Need your help guys. My girlfriend wants to give her 05 Accord to her daughter and replace it with a car/SUV that can comfortably fit 3 in the back for our kids. Doesn't have to be new and either some width or a 3rd row (preferred) would be ideal. Don't really want to buy new so setting budget at like $15,000. I've seen mostly Compass, Journey, Explorer at this price and no older than '13.

Now I have to check with her on her mileage because she may lease something new to at least keep the payments low but I gotta really sharpen my knowledge of lease terms.

My best friend's dad runs finance at a Kia dealer but the salesmen sometimes try to be sneaky anyways so I'd like to be educated. But he won't kill me on the finance terms.

Thank you!

 

have you looked at the honda and toyota offerings? I have also heard that the hyundai Santa Fe is nice too. We are looking at new Rav4 and the like right now for my wife

 

Santa Fe is actually nice.

Don't think you can find a 13' Explorer for 15k.

You can find a 12' Sorrento for around 15k and they're are not bad. Although, I would go 13+ on them because styling.

I shopped heavy on SUV last year and ended up with a 15' Explorer XLT with every upgrade you can think of. I love it, I don't regret the purchase at all.

If I was able to afford a GC SRT-8, I would have went for that.

 

I wouldn't wish a Compass or Journey on my worst enemy and neither will comfortably fit three across in the back seat.

Is the 13 or newer a hard requirement? If you can go down to 2010 or newer, you should be able to find a Pilot for ~$15k. Other option is a 4Runner if you can find a base model.

 

^Awww yes, 4 Runner would be excellent.

 

Pilot, Traverse, Rav4, CRV, Equinox...

 

Good luck finding one for 15K, I was looking at them too but one of the best values I saw was an 07 with 160K for $13,800

 

So pretty much a brand new one then, just past the break in period. Should be good to go.

 

Lol exactly

 

RDX Elite

 

Think I saw CR-V's. Do you recommend them?

Would love a Santa Fe but I think it's slightly out of bounds. My best friend had one but upgraded to an Odyssey for kids. Sadly gf won't go for minivan

Would like to stay newer. Are '10 Pilots prone to tranny issues? Went through that with my old '00 Accord V6.

So you'd recommend all 4? Aren't we ragging on bowties in the Today thread?

 

I think those issues were resolved with the 07+ Acuras and 08+ Hondas.

Edit to add: Subaru outback is also a good potential option.

 

^But then my gf will turn gay But really, is it hard to fix Subarus with their flat 4's? Do parts cost more? I've only owned Hondas and one Mercury.

 

Nope not all that much harder. Most of the accessory stuff is on top of the motor while doing things related to the motor (spark plugs, coils, wires, etc) will need to be done from below.

The non-STi motors (STi motors blow piston rings) and non-WRX transmissions (WRX trans blow all kinds of parts) from that era are rock solid.

Edit: Doesn't cost any more.

Edit again: This is why you see so many old Outback wagons on the road today. Also, maybe the gf will allow you to play with her gf too.

 

Not sure your budget would accommodate, but we got a '13 Ford Flex SEL last year for a bit over 20k. Fantastic driver & tons of space.
You might be able to find a 11 or 12 EcoBoost for a bit over your budget. 2013 was the MMC for the Flex.

 

Sister in law got a 2010 flex for like 13k. It's standard as hell though.

 

My friend had a Flex and traded to a Pilot. She loves both but says the Flex had better utility. Is Ford still found on the road dead?

 

Ford has turned around. But I wouldn't go below a 2013 Ford.

 

Ours has 50k on it, no noticeable fit/finish issues. But, it looks like it was owned by a single (no kids) owner that just put highway miles on it.
IMO, the 2013+ Flex looks much better than the 2009-2012. Especially with the appearance package on a white Flex

 

We got a '15 CRV EX 2WD at invoice six months ago. The current gen came out in 2012, but 15 added some new tech and different bumpers.

Overall, we love it. We have 12k on it, and it's been the perfect car.

 

i don't really like most of the domestic offerings, but the flex is a nice vehicle. If you decide on a 4 cylinder subaru, plan on a head gasket in the future. They have never seemed to fix that issue after 20-30 years.

 

I had my '03 Pilot with ~180k miles on it when I sold it, shit was awesome. One of the only cars I legitimately regret selling If 2013 or newer isn't a hard requirement, I'd seriously look into them.

 

2013+ rav4?

 

I was about to pull the trigger on a 16 Explorer limited and then switched course on an MDX when i realized a friend of a friend would give me a very strong price

 

No 13's at/under $15k

 

Had a 15 RAV4 as a rental a few months ago. It was terrible in every way. CRV is much much better.

