Opinions on used SUV's

[Dirty Steve]

Ok, here's the deal. My wife's 1999 Ford Expedition is about to give up the ghost at 190K miles. We bought it when the kids were little and needed to haul lots of stuff and kids around. It was a great vacation mobile, but we just don't need that sized vehicle anymore. One kid is in college and the other will soon be driving. It's mainly just her and I in it.

New vehicle has to have the following:
4WD or AWD - we need it in the winter to get down our lane and to our house
Decent gas mileage - at least better than the Expedition
Smaller size - she has to be able to see out better than the Expedition so she doesn't back into stuff.
No spare tire mount - none on the outside back of the vehicle
Automatic tranny - she can't drive a stick
Mileage - under 60K
Price - under $15K

Here's what she thinks she likes, in no particular order:
Nissan Xterra
Chevy Equinox
Hyundai Tuscon or Sante Fe
Dodge Nitro

You guys know the drill. Get her what she wants and life at home is good. That being said, I have only had Chevy / Ford trucks and her Expedition. Before the Expedition, she had an Isuzu Rodeo, which was a great vehicle. If one of these is a dog or there is something better out there, I'm all ears and open to suggestions. She will keep it to at least 150K miles, so it needs to be dependable and relatively low maintenance.

Dirty Steve

 

[PistolBob]

Here's my two cents on the Dodge Nitro.

No head room, can't see jack out of it, very hard to get a decent field of vision out the back and rear sides. We rented one on vacation this summer and I just hated the way it was laid out. It ran fine, got decent gas mileage, but the ergonomics of the interior were just putrid.

We have a 2006 Durango that we love, but its a V8 Hemi and probably gets only slightly better mileage than your Ford.

 

[pjcalla]

Well, about a year ago, we were in a similar situation (looking for a new car/suv). We test drove everything. We ended up with a Subaru Outback. It's my wife's vehicle, and she absolutely loves it. AWD, 25+ mpg, smaller (but it has great ground clearance), backup camera , auto, etc. Yes, we bought new, but I'm sure if you look around, you can find a used one.

I drive an '05 Nissan Pathfinder. It has been a great suv, with one exception. Apparently, the '05-'06 Pathfinder/Frontier had a radiator problem. It leaked into the transmission. I had an extended warranty to 100k, and at 99.5k I had it into the shop to fix EVERYTHING that was wrong. Well, they didn't find the radiator problem, and at 101k, my tranny started acting funny. Long story short, Nissan knows about the problem, and won't do anything about it. They warrantied the radiator to 80k, but that's it. I ended up putting $1,200 into a new radiator and flushing out the tranny, instead of replacing the tranny for $6,000. I vowed at that time to NEVER buy a Nissan again, and to tell everyone that is considering one my story. The Pathfinder is still going strong, and I will keep it until it completely dies.

As for the Hyundai/Kia line, we found them to be loud on the road. A lot of road noise makes it into the car. We also noticed that they seem to be like little tin cans, cheaply made, thin doors, etc. YMMV.

Can't comment on the others you have listed, but I would say give Subaru a shot. They are made in Lafayette, to boot.

Good luck.

 

[eldirector]

How about a Saturn Vue AWD?

Yeah, its more of a wagon than a truck, but my wife really likes her's.

4WD or AWD - bastard AWD system. Works in front-wheel-only until it senses a slip, then the rear engages. Actually works OK on anything other than ice.
Decent gas mileage - mid-20's or so.
Smaller size - Much smaller than an Expedition, but still seats 4 plus room for stuff.
No spare tire mount - Donut under the rear cargo area.
Automatic tranny - Most are autos
Mileage - Should be easy to find low mileage
Price - They were only 20K new, so should be well in your price range.

Most (all) of the AWDs came with the Honda V6. Peppy little things, and still get decent mileage. Our 2005 has 80K miles with regular maintenance and NO issues at all.

From your list, I would go with the Equinox, then the Hyundais. I know several folks with those, and they have been pretty reliable.

 

[jeremy]

How about the Ford Escape?!

I have one. Had it for almost a decade. Good little SUV. If I was in the Market for another in this small SUV Class I would definitely look at another one.

