On the fence about selling my A91-MT...

[GoldenEye]

You know what you can and can’t afford. I sold cars to people in your situation many times, I think it’s crazy that people carry that kind of vehicle debt honestly. But it’s all about what you can afford to pay, if you had the money I doubt you’d post this thread…

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[MKVSAL]

@MKVSAL

This is kind of long, but I was/am in a similar spot with a young family and a need for speed.

I bought a 2020 Supra in Nov 2021 and we had our baby in Aug 2022. Fleet at that time was:

• 2017 GTI (DSG)
• 2020 Supra (8AT)
• and a 2006 Pontiac G6

The GTI is a fine family hauler, but I was thinking about our future adventures, and like most on here, I have car habits, so I ordered a 2023 F150 Tremor in Nov 2022 and picked it up in Mar 2023 (sold the G6 along the way and the GTI a few days before picking up the truck).

Current Fleet:

• 2020 Supra (8AT)
• 2023 F150 Tremor

This is for me, my wife, and our baby.

We both WFH, and 95% of the time, the truck goes wherever the baby goes. If either of us are traveling without the baby, Supra it is!

Finances aside, there is a question of whether you'll be able to extract enough value from the Supra to justify its ownership. I don't go to weekend (night) car meets/races, drag strips, or autocross anymore. This is something my wife and I did together, so it's not really a thing where one of us just takes weekend duty. But because it's something we both did together, we're actively working to reincorporate (most) of this back in asap. The truck helps provide a comfortable support (and future tow) vehicle. If your wife is not driving it, and you find yourself deep into baby life, you might be cringing at your payment each month while the car sits since you don't even use it to commute to work.

Some people like having material items as trophies. Others like to consume their goods.

I'm not looking to rock crawl in my truck, but I love the idea of loading anything and everything I want for a family adventure on any terrain without thinking twice. I considered moving us to a G80 M3 and keeping the Pontiac G6 as a beater (before the truck), but I also learned quickly (my GTI was tuned) that with a baby in the car, I drive slow and boring anyways. I loved my GTI, but I didn't think twice about moving into a truck for family duty/adventures after just a couple of months into parenthood.

My suggestions:

• Consider minimizing your fleet to the minimum needed to live the lifestyle you and your wife want. That should free up space and money regardless of what path you choose.
• Consider how much you'll actually drive the Supra after having a baby (or wait it out and see for yourself)
• Consider swapping to an AT Supra, trading the SUV for a truck, and keeping your motorcycle for so cal traffic
• I'm biased, but consider an F150 Tremor over the Tundra TRD Pro. If you're objective, the internet has routinely placed the Tremor over the TRD Pro (less weight, more features, more off-road capable, etc.), and you can actually get your hands on them (new and used) for less than what the dealer will ask you for the elusive TRD Pro.

Thank you for taking the time to write this out. Your reply was well thought out and you made several great points.

I couldn’t agree with you more about figuring out wether or not I can extract enough value from the Supra after the baby gets here. Especially since my wife will not be driving it. Although all of my purchases are well planned, I’m not a materialistic person in the sense that I don’t get attached to materialist things. At the end of the day my family comes first.

Minimizing the fleet is our priority. I don’t like having multiple car payments and/or registration fees. I’m a pretty simple guy and abide by the whole ideology of less is more.

One Of my buddies has a Tremor and loves it. Only other truck I’ve considered was a raptor. But I would be lying to you if I didn’t admit I’m a Toyota fan boy and have owned mostly Toyotas throughout my life.

 

[MKVSAL]

You know what you can and can’t afford. I sold cars to people in your situation many times, I think it’s crazy that people carry that kind of vehicle debt honestly. But it’s all about what you can afford to pay, if you had the money I doubt you’d post this thread…

Not sure what about my posts lead you to believe I don’t have the money to keep the Supra and support my family. Especially since the truck I would be switching to is more expensive than the Supra.

if you meant I don’t have the money to finance the Supra and the tundra at the same time and have financial freedom then yeah you’re right. I stated that in my posts.

 

[ToyoBMW]

Classic impulsive purchase. Been there many times myself. If you had a deposit for the Truck, you obviously planned to keep both the Supra and the Truck. Nothing really changes with a small baby on the way (many many months away). I'd say you only live once and dream big. Keep everything

 

[XtremeMaC]

Financially we are set for now. If it wasn't for the baby I would absolutely not consider selling the supra. I definitely would not be able to finance both the supra and the tundra at the same time without putting a strain on our financial well-being. That would be like 140k in auto loan debt. So that's a no go. It has to be either or.

This is our first baby so we are new to this. I agree with you, financial stability should be my priority which is why I started debating parting ways with the supra in the first place.

