First car: '94 4runner or '84 Camero?

[Reacon]

Basically the situation is the title. I am a first time driver, taking the driving test in a week here or so. Everybody in my family that has evaluated me has suggested that I am ready, and my father has offered me a choice of two cars.

1994 Toyota 4runner 4WD

1984 Chevrolet Camero 6 cylinder

What I am mainly looking for in a car is gas mileage, comprehensiveness, and reliability. Both have about 170k miles on them, are in good condition (no major defects) and run well. My dad is a mechanic and will service them if I pay for the parts.

Appreciate any help in a decision here, as I am pretty torn.

[sc302 Veteran]

do you live where it snows or ices over? If you do, the 4runner out of those choices. Gas will be a pain, but you will be able to get out of most situations. I personally wouldn't do a camaro 6 cyl even if someone gave me 10,000 a month to drive it...yea it is that crappy.

[HawkMan]

Basically the situation is the title. I am a first time driver, taking the driving test in a week here or so. Everybody in my family that has evaluated me has suggested that I am ready, and my father has offered me a choice of two cars.

1994 Toyota 4runner 4WD

1984 Chevrolet Camero 6 cylinder

What I am mainly looking for in a car is gas mileage, comprehensiveness, and reliability. Both have about 170k miles on them, are in good condition (no major defects) and run well. My dad is a mechanic and will service them if I pay for the parts.

Appreciate any help in a decision here, as I am pretty torn.

So, 3 things you won't get in the Camaro at all. though why a 4Runner ? why not a Avensis or other more sensible car. the 4runner makes sense if you need to drive around the arm and through thick snow a lot, but otherwise, a smaller Toyota makes more sense.

[Open Minded]

The build quality of the Camero is garbage. Look at the interior and how it's doing. That will give you an idea of how the whole car was built. You will get better gas mileage out of the Chevy, but that will be negated by repair costs. I would pick the Toyota over the Chevy.

[Twiddle]

So, 3 things you won't get in the Camaro at all. though why a 4Runner ? why not a Avensis or other more sensible car. the 4runner makes sense if you need to drive around the arm and through thick snow a lot, but otherwise, a smaller Toyota makes more sense.

I would assume they are hand-me-downs for his first vehicle.

I would personally go with the 4Runner if you live in a place with inclement weather. The parts situation for both would be about the same. The 4Runner is newer so parts wouldn't be too difficult to find if needed, and the Camaro may be older but GM/Chevy parts are easy to find and have a vast amount of interchange-ability. The Camaro parts would probably be cheaper than the 4Runner, though.

Gas mileage would be similar, though the Camaro would have slightly better mileage. 4Runner gets anywhere between 12-18 miles per gallon, whereas the Camaro gets around 15-20, around 24 on the highway. This is assuming they were both well maintained and have no major issues.

[vcfan]

Fuel Economy

Camaro

City: 16

Highway: 24

4 Runner

City: 12

Highway: 15

Personally, i'd take the 4runner anyday. Yeah it uses up more fuel, but that thing is a beast. 4WD also is beneficial in the winters,trust me,you'd be glad you have it.

[Reacon]

Seems like everybody is pointing me to the 4runner, in and out of this forum. The Camero is nice and all, but at this point in my life I feel I need something more utilitarian. For that, I will have to go with the 4runner.

Thanks for the help deciding.