As you said, why replace a perfectly good vehicle? My vehicle is a 1994 4Runner-I keep it up well, it carries my stuff for work, my groceries and everything else and has 4WD for the unpaved roads and rough terrain in this rural area. It can tow a tiny shop trailer if needed, too-no need of a newer SUV or truck that is mechanically inferior or says where I am via GPS-my time, my dime, my business-the only people out here who drive anything other than an older pickup or SUV-or any vehicles less then 10-15 years old are those who live in gated enclaves and only come out to drive to the city-they are not really part of the rural community...
We do change the oil regularly - every 3,000 miles — and we have had two people offer to buy it from us. Never took them seriously to find out how much they'd be willing to pay for it. Clearly it has some value for two random people to walk up to us and offer to buy it from us. Keep this in mind should you ever plan to sell your 4Runner.
Plus, I wonder now many older 4Runners were destroyed under Obama’s cash for clunkers program?
Insanity....
For some reason, it is smarter to toss a perfectly good car for a brand new model that costs a fortune. The car manufacturers and dealerships love it no doubt.
But this is why people are in debt up to their eyeballs.
Plus, modern cars and SUVs are a lot more complicated with all of the bells and whistles that you mention and all of that specialized electronics will be impossible to replace in a few years once the specialized parts become discontinued for newer models.
The 4Runner is a very well made SUV and, best of all, we own it.