 

[Ogre]

Of those you have listed, the only real SUV is the Exterra (I consider the others car based crossovers), and of those, would be my recomendation. Other recommendations would be: Pathfinder, 4Runner, exploerer...

 

[$mooth]

How about a Saturn Vue AWD?

Yeah, its more of a wagon than a truck, but my wife really likes her's.

4WD or AWD - bastard AWD system. Works in front-wheel-only until it senses a slip, then the rear engages. Actually works OK on anything other than ice.
Decent gas mileage - mid-20's or so.
Smaller size - Much smaller than an Expedition, but still seats 4 plus room for stuff.
No spare tire mount - Donut under the rear cargo area.
Automatic tranny - Most are autos
Mileage - Should be easy to find low mileage
Price - They were only 20K new, so should be well in your price range.

Most (all) of the AWDs came with the Honda V6. Peppy little things, and still get decent mileage. Our 2005 has 80K miles with regular maintenance and NO issues at all.

From your list, I would go with the Equinox, then the Hyundais. I know several folks with those, and they have been pretty reliable.

That previous gen Vue had the J series V6 that Honda has used since '98 (Accord, Pilot, Odyssey, Ridgeline, TL, TSX, RL, MDX). It's fantastic and since its not rare, its easier to get it worked on (though mine has 10 years and 80k miles and i haven't done anything other than chance plugs, fluids and timing belt.

 

[$mooth]

I do recommend finding a CarMax. I've liked the ability to test drive a bunch of makes and models to play around without driving all around town.

From car forums and friends it seems the consensus for driving in snow rankings are:
1 - AWD/4WD with winter tires
2 - FWD with winter tires
3 - AWD/4WD with all-season tires
4 - RWD with winter tires
5 - FWD with all-season tires
6 - RWD with all-season tires

Here's my take on your list:
Nissan Xterra - fun, not comfy. pretty useful.
Chevy Equinox - the first gen was pretty blah.
Hyundai Tuscon or Sante Fe - the newer ones are decent, I'm not a big fan of quality on previous Hundais (lots of rattles and cheap materials)
Dodge Nitro - I would stay away. This is one of the worst cars I've seen. Really cheap and not very useful.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Excellent feedback guys,...keep it coming!

Dirty Steve

 

[Htrailblazer]

One of my friends recently got a used BMW X5. She loves it. And its beamer, what girl doesnt want one. found this on a quick craigslist search
2003 BMW X5 3.0i 71,650 miles

 

[jetmechG550]

I drive an '05 Nissan Pathfinder. It has been a great suv, with one exception. Apparently, the '05-'06 Pathfinder/Frontier had a radiator problem. It leaked into the transmission. I had an extended warranty to 100k, and at 99.5k I had it into the shop to fix EVERYTHING that was wrong. Well, they didn't find the radiator problem, and at 101k, my tranny started acting funny. Long story short, Nissan knows about the problem, and won't do anything about it. They warrantied the radiator to 80k, but that's it. I ended up putting $1,200 into a new radiator and flushing out the tranny, instead of replacing the tranny for $6,000. I vowed at that time to NEVER buy a Nissan again, and to tell everyone that is considering one my story. The Pathfinder is still going strong, and I will keep it until it completely dies.

This, I had an 05 Pathfinder. It's actually the transmission cooler that cracks internally and the antifreeze & trans fluid mix. Called LKQ and Salvage yards in 8 states trying to locate a tranny with no luck. Ended up taking it somewhere and it took them 3 weeks to find one. Found over 400 pages of complaints online and Nissan choosing to do nothing about it has made me warn anyone considering any Nissan product to run away, run fast and not look back!

One of my friends recently got a used BMW X5. She loves it. And its beamer, what girl doesnt want one. found this on a quick craigslist search
2003 BMW X5 3.0i 71,650 miles

Bimmer, the car is bimmer BMW motorcycles are beamers

 

[harleyindys]

How about the Ford Escape?!

I have one. Had it for almost a decade. Good little SUV. If I was in the Market for another in this small SUV Class I would definitely look at another one.

I gave 2001 Escape has been a wonderful vehicle only problem in 10 years was the alternator .I would buy another in heart beat if I wanted a 4wd.

