A 2024 4Runner TRD Pro odyssey, in 5 parts
Part 1:
Been cross-shopping several new SUVs for a while for a college graduate to-be (hallelujah!) where we make the payments and he could keep building credit as a co-signer. Didn’t want a huge car payment as we were not sure how long he would want to keep whatever he went with, so a 36/24m lease was preferred even though we knew what he might go with might not lease well over all. One challenge is that he is across the country (and has CA residency) and the SUV needed to be registered in CA where DMV requires eyes on for the VIN to register it. We test drove all kinds of different SUVs and researched pretty much all options. He has pretty specific needs for a vehicle, and would need something that checked off boxes from this list:
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super reliable overall, good safety ratings
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no need or desire for a pickup
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will be able to handle the worst of winter in the US and parts of Canada
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no AWD, had to be 4WD with legit 4H/4L
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adequate ground clearance
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seats 4 relatively comfortably and 5 in pinch
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reliable V6 or V8, no turbo 4, etc.
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appropriate cost and decent value retention
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overall length and wheelbase were reasonable and not too long so as to make city parking and short spaces overly difficult, especially with a protruding drop hitch
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4-5k towing capacity
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serious off-road chops out of the gate without extensive suspension, wheel and tire mods
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acceptable road manners, tolerable as a road/highway car
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stand up to a kid that beats pretty hard on most cars/trucks/SUVs
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basic tech and safety features, including CarPlay, and an acceptable stock stereo
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decent looks and styling, but that was not a huge concern
Was not interested in hybrid electric tech with the potential associated headache and cold weather fails, and gas mileage was not a huge dealbreaker either way. Not a surprise that it came down to a 4Runner, Wrangler or a Bronco. The Bronco and Wrangler were the frontrunners for a long time in the same way we all want to be astronauts when we are 5 but can’t explain why.
After he had test drives along with plenty of research, the 4Runner TRD Pro was the winner in almost all categories. Knew the lease and discount for a TRD Pro would generally not be great compared to other trims, models or a 4XE but the residual was fairly high and MF was low if you could get it at buy rate.
Part 2:
The 5 speed, older tech and dated cabin were not an issue for him after having driven 4Runners and spending time in them over the past few years. Also was really interested in getting one of the last of the 15 year run of the bulletproof 5th Gen setup, and more boxes were checked off on the 5th Gen TRD Pro over the Jeep and the Bronco, and really anything else.
Reading the ongoing chatter over the last year about the likely 6th Gen 4 cyl. turbo or hybrid engines, seeing the teaser/render photos, and then seeing actual confirmation of the engines along with the Minecraft-ish look of the 6th Gen 2025, it was clear that waiting two years for any 6th Gen issues to be worked out was a good plan. An unsold allocation for a 2024 TRD Pro was hard enough to find and he figured it might even be more difficult as the 4Runner fanbois snap up the last of 2024 TRD Pros across the country to avoid having to go with a 2025. He also needed something in 60 days or less and could not really wait until the release date of “Fall of 2024” or sometime in 2025 as it was expected/stated for the 6th Gen.
Part 3:
I was ready to embark on what has worked so well in the past and was about to go with a @RustyDaemon “Diary of a Wimpy 4Runner” hack for a TRD Pro. Before going all-in, I was seeing that almost every allocation was either already sold or had +/- $5k of ADM for a TRD Pro. Any “target deal” of 5-10% off for a TRD Pro was a fantasy that apparently does not exist in the real world of limited production, low allocations, high demand and a cult-like following.
A huge shout out goes to Jim @Jrouleau426, Brett @TrilogyAuto, Jeff @Jeff_BeachCitiesAuto, Cody @Cody_Carter and Ryan @Ryan_S for a reality check on the TRD Pro, answering questions about 4Runners and laying out the challenging nature of landing one without ADM insanity and a bunch of add-ons. Would definitely have used any of those brokers or bought from Cody or Ryan, but the difficulty in sourcing an available TRD Pro and the shipping or driving back to CA (if bought out of state) to register it, and then getting it back east was an issue. Each of those guys were super helpful, very up front, realistic and honest about what we were facing on TRD Pro allocations, ADM and other suggestions such as getting a cheaper deal on an Off Road Premium with KDSS vs. the Fox setup and doing other mods as well.
Part 4:
In the end he decided on going with a TRD Pro, and then a friend from previous deals coincidentally just had a last minute allocation open up on a 2024. It was the right color (when does that ever happen?), had zero garbage dealer add-ons, had no ADM and also had next to zero factory or port add-ons that were not needed or wanted. Of course we snapped it up on the spot.
This deal saved a ton of time and money on a potential wild goose chase trying to find a TRD Pro that wasn’t sold, had no ADM and no add-ons. Regardless of the tea leaf reading with the 6th Gen release it looks like this 5th Gen TRD Pro will do pretty well as far as value retention so it was a win all the way around. Will throw some rock sliders on and black out the rear emblem and letters for full stormtrooper, and may have a few other bits to add as well.
Unfortunately the deal is not replicable.
Part 5:
He is extremely happy with the TRD Pro and the deal worked out well under the circumstances. Here are the specs:
2024 4Runner TRD Pro, Ice Cap white
MSRP: $56,809
Selling price: $56,165
36m/12k
RV: 70%
MF: .0018
Incentives: $1,500 TRS lease cash
DAS: $0
Down: $0
MSDs: 0
Monthly: $699 (w/tax, all in)
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