Large SUV advice

Just out of curiosity, why don’t you want a Tahoe or expedition? I just got an expedition and love it. So much room and we have the standard size not the max.

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Trade in value is around 3k.

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Guessing it's not 4WD?

Given your Toyota experience, I'd stick with them and get a Landcruiser, LX570, or even a GX460, then just get a hitch and haul for extra cargo room. Those GX tailgates swing out though instead of up, so hitch and haul could be problematic.

Yeah you should be able to get a lot more than $3k for that vehicle for a little effort of posting some pics on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace and meeting someone at a notary.

Hold out for the new Hummer

Depends on what you need it for.

DO you need a bulletproof vehicle with off-road capabilities? Get the LC/LX. Yeah the technology sucks, but you just can't destroy them.

More of a mall crawler, get the Sequoia, Tahoe, etc.

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Considered this, but the GX feels tiny when driving it, and my youngest kid will probably outgrow the 3rd row in a few years. Plus not all that much better gas mileage.

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Gotcha. It is markedly smaller, and the 3rd row is fairly useless except for short drives around town.

If the Armada has the CVT transmission, I'd steer clear. Can't remember if Nissan went exclusively to the CVT in all of their vehicles.

I love our sequoia, i just wish it had 2 things: a 40 gallon tank and a bigger arse end for lugging shite around.

if they made a SequoiaXL-ER(extended range) i'd be all over it in a heartbeat.

i'm holding out hope that something like the Excursion will come back with one of these new whizbang efficient/powerful diesels. need a new 3/4 ton SUV.

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Just out of curiosity, why don’t you want a Tahoe or expedition?

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Yeah - if they drive just 15,000 miles per year, the fuel savings would more than pay for the new head gaskets the Ecoboost might need after 150,000 miles. Or the A/C compressor the Tahoe might need around that time.

Assuming gas costs $3.00 per gallon and diesel costs $3.30 per gallon:

- The new Sequioa gets about 15 MPG average - $3000/year in fuel if you drive 15,000 miles.

- The Expedition Ecoboost and Tahoe V8 gets about 20 MPG- $2200/year in fuel if you drive 15,000 miles.

- The diesel Tahoe gets 28 mpg $1700 in fuel over 15,000 miles.

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Don’t want a Tahoe or Expedition. More concerned about reliability than tech gadgets (apple CarPlay would be nice, not available on LC/LX, but available on 2020 sequoia).

What would you do?

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I'd save anywhere between $800 per year to $1300 per year by going with the Ford or Chevy on fuel costs alone. They are more likely to require a repair after 7-8 years of ownership, but that isn't necessarily guaranteed to happen. It's no guarantee that the Sequioa won't break down or require repairs either. In all likelihood those estimates are on the conservative side as fuel prices will go up. But I could save over $7,000 in operating costs over 5 years just by going with a diesel Tahoe or Suburban. And at least $4,000 if I went with a gas powered Tahoe or the Expedition. Both of those are more modern and more comfortable than the current generation Sequioa. They tow just as much if not more, and the Tahoe Z71 and Yukon AT4 is probably far better off road.

I don't think you are saving that much in repair costs by going with Toyota. The full sized SUV with the best resale value on the market isn't Toyota either - it's the GMC Yukon.

I like the current generation Sequioa a lot and appreciate Toyota's commitment to above-average reliability, but it just doesn't make sense until they get way more MPG out of it or if they discount it heavily. The Nissan Armada is an even worse value proposition, as it gets worse mileage and has a higher frequency of repairs.

None of the above trucks have timing belts anymore (including the new 5.7L Toyota Sequioa) although I'm not sure about the Nissan. Timing belts typically require replacement every 70,000 to 100,000 miles. The Tahoe diesel has an oil pump belt that requires replacement every 150,000 miles and will costs about $900 to do because it's hard to access behind the motor. But that's only every 150,000 miles. These aren't Audis or BMW's that will fall apart after 6-7 years.

I would get the GMC Yukon with the 3.0L turbodiesel. If I were bent on a gas model, I might consider the Ford Ecoboost.

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Trade in value is around 3k

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Seems really low. I still have an old 2001 Expedition EB w 142K I've just kept around as a basic knock around defacto truck when needed. Lumber, mulch, you name it errands. Not worth much but comes in handy a hell of a lot.