 

[marshallartist]

As for the Hyundai/Kia line, we found them to be loud on the road. A lot of road noise makes it into the car. We also noticed that they seem to be like little tin cans, cheaply made, thin doors, etc. YMMV.

I'll second that. We just recently got my wife a new car and in the process we looked at Hyundia and Kia. Very noisy and all but the most top end vehicles rode like an old buck-board wagon. Needless to say we were not impressed.

Sounds to me like what you need is maybe a Jeep Compass. There are plenty of 4wd/4cyl/auto Compass' out there on the used lots.

 

[abnk]

I'd look at an X-Terra or FJ-Cruiser.

 

[DaveL]

I have been involved with Hyundai (as well as other makes) vehicles for several years. I won't go into great detail regarding why, but I would support the prior poster who recommended the Subaru Forester as one I would definitely give a long test-drive to. I feel the Hyundais are very, very good long-term & hi-mileage vehicles. With that said, the Tucson and Santa Fe before the latest models do have hi road noise. In general, you can buy a Santa Fe for the same price as a Tucson. Which makes the Santa Fe a better buy. I would also take a good look at the Suburban style (not XL). I suspect it won't get as good mileage as you want, but I am on my third Suburban. My current one has 235,000 miles and I would take it to Arizona tomorrow. My other two have gone over 275,000 before having enough problems to be annoying. I have no experience with fords or Nissans.

 

[Doug]

I would recommend you avoid ALL Saturns.
I asked my mechanic about them. He said their parts are almost all just a little different from all other GM vehicles.The plugs on the alternators are different, bolt patterns on the water pumps, etc. are different. Bottom line, it has to be a Saturn part to fit, and Saturn is out of business.
My .

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Of what you listed... the Dodge Nitro hasn't earned the rankings of one of the worst vehicles for 'nuttin...

I think they're good looking vehicles, but would only drive one if I were FORCED.

You're on the right track with the Equinox, but also add in there the GMC Terrain.

Don't be afraid to look at the Kia and vehicles, either. They're often the value leaders; especially on the used market.

If you're after better fuel economy, the X-Terra won't be a good choice. It's also the only truck-based vehicle on your list...and they ride like it, too.

 

[marshallartist]

I'd look at an X-Terra or FJ-Cruiser.

I love the FJ but good luck finding one for less than $15K. Most of your 4wd models with less than 60K miles are in the low to mid 20's.

 

[pjcalla]

This, I had an 05 Pathfinder. It's actually the transmission cooler that cracks internally and the antifreeze & trans fluid mix. Called LKQ and Salvage yards in 8 states trying to locate a tranny with no luck. Ended up taking it somewhere and it took them 3 weeks to find one. Found over 400 pages of complaints online and Nissan choosing to do nothing about it has made me warn anyone considering any Nissan product to run away, run fast and not look back!

Yep.

I have been involved with Hyundai (as well as other makes) vehicles for several years. I won't go into great detail regarding why, but I would support the prior poster who recommended the Subaru Forester as one I would definitely give a long test-drive to.

Yes, we looked at the Forester too. Actually, when Nissan pissed me off, we were going to buy a new Forester to go along with our Outback. It is safe to say that we will have at least one Subaru in our fleet for life. If you are close to Indy, check out Falcone VW Subaru, if you want to look at the Subaru line:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/96168-falcone_volkswagen_subaru.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/111012-big_1_for_falcone_vw_subaru_saab.html

Falcone Volkswagen Subaru Saab Service is a Indianapolis Saab, Subaru, Volkswagen dealer and a new car and used car Indianapolis IN Saab, Subaru, Volkswagen dealership.

 

[bobzilla]

One of my friends recently got a used BMW X5. She loves it. And its beamer, what girl doesnt want one. found this on a quick craigslist search
2003 BMW X5 3.0i 71,650 miles

You buy a BMW, better take out a second loan for maintenance. You're buying a used, German luxury vehicle. They are not cheap to maintain. $100 oil changes etc....

The Sante Fe is a great vehicle. Be sureto avoid the 2.7L V6 in the early ones though. They sucked.