Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

[Expidia]

So the deal was two years ago my son said I should buy his 2011 Highlander off his 3 year lease. He did his lease when Toyota was having issues 3 years ago and were cutting cheap lease deals which there would be a lower residual buyout. He never buys his leased vehicles and just turns them back to the dealer.

So I was going to get this one for $21500 and I waited two years for it. it already had the trailer package and is a 6 cyl.
Shows you what a verbal contract gets you with a relative! Now he's buying it outright for himself for the 21500 and paying 2% on a loan.

Either way, I'm not getting this one now! Another 3 year old highlander is $26000 plus the 8% tax (i would have had to pay the tax on his too)

i've been pulling my 15 foot aluminum lund for 5 seasons now with my 2001 Saab 9-5.
I was hoping to get his vehicle and then also buy a 21 foot Aluminum used Starcraft Islander. Probably weighs in around 3500 lbs.
Id like to dock it in a slip on various lakes in ny like lake george, lake champlain and the hudson river each for one month during the season.
I figured his vehicle would have been perfect for transporting once a month between lakes.

So now I'm open to another used tow vehicle idea. Prob in the 3 year old range, under 25k and not an open pickup truck type like a ford 150. I'm partial to a toyota or a honda suv just for their great repair history.

suggestions welcome!

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Just go ahead and buy the other boat then go borrow his Highlander whenever you need to move it. That's what he gets for changing his mind!

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Just go ahead and buy the other boat then go borrow his Highlander whenever you need to move it. That's what he gets for changing his mind!

And while your using his truck get a few keys cut for yourself.

 

[briangcc]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Why not just lease a Highlander yourself? They've got good deals going on with them and this year they include backup cameras standard if I read the ad right.

That's how we're handling my wife's '13 Highlander...lease now and buy it out afterwards.

BTW: The Highlander is a SUV/XUV, not a truck. It's built off the Camry platform with a little more ground clearance. The Tundra is the truck in the Toyota line, right alongside the Tacoma.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Thanks for those comments. And i did not know the highlander was off a camry. The rig i have now is around 16000 lbs while im towing it. and the next rig if I stay with aluminum should be still under 3500 which is within limits of the highlander's capacity.
I looked at the honda pilot which is the same has the highlander but im not a fan of its lines. To boxy looking for our tastes.
I dont want to go to a bigger full sized suv if i dont have to as i dont want to have to drive around in that big a vehicle when not boating.

I wish i was a truck type guy as I always really liked the ford 150 series or the toyota tundra as another poster had mentioned above.

If I go fiberglass in the future then ill need the truck type since ill be over 5000 lbs.

I think I can still buy like a 2011 highlander with decent miles in the $22k range maybe off craigslist rather than a dealer.

 

[briangcc]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Yep the Highlander is unit/unibody construction, no frame. I have no idea what Toyota was thinking when they gave the Highlander a 5k tow rating and the framed 4Runner a lower 4700 rating (based on ad for this year's model). What sealed it for us was the additional tow rating on the Highlander and better lease payment.

I love my Tundra but I'm already thinking about turning this one in and getting a crew cab. My 21month old son is already using the back of my seat to clean snow off his boots and he'll be in that car seat for a while so I need more leg room in the back than my current Double Cab offers. That and I like the looks/features of the TRD Pro

Good luck with your search!

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Thanks for those comments. And i did not know the highlander was off a camry. The rig i have now is around 16000 lbs while im towing it. and the next rig if I stay with aluminum should be still under 3500 which is within limits of the highlander's capacity.
I looked at the honda pilot which is the same has the highlander but im not a fan of its lines. To boxy looking for our tastes.
I dont want to go to a bigger full sized suv if i dont have to as i dont want to have to drive around in that big a vehicle when not boating.

I wish i was a truck type guy as I always really liked the ford 150 series or the toyota tundra as another poster had mentioned above.

If I go fiberglass in the future then ill need the truck type since ill be over 5000 lbs.

I think I can still buy like a 2011 highlander with decent miles in the $22k range maybe off craigslist rather than a dealer.

That must be one huge aluminum boat!!! Wish I could give you more input on a tow vehicle but all my vehicles are old. You should have much better luck finding something for a better price private party. Try Autotrader as well as Craigslist.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Damn, just had my 2011 Highlander swept away from me . . ..

Ya, the starcraft islander I think is around 3500 lbs. They made the bracket model in 2006 up until a few years ago. It frees up the deck space since the outboard hangs off the bracket which looks like a swim platform. I personally would rather have an outboard than an I/O.
They made a 19 foot model and a 21 footer. With the bracket it comes in around 23 to 24 feet. It's big, but since its aluminum it is easier to tow than a 24 foot fiberglass rig.