Don't know your finances, if you're stretching them, if you have a rainy fund somewhere, etc. but with the baby you'll have expenses you haven't thought of.
As unfortunate as is, I've to warn you that there may be complications, dietary restrictions, allergies, etc. Then there is daycare/nanny. etc. and lawsuits with the hot nanny. You may have to buy her a car

I was in a somewhat similar situation. Built new house, was supposed to move in 6 mo before the baby, but ended up being 6 mo after the baby. Around the same time used car prices was awesome, so sold my other cars. Left with the Supra with winter on the horizon. Wife's lease was turned in few months ago and she still works from home. Had ordered a company lease but hadn't arrived. So, I really didn't need to, but pretty much panicked and Supra didn't make a whole lot of sense with the baby because of the lack of rear seats and winter DD performance, so I sold it. I've to add that since 2019, I had only racked 7K miles on it. That's the other reason.. Worked from home, only went out for like groceries and minimal gatherings or took wife's SUV.. Well, darn winter is 6mo long, so there's that too.

Kicker. I regret it everyday. Not that my X6 is slow, but it's slow and heavy. I wouldn't have spent the money both for Supra and X6. I was eying the Jeep Cherokee Long (3 row) at the time. Supra+Cherokee I could comfortably afford. Cherokee is slow though.

So, my human baby just tuned one and there were instances where she had to go on the lap during the ride, even on the long rides, because she didn't want to be in the car seat. On the flight, she'll go on the lap until she's 2. Is it ideal and safe, no. Can you do so? Yes. Did I want to risk it before I went through all this? No. Would I risk it now, Yes. It's always a gamble, but I've not had a crash in ages. If it was purely can mommy hold the baby in her laps while I carefully drive from/to place X. Then, yes, she could and she does, but again not in the front seat.. but then if you don't crash, it doesn't matter. lol.

But, yes, the car seat is an issue. Ok, let's say that you've managed that somehow, I don't know how. I suppose you can cram it in the back if need be, but then there is stroller. You can surely get a compact stroller, but then baby will not be as comfortable. You may have to get more cushioning. Then, your back may complain.. If you fit the stroller, then you won't have much space for anything. You'll have to get creative or limit grocery or what. Or take wife's car out to shopping..

Anyhow. With the Tundra, you may also have some issues. It sits high. Did you get the running boards????
It has ample space. Less headache. In a purely practicality mindset, Tundra makes more sense to you. or any SUV or Truck or a 4 seater sedan for that matter...

You could totally have the two. Just take a good look at finances, add lots of buffer and re-evaluate.

Car purchases are emotional ones, right. So, if you love the car and the baby, you can make it work. Not ideal probably, but definitely can.

 

[MKVSAL]

@XtremeMaC

Thanks for the feedback bro!

 

[Schang105]

Hi OP, congratulations on baby on the way! Won't rehash arguments other folks have made, here. There will always be more fun cars to buy, go with what meets your needs now. If that means selling ur Supra and get something more practical, I will back that play. Future will probably be a Celica, MR2, new Supra, RX-9, etc. etc. The car disease never ends my friend.

 

[MKVSAL]

Hi OP, congratulations on baby on the way! Won't rehash arguments other folks have made, here. There will always be more fun cars to buy, go with what meets your needs now. If that means selling ur Supra and get something more practical, I will back that play. Future will probably be a Celica, MR2, new Supra, RX-9, etc. etc. The car disease never ends my friend.

Thanks bro! I agree with you 100%, the car disease never ends! With that said, if I were to put the car up for sale I would put it up for the amount which I roughly purchased the vehicle for. The vehicle has roughly 8k in mods which I ultimately will lose mostly out on. But that’s how it goes when you modify cars.

Thank you for the input .

 

[ToyoBMW]

So we finally got to the bottom of this post, it's a for sale post. $66k (maybe plus tax paid) for the A91 MT if anyone is interested

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Sell the Supra and get a G80 AWD M3 great performance car for the whole family

 

[Munkeeboi]

Congrats and it is a tough decision. I was in the same predicament 2 years ago. I ended up selling the Supra due to not being able to drive it (3000 miles in 18 months of ownership) and the amazing resale value at the time coinciding with a great deal on a Tesla Model S

If you are able to swing it with just one car having a car seat, then keep it by all means. For me, I needed a car that could have a car seat for those days that I had to pick her up or take her to the doctor. Your situation will dictate if that is needed.

I've told my wife several times that the Supra is coming back to our garage when the timing is better. I got my last supra new for mid $40's before TTL, so might be a while before the time is right again. LOL.

 

[Kroberter]

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