Ok here is the deal. I found a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo w/ power everything, leather, power seats, 10 disc CD changer, Infinity Stereo, etc. Has about 34K miles and interior is very clean. Asking price from River Oaks Jeep is $15999. If I trade in my '02 Altima, I will roughly be making the same payment amount ($290/month) for the next 60 months. I could get a pro-rated refund on the 75K mile warranty I bought for the Altima and purchase an 100K mile extended warranty from an outside company for about $1000. PROBLEMS: I will be putting about 30-40K miles on my car a year due to job requirements. Given that estimate, I will be out of warranty and STILL making payments after 2 years of owning the car. Hence I would still have to pay another 3 years on the car even with the 100K mile warrranty (I would like to drive it for at least 3 years). I just cant find anything new that I want in my price range, yet dont want to be screwed in a couple of years..... Basically I am looking for an SUV/Truck that has 2 things: COMFORT - I am going to be on the road all day long. RELIABILITY - I need something that I can tag a **** load of miles on without having to worry about repairs all the time. If its used, I want the miles low. A lot of rambling I know......
get an extended warranty from a third party company. If you have found a mecchanic that you can trust, ask him what he recommends. They make money either way off of it and will most often recommned one that treats the customer right and is not too expensive.
I still don't think you'll be getting a better deal than this on a used car. Anything with less miles will be more expensive.
SUV's get terrible gas mileage and jeeps are not the most dependable cars in the world. Whats wrong with the Altima??
Drewdog, Here is a few cents of mine w.r.t. SUV. I think you really need help based on your SUV thread I drove a Mitsubishi Pajero (Motero in US) for three years from 89 to 92. It drove it offload a lot due to work requirements. During that time I occasionally borrowed a Toyota Landcruiser to take a trip to the beach in a rough environment. I currently drive a 99 4Runner to work for more than 3 years. I also have a 00 LX470 (Landcruiser brother) for about 3 years. Before purchasing my 4Runner, I did some research on the Grand Cherokee, Tahoe, and Pathfinder. So I have some experience in SUVs. It sounds like you want a 15K-20K used SUV that will last you for 5 years of long on-road drive. Take that Grand Cherokee for example. It's at 34K miles now. Given 30K-40K a year, you would expect another 150K-200K miles without significant maintenance cost. My impression is Cherokees won't sustain that kind of beating without mechanical breakdowns. SUVs nowadays fall into three categories: 1. Original SUVs. They are designed from ground up as an SUV platform. That includes Landcruiser, Ranger Rover, Montero, ets. It's a relative short list. Most of them are time-rpoven. IIRC, Montero/Pajero won couple of Safari Raly. Landcruiser has been used by terrorists in the desert. Rovers are loyal. The problem is they are insanely overpriced, except for the Montero. I am not sure about Grand Cherokee. IIRC, its a uni-body design now. For your kind of beating, I would recommend a used last generation Montero with less than 50K miles. I think Montero can sustain 200K-300K miles on-road without major mechanical breakdowns, under timely and proper routine maintenance. 2. Truck based SUVs. Almost all American brand SUVs are in this class. Others are 4Runners, Pathfinder, Tahoe, Cherokee, Explorer, etc. Normally they are rough in on-road driving. An used 4Runner with 50K miles will virtually guarantee you another 150K of on-road driving without major mechanical breakdowns, with the same maintenance routine. 3. Crossovers Crossovers are basically car-based SUVs, including RX300, Highlander, MDX, Passport, Rav4, etc. Aside from brands and images, A used or a new Rav4 will do best in terms of cost/performance. It will virtually guarantee you 200K miles without major troubles. Overall, if you want another 150K-200K out of a 50K used SUV without significant maintenance cost, I would suggest you to stay away from American truck-based SUVs. If you want an SUV with a lot of space, a used 4Runner would be my choice. If you just want your mileage and your comfort, a car-based crossover would be the best choice. As a side note, a lot of truck based 2-wheel drive SUVs have a lot of torque at the rear wheels. On the road, when the road is slippery, rear wheel spinning is quite often. You might put that as a consideration since you drives long on-road trips. Hope my cents can give any help.
Not to mention the fact that the car is falling apart already and it hasnt even been a year. Car wouldnt start, had to have it towed to dealer. Headliner has rattled since day 1 Cheap plastic console wont open Knocking noise from front right strut Squeaking noise from hood I could go on......
What about a brand new Ford F150? Don't know much about it, but you can get new ones for less than what you want to pay for the used Cherokee.
I'm a Ford truck man... that's all i drive... I ain't got no boundaries, I don't compromise... Ain't no doubt my king of the mountain's built FORD TOUGH! who says commercials don't work?
Drew, I have had an IZUZU Rodeo for a little more than 2 years now, and I like very much how it drives and its "look". My parents paid about the price you were looking at for the Jeep for it, considering it was a 2000 model, and they were now selling 2k1's, and then it had slight hail damage on the hood, so it might be a bit more for you. I'm just here to tell all the environmentalists here that I will not be giving up my SUV any time soon, and I think they will be my car of choice for life. And to give you a positive experience feedback report .
I think he may have just gotten a lemon. I've had my Altima for just over a year and haven't had a single problem with it thus far. And I'm certainly not one to ignore squeaks and rattles, etc., either. Oh, and I'm a relatively high-mileage driver, too (roughly 30K miles per year). I guess car experiences aren't universal. Another example, I've heard several people talk about how their Fords were pieces of crap. I've had seven Fords (a Ranger, Escort, Explorer, Mustang, F-150, Topaz, Probe - four of them I got used. The F150, Probe and Explorer I bought new) since I started driving in 1986, all of them were about as problem free as you could expect a car to be.
Actually, speaking from personal as well as professional experience, I would strongly suggest that anyone interested in an extended warranty, NOT get them from a third party, but rather, directly from the manufacturer. Policies on third party warranties are very vague. When being sold, you are made to believe that they cover everything bumper to bumper, but in reality, they do not. In fact, they cover much less than what a factory original warranty covers. Drew, If you are going to put that many miles on a vehicle, I would stay away from expensive vehicles, especially SUVs. When a vehicle starts to get high mileage (more than 12K per year), they depreciate VERY VERY quickly. You will find yourself upside down on the loan/value ratio within a year. Every year after that will just get worse. I drive about 30-40K a year also. One of the best things I did was invest about $4000 dollars on an older, moderate mileage vehicle (I have a 97 Pontiac Grand Am with 58K that I bought for $4000). What I do is, use the vehicle for a year, then trade it in on another older car before the mileage gets too high. The good thing about it is, you are not putting a ton of miles on a new vehicle (and losing value), plus you can still have a nice vehicle and keep it in the garage (I have a 2002 GMC Pickup that I call my "weekend car"). Right now, I only have 3,000 miles on it and Ive already had it a year. Like I said, I dont mind putting alot of miles on my Pontiac because 1) I dont lease it or have a lien on it 2) I know I am going to get rid of it and start all over in a year and 3) When I re-sell it, I really wont loose any money on it. Also, keep in mind that putting business miles on a personal vehicle is tax deductible. I had a $12,000 write off this year on my Pontiac because I put over 35,000 business miles on it.
