vehicle buying advice

[kazeshini]

I'm in the market for a new used vehicle, but am having trouble narrowing down the choices. So as my family and friends haven't been very helpful I turn to you my internet buddies. Here's the list:

Grand vitara up to 04
Santa Fe up to 05
Xterra
Pathfinder
Durango
Vibe/matrix
Mazda 3
Rav4 up to 00
Highlander
Dakota
Frontier
Cherokee
grand Cherokee

I have about 2000 to put down and bad credit so would need a buy here pay here type of deal w/ a 200 max monthly payment.
My number 1 requirement is reliability/low repair cost and parts. Number 2 is the ability to transport larger cargo ie furniture, but not something as big as an Excursion. Number 3 is snow/ ice driving, I don't really do any off roading so that's not a factor. Mpg is also a factor, however I would prefer a small V6.

If you have another one to suggest I would be interested to know more.

For the record I briefly owned a 01 Xterra bought in 02 and sold in 03 as it did not pass inspection and the power window motor was replaced twice within three weeks and broke a third time. A recall for the electrical system was sent out to me right after I traded it in. Others I know had nothing but wonderful experiences with it which is why I'm still considering it. Let me know your thoughts if you have/had one please.

 

[Desdinova]

Of all on your list, my eyes are drawn to the Vibe/Matrix and the Mazda3.


But I will say this, because the Vibe/Matrix are Toyota the resale is a little higher so you get less vehicle for the same money. RAV4 and highlander fall into the same group.


Dakota/Durango are tough little trucks but can be quite costly in the frequent repairs you have to make on a Chrysler product.



Mazda is a nice choice, as is the corporate cousin Ford Focus. By all accounts both ahve been pretty much problem free. Kind of like having a Honda Civic but at less cost. Both can be found in a 5door hatch. The Focus in a wagon has a lot of cargo room.


If you want new, look at the Chevy Cobalt. There is a helluva lot of cash on the hoods of those right now. Plus 0% financing in some areas. You could get a new car with warranty for the monthly price of a used car.



As far as snow, you like in Penn. I'm in Canada. A good set of snow tires is all you need.

 

[Gruder]

Furniture transport kills some of these options (Vibe/Matrix, Mazda 3, Rav4).

Snow/ice driving kills some more (Highlander and Santa Fe, maybe others).

$200/month is further limiting (the Nissans probably keep their value a bit too well for your needs, for instance, at least mileage that becomes a repair liability), but good for you for setting a price (just never walk into a dealer saying "here's what I can afford per month" -- it's like handing them a blank check).

That leaves the dodge/jeep stuff, though there's also a reliability issue there (but parts are easy to come by). (I immediately discounted suzuki, which I trust about as much as kia right now in terms of reliability.) Tough call. I'm trying to think of things I'd add to your list, just to make things tougher An old Subaru Forester could be a decent option if you could find one at your price point (though maybe a bit on the small side -- I have stuffed an oversized chair + large wooden ottoman in one, though). Maybe a Honda Element (though probably high resale)? Is the Saturn Vue too small? -- the latter ones got decent marks, IIRC. An old Chevy Trailblazer could be an option to consider -- there's certainly be parts (but you'd likely need them...). You seem to have pretty much ruled out pickups -- those could be a good option for you if you don't have passenger carrying needs and have a few bags of sand to throw in the bed in the winter...

Honestly, were I in your boat I think I'd simply cast the net wide and look for a good deal on one of several vehicles (inspected by a mechanic of your choosing). In other words, almost exactly what you're doing. Good luck!

 

[kazeshini]

I probably should have mentioned my last car was the mazda3 hatchback. I loved it but had to sell it to pay off the majority of my debt. I was able to transport a washing machine in it, it is suprisingly large once the seats are folded down. THe vibe/matrix my cousin owns and with the ability to fold the front passenger seat flat and the rather substantion roofline you can again fit suprising large things in it. BTW i'm not talking about sofas or something like that.

As far as suzuki goes, i don't know about newer ones but my brother has a 2001 vitara, that has been rear ended, front ended, and submerged in a flood. No major body/frame damage and the interior just needed to be conditioned to get rid of the smell, but other than that no irregular maintence at 125000+ miles and still going strong.

Pick-ups are not out of question, just not my preference as my work may require me to transport up to 4 exchange students, + there are friends to consider and i don't particularly like driving trucks. Tha subaru Baja is on my list of wants, but so is a 2002 firebird trans am convertible, but that ain't gonna happen.

