that did not suite my family's lifestyle. It couldn't tow more than 3000 lbs, it was impossible to reach the 3rd row, my kids are both small, but had NO LEG ROOM in their seats! Like I said, it was a generous thing to do, but they clearly did no research and compare with other brands. My (step) father-in-law is a Chevy guy, so he bought whatever they were making, sight unseen. I have learned that if I'm ever in a position to buy a loved one a vehicle, I'm going to make sure that I buy something that they like or that they believe suites their lifestyle. I know that it makes me sound really ungrateful, and to an extent, that's a little true. I'm a car guy. I think cars are an extremely personal item, and I want to be the one who picks what I and my wife drive. You can't make a guy like me like a minivan, even if it's free.
The Toyota is awesome, however. I bought it on a Tuesday night, and yesterday took a short road trip to a Crate and Barrel warehouse to pick up an item that I ordered. It was a pleasure to drive, and one thing I really enjoyed is not having "other people's car envy". That is, I didn't feel envious when I would see others driving their SUV or sports car, etc... It's hard to fight off car envy when you're driving a minivan.
And the power train cannot be topped. 381 HP and 401 Ft-lbs of torque. That's more than the Tahoe, Expedition, Armada, and Durango. Even the Suburban's optional 6.0 tops out at 352 HP. And since I move a lot, it's going to be nice to park my car (Ford Mustang) on a trailer and hitch it to the Sequoia. It's going to be nice to not have to drive both cars for a change and be able to ride together, especially since my next move is probably going to be from the West Coast to the East Coast.
Over all, I am exceedingly happy with my purchase, and since I am the kind of man who keeps his cars for 10 or so years (poorly designed minivans being the exception) before buying again, I think this was a choice investment.
Awesome vehicle. I don't think you are ungrateful. They were wrong in getting you a vehicle that you had no say in it even though they had the best of intentions. They should have offered you the money instead and let you buy what you wished.
You are going to love the Sequoia I bought my wife a brand new 2006 and we now have over 90,000 miles on the dial and no issues what so ever. You just change the oil and with regular maintenance and you are good to go. This big SUV drives like a small SUV, my wife just loves her Sequoia. I've offered to trade in her SUV for a Lexus and she refuses and gets upset with me.
You will absolutely love your truck and its the best for long vacation trips, it just rides so smooth. You made a great choice and you have the big v8 to boot!
Just don't look at GMC Yukons or Cadillac Escalades with the 6.2L. They have 403hp/417lb-ft and look 10x better. Ah shucks, your Toyota just got topped.
Just don't look at GMC Yukons or Cadillac Escalades with the 6.2L. They have 403hp/417lb-ft and look 10x better. Ah shucks, your Toyota just got topped.
A difference of 22 hp and 16 ft-lbs of torque is hardly a difference maker. GM lists the 6.2L Yukon's towing capacity up to 8300 lbs, the Escalade at 7500. Toyota lists the Sequioa's at 9100. All three have impressive capacities, but neither of GM's products have the Toyota "topped".
The Yukon with the 6.2L costs slightly more than the Sequoia, while the Escalade is significantly more expensive. And everyone knows that an Escalade is just a Tahoe/Yukon in a pretty dress. Mechanically, they are virtually the same. So you're paying all that extra $$$ for the wreath. Means something to some, but not to me.
Toyota also holds its value better than GM. Projected 5-year depreciation for each:
Yukon: $34,723
Escalade: $32,637
Sequoia: $31,143
I plan on keeping mine for at least 10 years, where the differences in depreciation really become noticeable. Sequoia depreciates at a steady rate while GM really drops off after 5 years. Go to any CarMax lot in the country and you can see proof of this firsthand.
As for the looks, it's a wash. Yukon/Tahoe/Escalade are all great looking vehicles, but so is the Sequoia. Having already made my decision, I'm a little biased, but as looks are entirely subjective, I'll say no more on it.
After doing a little more research, I've found that projected depreciation for my vehicle is even better than I thought. Especially compared to the Yukon and Escalade:
Congrats on your new vehicle, it's always fun to have new toys to dick around with. I just traded in my Yukon Denali after 3 years on a new F-150, so far I'm not regretting my decision at all.
I wouldn't be too pre-occupied with depreciation costs, they will change depending on the market conditions. People that buy a new car who factor in the rate of depreciation are those who SHOULDN'T be buying a new vehicle. As long as you like what you bought, why does it matter if it depreciates faster than a comparable vehicle? My Yukon MSRP was around $55K when I bought it new, I traded it in 3 years later and got $26K for it. Depreciated about $30K in those 3 years, do I care? Not really, it served me well for those years. As long as you're happy, don't worry what others think.
This is not quite a 4 year update, more of a 45 month update on our Sequoia. We now have about 67k miles on it, and because we have kids the vehicle has taken a little abuse here and there (my two year old just tore one of the window screens ) but for the most part our vehicle remains in great shape. I am posting this today because it dawned on me that we've had it for almost 4 years and we both consider it a "new" car. I think this is a testament to the vehicle's staying power and design quality.
For a while now my wife and I have agreed that when the time came to part ways with my Mustang we would replace it with a full size pickup. I like the Sequoia enough that we've pretty much already narrowed our search for a pickup to color and options; we are definitely going with a Tundra with a 4 door cab.
Amidst all these recalls and questions of quality control with Toyota, GM, and pretty much everyone else, I could not be more satisfied with my vehicle. Well done, Toyota.
Earlier this week I purchased for my wife a 2010 Toyota Sequoia Limited. This is a huge upgrade over her previous vehicle, a 2008 Chevy Uplander. The Uplander was a horrible vehicle. Aside from it being ugly, it was poorly designed and its day-to-day utility was horrible. It has ruined Chevy/GM for me, as it will be a long time (if ever) that I spend $$$ on one of their vehicles.
Just curious, IKnowFtBll . . . why in the world would you, or anyone, purchase an "ugly" vehicle?
I am a General Motors fan, however, I am certain they produce many models that are NOT suited for me. In fact, both of my vehicles would probably NOT "fit" the general population but they fit me perfectly.
With all due respect, if I were to purchase an "unsuitable" vehicle, from General Motors, Toyota or whoever, I certainly would not blame the manufacturer for my "lack of research" purchase.
Just curious, IKnowFtBll . . . why in the world would you, or anyone, purchase an "ugly" vehicle?
I didn't. The story is in the initial post to this thread.
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) but for the most part our vehicle remains in great shape. I am posting this today because it dawned on me that we've had it for almost 4 years and we both consider it a "new" car. I think this is a testament to the vehicle's staying power and design quality. 
