Getting an SUV for $10-$12K or so

[GasX]

Mutliple pets and a kid mean it is SUV, minivan or station wagon time. For me, SUV is the only option so don't bother with the alternative vehicle types.

Looks like I can get a 2000 with ~60K miles on it in either model. Any other vehicles I should consider?

 

[GasX]

bump - added a poll

 

[zayened]

go foreign...

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: zayened
go foreign...

thanks for the lucid argument

 

[FrustratedUser]

Suburban

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Suburban

Looking to go midsize, so Expeditions, Envoys, Land Cruisers, Yukons, etc... are out.

 

[EyeMWing]

Explorer - or if you dare to stand out while blending in, Dodge/Plymouth Turbo Minivan (88/89). Or both. You can have the van for like $700, vinyl seats, AM/FM casette. If you're in the MD/PA area, I may know where you can get one for $200 (owner dumped it at a shop, couldn't pay, gave them the title. They just want their $200 for fixing it)

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Explorer - or if you dare to think different, Dodge/Plymouth Turbo Minivan (88/89)

Hmmmm, maybe I will buy a Dodge Turbo Minivan and then use the other $11000 in my budget at West Coast Customs pimpin' it out...

 

[ReiAyanami]

how many miles do u normally drive? how much is the new suv hybrid?

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Explorer - or if you dare to think different, Dodge/Plymouth Turbo Minivan (88/89)

Hmmmm, maybe I will buy a Dodge Turbo Minivan and then use the other $11000 in my budget at West Coast Customs pimpin' it out...

Dat ride needs sum 23" Yo!

 

[Gothgar]

yeah, the Eplorer Hybrid, pretty cool little car, the first American made full hybrid right?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Explorer - or if you dare to think different, Dodge/Plymouth Turbo Minivan (88/89)

Hmmmm, maybe I will buy a Dodge Turbo Minivan and then use the other $11000 in my budget at West Coast Customs pimpin' it out...

Put a few grand into the engine and you're driving a rice-eater (and to some extent, a musclecar eater)

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
how many miles do u normally drive? how much is the new suv hybrid?

I commute about 20 miles total a day.

The new SUV Hybrid is
A. a hybrid
B. a Ford Escape (too small)
C. WAY more than my budget

 

[conjur]

Hmm...Chrysler product with 60k miles? Only 40k more miles to a tranny overhaul!

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Explorer - or if you dare to stand out while blending in, Dodge/Plymouth Turbo Minivan (88/89). Or both. You can have the van for like $700, vinyl seats, AM/FM casette. If you're in the MD/PA area, I may know where you can get one for $200 (owner dumped it at a shop, couldn't pay, gave them the title. They just want their $200 for fixing it)

Horrible advice... just horrible...

 

[PricklyPete]

I would go with a Pathfinder. The Grand Cherokee might be tempting based on amenities and engines, but I have had two friends with Grand Cherokees (I think they were both 2001's) and they both had lots of problems. I'm sure there are some decent Cherokees out there...but I think you will have better chances with the Pathfinder.

 

[rh71]

meh Jeep vs. Nissan... interior+exterior... I'd go with the Pathfinder.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Forget the Grand, get a regular old Cherokee. 4.0ltr inline 6 rules! Just get a standard transmission and you are set to go.

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Forget the Grand, get a regular old Cherokee. 4.0ltr inline 6 rules! Just get a standard transmission and you are set to go.

From a pure utilitarian perspective, I would, but ergonomics and WAF are important issues here...

 

[radioouman]

Saturn VUE with the Honda V6. Ugly as sin, but good gas mileage and reliability, and dirt cheap.

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: radioouman
Saturn VUE with the Honda V6. Ugly as sin, but good gas mileage and reliability, and dirt cheap.

Honda engine only available on a 2004 which prices itself out of my range.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Forget the Grand, get a regular old Cherokee. 4.0ltr inline 6 rules! Just get a standard transmission and you are set to go.

From a pure utilitarian perspective, I would, but ergonomics and WAF are important issues here...

Cherokees aren't that great reliability wise either. I'd stick with a Pathfinder/4Runner.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Mutliple pets and a kid mean it is SUV, minivan or station wagon time. For me, SUV is the only option so don't bother with the alternative vehicle types.

Looks like I can get a 2000 with ~60K miles on it in either model. Any other vehicles I should consider?

I resisted the minivan thing for a while, but we finally traded our explorer for a chevy venture. Now that we did, I am really glad. I don't miss that explorer one bit.

 

[NutBucket]

Imagine if you had traded in the exploder for a top-rated minivan:Q

 

[DrPizza]

I've had a regular cherokee and a pathfinder, and the pathfinder sucked compared to the cherokee..
I'd take the jeep any day.
Pathfinder's back end may look roomy, but it's not.
Are you going off road with it?

As much as I loved my 89 cherokee, I much much much prefer my wife's grand caravan over either of those.... I'll even sacrifice the ability to drive offroad with it as a result. (I used to take it deep into the woods when hunting... not any more.)


edit: incidentally, I can haul twice as much with the grand caravan as I could with the cherokee, and quite a bit more with the cherokee than the pathfinder. I had difficulty with the cargo area of the pathfinder for anything like plywood or paneling. I'm not certain how much weight either can hold for cargo... caravan easily wins the volume category, but I abused my cherokee (1/2 ton? 3/4 ton? of cargo) and it did just fine (I weighted it down until the tires were only about 1 inch from the wheel wells... that's a lot of weight. I don't dare abuse my wife's vehicle that way.