I have however ruled out Chevy's (except the tracker) as i really dislike chevy and the only ford product i would ever be interested in is a mustang. THe VUE is saturn, heres my experience with them,I went to test drive a brand new ion coupe in 04, thank fully it was at night or i may not have found out all of the following issues. THe interior lights did not work, the window did not work and only one headlight worked. the salesmans reaction, "don't worry about it, we can fix that." Not "lets try this other one. I'm so sorry this is a fluke and certainly not the norm for our vehicles." His reation was more like meh, happens all the time.

 

[kazeshini]

BTW why not Santa Fe and snow?

 

[dmm26]

I would go for either the santa fe or the durango. I have friends that own both and they love them. We get tons of snow here and their both great in it! The durango is a little heavy on gas but it's worth it!

 

[jlanger]

Mazda is a nice choice, as is the corporate cousin Ford Focus. By all accounts both ahve been pretty much problem free. Kind of like having a Honda Civic but at less cost. Both can be found in a 5door hatch. The Focus in a wagon has a lot of cargo room.

Them's fightin words for a mazda guy you know, the mazda 3 has very little in common with the Focus in America, at least for now. Although if you mentioned the European focus...

As for the other's I'd highly recomend to stay away from the chrysler products, jeep, durnago etc, all have many known issues for durability.

Subaru forester was mentioned which is a good choice, just make sure that it either has had the head gasket replaced or that the head gasket is still in good shape as many of the subbies with that engine have head gasket issues, which is about $1500-2k to fix, but that is really the only issue that they have.

I know you ruled out chevy's but have you looked at an equinox? They've had some pretty good reviews and reputations.

 

[quixand]

A word on Foresters:
1. I have one, first batch of 98, and I love it.
2. They have issues. I was lucky to get one that was well maintained, with low mileage, and in perfect condition (well, the passenger power window switch is bad, but that doesn't really count as a mechanical fault ... plus it's really my laziness to go find a spare part for it that's keeping it that way for the past 2 years).
Issues don't mean they are bad--it just means you need to be well aware of what you need to look for in a used one.
3. the used car market overprices them beyond any reasonable value. I got mine for 3k less than market asking value simply by poking around and finding a guy who was just about ready to start thinking about selling his--so I had no competition, and he was very thankful for not having to shine it up and waste any time showing it to people who value the car by the size of the subwoofer and the paintjob.
4. Snow... They eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I haven't even bothered to get winter tires. It's been 2 years, and I've gone through up to 2 feet of snow on all-season tires with out any major issues or loss of traction. You should probably get winter tires for extended periods of snow though.
5. a bit small for transporting big furniture, but will fit most small to medium sized ones.
6. Head gasket (like jlanger said). For all Subies with the 2.5L DOHC engines and some of the models with SOHC engines between the years 1998-2002 (I think, at least that range, could extend a bit further in the top end, so if you're considering one, consult someone who knows a lot more about them) the head gasket seal would wear off somewhere around the 100-150k km mark (60-100k miles), and would need to be replaced, along with a full work on the engine to fix the damage caused by running it with the pressure leak. Best advice is to not get one from those years that didn't have the head gasket replaced. Plain and simple. There are a few gems whose owners had the head gasket replaced when they heard about the issue (as opposed to waiting for it to hit them before getting it done)... You probably wouldn't be able to get that kind of detail at a stealership though... But it helps to have the information.

As a testament to how much I like my forester: The only vehicle that's going to succeed it as a newer model Forester
These are simple, well designed, and utility oriented vehicles. Nothing fancy, just what is needed to get the job done well.

 

[Mr_Amazing]

I'm also in the market for a used car and share some of the qualities that you are looking for. My credit isn't horrible (I hope) and I am looking to put more money down, but I'm looking for something that is 200/mo, good in all weather, has some cargo room, and is very reliable. I'm leaning towards an 06+ Subaru. I'm willing to bend the cargo rules a little bit, so a sedan might work for me. Their mileage isn't the best in the world, but with awd, that is to be expected. I'm looking at the Imprezza line (wagon, sedan, and WRX).

As for the options you want, the one that affects all the others the most is cargo room (especially enough to fit large furniture). Have you tried looking into minivans? The 96 Grand Caravan I have fits just about anything and everything I could ever need to fit in there (even full size couches). There are a ton of different models to choose from if you were to look at a van. Most of them allow you to fold down the seats completely or even take them out of the vehicle. They tend to use a v6. Probably not the best in snow or ice, but my van kicks the snot out of what my Saturn offers in snow/ice driving.

 

[kazeshini]

I would never get a minivan. I'm 30 and single. Besides I test drove an Aztek, which is built on a minivan platform, and there is way too much body lean for me. Everytime i turned it felt like i was tipping over.

The Baja is about the only subie i'd consider or maybe an impreza, i have never liked the styling of the forester and let's face it guys if we're not driving something we find sexy we don't take care of it.

