Having a company car is actually pretty amazing. I did feel kinda fancy. It was a great deal, a super perk of the job. They paid for the truck 100%, they paid for the registration, the insurance, the freakin gas... all paid for. I absolutely do not have a single thing to complain about with that situation. The deal was it was my car. I could use it to go to and from work, anywhere I wanted to take it. Drive it to my mom's house on the weekend, vacations, drive it. it was mine to use, take it to the dealership for oil changes and maintenance. 100% covered. Very cool situation indeed. The thing that probably trained me to be patient and ultimately was a benefit in the long run, was... you're not putting a lift kit on a company car. Just not something I was willing, or really able, to do... I drove the vehicle as a company car for about three years... zero mods... in a world of mods... zero mods.

During that three years I did, however, rescue my mom from the FJ40 in her garage, learn how to weld, buy an aluminum body tub for the FJ40, get out of a horrendous relationship, put together a 2F engine for the 40, swap that 2F out for a chevy small block, and in 2009, during the massive downturn in the economy and high fuel prices, doubled my salary and took full advantage of the opportunity to buy the FJ Cruiser, for pennies on the dollar, from the company... It was at this point my budget was the only thing between me and the world of modifications built specifically for the FJ Cruiser...