Saturday, January 19, 2008
It's a SandStorm
One week ago today I was sitting in the dealership picking up my new FJ Cruiser. It's a 2008 4wd automatic with locking rear differential, the convenience package, rubber mats and the 17" aluminum wheels.
It would have been pretty difficult for me to decide on it had it not been for the internet. Edmunds.com was a great starting point to compare and price everything out. Their inside line pages had a great long term test of the FJ that was a really good read. The Toyota website, in addition to all the car things you expect to see on a website also have the FJ Cruiser Bulletin. It has a lot of flash showing off the engineering, off road abilities and the real community of FJ owners. That's what finally lead me to the fjcruiserforums.com. It was invaluable in purchasing my FJ. They have tons of information all at your fingertips via the search feature. There was a great excel spreadsheet that helped in pricing the truck. Lots of comments on the extra features. Comments and pictures on what other people were adding in modifications to the truck with different roof racks, rock rails and various extras. One of the best is the A-TRAC switch install. A-TRAC is only on the two more expensive upgrade packages each cost around $1,200. But as it turns out everything is there on any FJ with a rear locker, except the switch. So for a ~ 60$ switch you can have A-TRAC enabled. All-in-all the site helped me pick just what I needed because I can add the accessories later, that might not even been stock, when I want them. I am one very happy 1 week old FJ owner. ¶ 7:00:00 AM
It would have been pretty difficult for me to decide on it had it not been for the internet. Edmunds.com was a great starting point to compare and price everything out. Their inside line pages had a great long term test of the FJ that was a really good read. The Toyota website, in addition to all the car things you expect to see on a website also have the FJ Cruiser Bulletin. It has a lot of flash showing off the engineering, off road abilities and the real community of FJ owners. That's what finally lead me to the fjcruiserforums.com. It was invaluable in purchasing my FJ. They have tons of information all at your fingertips via the search feature. There was a great excel spreadsheet that helped in pricing the truck. Lots of comments on the extra features. Comments and pictures on what other people were adding in modifications to the truck with different roof racks, rock rails and various extras. One of the best is the A-TRAC switch install. A-TRAC is only on the two more expensive upgrade packages each cost around $1,200. But as it turns out everything is there on any FJ with a rear locker, except the switch. So for a ~ 60$ switch you can have A-TRAC enabled. All-in-all the site helped me pick just what I needed because I can add the accessories later, that might not even been stock, when I want them. I am one very happy 1 week old FJ owner. ¶ 7:00:00 AM