As for the moving of furniture. I will be moving several times in next 5-10 years and would like to be able to move mystuff without needing to rent a uhaul. I won't be getting any furniture that can't be broken down or fit in the vehicle i get. I have actually done this before with the xterra (twice with it actually) and only needed a uhaul for a couple of hours as my brother's father-in-law's truck suddenly became unavailable when I needed it. That's why i'm still considering a truck, but again with the sexy i reallly only like the dakota and frontier interms of styling.

 

[Desdinova]

Them's fightin words for a mazda guy you know, the mazda 3 has very little in common with the Focus in America, at least for now. Although if you mentioned the European focus...

Yeah. You're right. They don't share engines, transmissions, suspension parts, platforms, etc

And no, Mazda has had zero input into Ford's small car programs of the past 15 years.


Just keep saying this over and over again and you might convince yourself its true.

 

[Desdinova]

I would never get a minivan. I'm 30 and single. Besides I test drove an Aztek, which is built on a minivan platform, and there is way too much body lean for me. Everytime i turned it felt like i was tipping over.

The Baja is about the only subie i'd consider or maybe an impreza, i have never liked the styling of the forester and let's face it guys if we're not driving something we find sexy we don't take care of it.

As for the moving of furniture. I will be moving several times in next 5-10 years and would like to be able to move mystuff without needing to rent a uhaul. I won't be getting any furniture that can't be broken down or fit in the vehicle i get. I have actually done this before with the xterra (twice with it actually) and only needed a uhaul for a couple of hours as my brother's father-in-law's truck suddenly became unavailable when I needed it. That's why i'm still considering a truck, but again with the sexy i reallly only like the dakota and frontier interms of styling.

Buy what you want and need WITHOUT the need to haul furniture.

Then add a trailer hitch to that vehicle and rent a Uhaul Trailer for when you move.


Makes no sense to paint yourself into the corner with a vehicle you will only use the capabilities of twice per year.

 

[nole1]

My only recommendation would be to go out to several lots and see what they have to offer. If you find a vehicle you like, tell them you have about $2,000 to put down with shabby credit and were wondering the costs/month. See what they say the price will be. You never know what you mind find. You might think you don't like a certain car right now but sitting in it and taking it for a spin might change your mind.

Just my opinion, but you seem to have pretty strict standards for your financial situation. Why not buy a beater that gets you from A to B that still has plenty of room for you to haul stuff (volvo or something along those lines)? Might be able to pick up a '95 or so for around (or under) your $2,000 mark. Drive it for a few years, get your credit back in order, then go get a decent car from a real lot. Not one that will rip you off and is hiding vehicle problems from you.

 

[LiveOak]

I have an '01 Durango that I bought new and it has given me absolutely no trouble.

I would go for an '03. That is the last year for the 1st gen body style (which I love). You could probably get one for a very good price. But, even if you go for a 2nd gen model, go with the 4.7 Magnum engine and avoid the 5.9. Excellent engine and plenty of power.

The Durango is just right for what you stated size-wise. You can get three rows of seats, but not as mammoth as an Expedition or Excursion.

 

[Big Kev]

Them's fightin words for a mazda guy you know, the mazda 3 has very little in common with the Focus in America, at least for now. Although if you mentioned the European focus...

As for the other's I'd highly recomend to stay away from the chrysler products, jeep, durnago etc, all have many known issues for durability.

Subaru forester was mentioned which is a good choice, just make sure that it either has had the head gasket replaced or that the head gasket is still in good shape as many of the subbies with that engine have head gasket issues, which is about $1500-2k to fix, but that is really the only issue that they have.

I know you ruled out chevy's but have you looked at an equinox? They've had some pretty good reviews and reputations.

Ok Mazda guy. With the exception of the Jeep, Chrysler products had issues. I have a 99 Cherokee with over 200,000 miles and very few issues, and I know many others like mine.

I do not like Ford products but they are getting better in current years. Mazda is a good choice. But I am not a big fan of Japanese products. I think they are over priced for what they are. Subaru can be good but from what I have seen they can be expensive to fix.

If you are trying to save some money. I would look American, and some thing that you can do the majority of the maintenance on. Jeep stopped making the Cherokee in 2001, so finding one in good shape with low miles might be difficult. The Grand Cherokee is a little more expensive to fix and maintain. If look at one look for the 4.0 litre straight 6 engine, the V-8 is good but they do not have the same reliability of the straight 6.

 

[tripper]

i would reccomend you find a low miles late 90's cherokee with a 4.0L Inline 6 Engine.

First of all they are really cheap. Second of all, they will outlast any toyota or honda out there. Parts are cheap.