 

elaborate please...was strongly considering one

 

It's super cheap feeling on the inside. All the plastic looks fake, the fake CF trim is tacky, the seats are uncomfortable, the cabin is dark, it has no power, the suspension is soft/floaty, the steering has zero feel, the overall interior build quality sucks, lots of panel gaps and noisy rattles, the engine is overwhelmed to move that much weight, etc...

The only saving grace is that the fuel economy is decent, I got like 30ish over 500 miles of mixed driving.

My rental was a lower end LE model but I had looked at the Limited when I was shopping for my Jeep and dismissed it in about 30 seconds for the same reasons. You can get a Cherokee Limited for about the same price as a RAV4 Limited, the Jeep will blow the Toyota out of the water for overall performance, driving feel, and quality all while being able to somewhat go off road (non-TH) and do some serious off road (TH model, though more expensive).

If I was dead set on a Japanese compact SUV, I'd buy the CRV Touring over all else. If I wasn't set on make, I would (and did) buy the Jeep.

 

Thanks for the heads up, are you concerned about long term reliability on the Jeep?

 

Not really. I have a lifetime warranty for the powertrain through the dealership I bought it from and also plan on getting the factory extended warranty (~$1500 for 7y/120k bumper to bumper) so I don't really care if anything goes wrong.

I have nearly 9k on the clock and have had zero mechanical issues. Only other issues were a loose connector on the coolant temp sensor (day one issue from the factory, was fixed in 30 seconds), getting the recalls done, and a failed door speaker. All covered under warranty and nothing that wouldn't possibly happen on a Toyota.

IMO, the biggest benefit of the Jeep is the overall quality and the fact that you can get a V6 that can tow 4500lbs if you want to. FWIW, it does tow as advertised since I've done it.

 

In the search seeing a lot of Nissan Rogues and Jeep Patriots? Experiences?

 

Rogue, maybe, though I'm not too partial to Nissan overall.
Patriot/Compass, not a chance. Had them as rentals before, not something I'd want to drive every day.

 

The Patriot/Compass are some of the crappiest new cars on the market today in my opinion. Equivalent to the Dodge Caliber. You'd be better off getting something slightly older.


The Rogue is a nice car though.

 

Stay away from any jeep other than grand cherokee/wrangler - they have their share of issues but do have a higher build quality than anything else that company is putting out.

If you're going to buy used I think you should stick to the Japanese brands. There's a reason they command a premium price regardless of age/mileage. They're simply built better and last longer. Morons on the internet can argue all day long about how great brand X has gotten, or how brand Y has turned around their reliability, but at the end of the day the industry has spoken, and the reason Toyota and Honda carry a higher resale value is because they last a hell of a lot longer outside warranty than the competition. Good luck with your search. Obviously if you go the lease route, get whatever you like best and forget about long-term reliability.

 

Compass and Patriot suck, I wouldn't recommend either. They are both being phased out after MY16. I put the Rogue in the same category as the RAV4 but I've never driven one and can't say for sure.

As someone who has a Charger, it's surprising to see you not recommend the Jeep. Anyway, a lot of the early on issues (transmission) have been resolved and the 15+ models don't really have any problems. There are people who have 40k on their Cherokees already and don't report any issues though time will tell what happens as we get further into the miles.

Toyota and Honda are for sure going to be more reliable though the gap isn't really what it used to be. And for the difference in quality and performance...it was a chance I was willing to take. Additionally, resale is based on the past and there isn't much of the past to judge on with the newer cars that have turned it around.

Wrangler is solid and a lot of fun but it's a terrible road car, noisy, uncomfortable, inefficient, and expensive for what it is. As I get more into off road driving, I may pick one up but if my initial points get you down, I would go away from the Wrangler.

The GC is more expensive but an overall better vehicle. I still sometimes wish I would have gotten one but it was ~$8k more for the similarly equipped GC over the Trailhawk.

 

18k on my wife's Cherokee ltd and its been fine

14k on my durango rt and I still love it

 

^Sadly not in the price range

 

I play the lease game, and never plan to buy a car again. If I had to, it would be Japanese. As for my Jeep comments, I live quite close to the Belvidere plant in IL and have had the pleasure of conversations with some of the employees, as a result I would never buy any of the lower end jeep models.

 

^ Yes and that's where the Compass/Patriot/Dart are made.

The Cherokee is made in Toledo right alongside the Wrangler and the GC is made in the Detroilet.

 

Hamtramck, MI...Detroit suburb.

Detroit...while it has its problem, is actually a very cool place. I enjoyed my time there.