I just sold mine at 220,000 to buy a smaller car and regret it. Whatever i save in gas ultimately goes to repairs. My step dad has an inline 6 series and he has 275,000 on his. I've seen a ton at junk yards with close to 400,000


insurance is cheap on these, so is tax. parts used or new or cheap. and it's easy to work on, any idiot can do basics on it.

find one with 150,000 on it you'l probably pay about 2000. Spend another 1000 on it putting fresh parts on it to make it drive like a new vehicle, if thats important to you. and for 3000 -5000 max, you'l have a vehicle you can easily put another 100K,
wont pay jack on insurance, will never really have to fix except things that natural wear out. its gets about 21 in the highway in my past experience. and the 4.0 has hella pickup.

Lemme put it this way, i had it at 160K and drove it my all junior and senior year in highschool. I think it got maybe 1 oil change. when i sold it at 220 6 years later the damn thing still purrrrrrred. But it needed all new suspension (orginal leaf springs and such) and i wanted something more efficient. I save about 60 a month in gas, but isnt worth it.

 

[tripper]

also another dependable low cost option is the PT Cruiser. they have allmost no resale value, so you can pick up a nice one for a couple thousand or so. They' run a long time if they are maintained well. find one with low miles. At 160K mine is looking like it should easily make it to 200K. insurance is cheap, because they have no little value and low HP and such. Doesnt quite have the pickup youd like for driving aggresively in I-95 D.C. traffic, but won't let you down either. Theres a turbo model with more HP. The transmissions can go bad, but the one i have was replaced by the previous owner and it was a rental car before that so it probably got the snot knoked out of it.

look on craigslist. avoid honda and toyota they are overpriced and the realiability of them is so overblown. used car dealerships will sell you a band-aid car for thousands more what its worth. They just buy their cars at acution and put them on the lots. Get it from someone who's had the title for many years, and actually had vested interest in taking good care of it.

Realiability relies on the driver, not the car. Any car goes's 200K with some basic maintence. As always, get the Haynes Repair manual.

 

[Jfunk]

From your list, I would go for the Vibe/Matrix.

I have been a mechanic for 12 years. I worked on Dodge/Chryslers for two years, Saturn/GM for seven, and now work on Toyotas. Toyota truely makes one of the best cars on the road. The Matrix is just a Corolla station wagon, which is to say it is a proven design that is easy to fix and parts a plentiful. While they tend to retain there value, making them more expensive up front, the solid engineering will save you a ton of money in the long run.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bristlingbeardofodin]

not on your list, but should be, is a subaru legacy or outback wagon. Superb reliability, all wheel drive.

As for the furniture, if this is your business to move furniture, none of these are good at it, you want a panel van for that. If you are occasionally moving large things like furniture, i'd recommend a decent trailer rig. Otherwise you will likely be driving around an empty pickup or suv and burning plenty of extra fuel for no reason.

You can prove this to yourself in an hour. If you count the pickups/suvs that pass a particular spot on a street that are carrying cargo compared to those that are not, you'll see how many are being driven simply as transportation, when something much more efficient would do that job.

+1

 

[kazeshini]

Hi guys sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I've been dealing with a minor crisis stemming from a semi-inaccurate item on my credit report. I owned a home that went into foreclosure in Oct 2006, I sold it and paid the mortgage off, but they continued to report it to credit bureaus as in foreclosure with a $0 balance due for some reason, then reported that foreclosure proceedings were began again in Oct. 2009. Even though 2 of the 3 major credit agencies reflect the inaccurate foreclosure information all three still report the status as paid. So the dealership I want to purchase from is giving me a hard time as no one, including the rep from Transunion, can quite make out what the deal is with the reporting on the mortgage.

Anyway, about the vehicle. There is a Jeep cherokee near by me for sale that I could buy out right next friday, but haven't been able to get a hold of the owner to find out what year and other info on it. another dealer in my are offered to let me do a buy here pay here on a 1996 explorer sport with 2500 down on a 3995 price. at the moment I'm leaning Explorer/Tribute/Xterra, but the dealership I mentioned earlier has 5-10 cars on my list on their lot and has 5 other lots in the area that have just about every other vehicle on my list which they would bring over to their lot for me if i desired it.

What do you all think of the Explorer '96, '99 or '01 2 door Sport model? My cous has had two of the 4 door models, a '93 I think, and an '03. The first one blew it's tranny at 70000 miles and 130000 miles, $2000 repairs each time. Now he says he's getting the same feeling from the tranny on the 03 as he did before, it's closing in on 70000 again. Could be the quality of transmission, but sounds like it could also be the way he drives it that is wearing it out like clockwork.

Thanks for your thought and opinions again.

P.S. I'm still considering trucks, dakota, frontier and tacoma. the open bed is appealing, but the vehicle brings with it a transfer, raise, and promotion, however i will likely have to transport daily up to 5 foreign exchange students that are part of a program my company is involved in.