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2018 Buying/Selling/Trading a Car Thread

tigerswood

tigerswood

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Somehow, unless the search function is broken, there isn't a thread on buying a new or used car. What can anyone tell me or recommend about the 2016-17 Explorer, Grand Cherokee, or Durango? Was originally looking at a Yukon or Tahoe, but it's hard for me to justify spending that much extra cash. Any "car guy" referrals in/around Charlotte would be appreciated as well.

Also, my current car (2010 Explorer Eddie Bauer) is pretty dinged up on the exterior after a couple minor accidents (unreported) and I'm wondering if I should pay to get it fixed before trying to trade it, or just save the money/hassle and get rid of it as is. Thoughts?
 
Well, I typed "car" into the search titles bar and it returned zero results. Seemed fishy. Mods, feel free to delete.
 
Had a 2017 Grand Cherokee for about a month and really liked it. Have no idea what it's like from a reliability perspective, but the Limited I had drove very smooth, got pretty good gas mileage (at least on the highway), had really soft leather, and had pretty much every bell and whistle you could ask for (the remote starter and auto turn on of the heated seats and steering wheel were pretty nice in the cold). The size was exactly what I was looking for. Overall, I was impressed.
 
I don't think the search function picks up words that are 3 letters are less.
 
Don't know about the recent models but I bought an '02 Durango new and still drive it. Very reliable and I will keep it until it dies - I am thinking it has plenty of life left, maybe 10 years. I might buy a Ram 2500 truck based on my experience with Dodge. I have also owned Grand Cherokee. They are very nice vehicles until you get to 100k miles - then not so much. (Anecdotal, but that is my experience and the experience of several other people I have talked to about them). Bought my daughter an '04 Liberty and the experience has been much like a Grand Cherokee. New transmission and several other lesser failures within the last few months. (We have a '15 Wrangler Unlimited that we love so I am not completely anti-Jeep but I will stick to the Wrangler line from here forward).
 
I'm (hopefully) finishing up big boy school soon and getting a Real Job and, with it, would like to replace my happy puppy of a 2004 Forester manual with something newer.

Parameters: <150k miles, <$17k-ish, auto or manual, 4WD sufficient for forest roads or snowy mountain passes, not a slug, not going to bankrupt me.

Thus far, I've landed on the later model 3rd-gen RAV-4 with the V6 (pretty much a unicorn for the time), i.e. a 2010-2012 RAV-4 Sport V6 4WD.
Example

Or a later model 3rd-gen Outback 3.6R (post-facelift 2013-2014).
Example

Anyone have any experience with these models or any suggestions for vehicles I may have overlooked? The newer Toyotas dropped the V6 and the newer Subies switched to CVT, both of which turn me off. I know there are other sporty options out there, such as a similar vintage of RDX or 325xi wagon, but that are likely smaller, spendier, or otherwise lacking in some manner. Curious to hear any opinions.
 
I bought a 2017 Mazda CX3 Grand Touring AWD with 72k miles for about $15-16k just after covid lockdown started. Smaller than what you mentioned but definitely a fun car to drive and good value for money in my opinion. Gets pretty solid gas mileage as well.
 
ipitytheblue said:
I'm (hopefully) finishing up big boy school soon and getting a Real Job and, with it, would like to replace my happy puppy of a 2004 Forester manual with something newer.

Parameters: <150k miles, <$17k-ish, auto or manual, 4WD sufficient for forest roads or snowy mountain passes, not a slug, not going to bankrupt me.

Thus far, I've landed on the later model 3rd-gen RAV-4 with the V6 (pretty much a unicorn for the time), i.e. a 2010-2012 RAV-4 Sport V6 4WD.
Example

Or a later model 3rd-gen Outback 3.6R (post-facelift 2013-2014).
Example

Anyone have any experience with these models or any suggestions for vehicles I may have overlooked? The newer Toyotas dropped the V6 and the newer Subies switched to CVT, both of which turn me off. I know there are other sporty options out there, such as a similar vintage of RDX or 325xi wagon, but that are likely smaller, spendier, or otherwise lacking in some manner. Curious to hear any opinions.
Click to expand...

Haven’t researched as you likely have, but those both seem to be good cars, good value. If these two examples are representative of what’s out there, I’d probably go with the outback…three years younger, 30 k fewer miles, similar price. Unless you really want something that looks more like an SUV. Or if upon closer inspection and test drives you just really prefer the RAV-4.
 
ipitytheblue said:
I'm (hopefully) finishing up big boy school soon and getting a Real Job and, with it, would like to replace my happy puppy of a 2004 Forester manual with something newer.

Parameters: <150k miles, <$17k-ish, auto or manual, 4WD sufficient for forest roads or snowy mountain passes, not a slug, not going to bankrupt me.

Thus far, I've landed on the later model 3rd-gen RAV-4 with the V6 (pretty much a unicorn for the time), i.e. a 2010-2012 RAV-4 Sport V6 4WD.
Example

Or a later model 3rd-gen Outback 3.6R (post-facelift 2013-2014).
Example

Anyone have any experience with these models or any suggestions for vehicles I may have overlooked? The newer Toyotas dropped the V6 and the newer Subies switched to CVT, both of which turn me off. I know there are other sporty options out there, such as a similar vintage of RDX or 325xi wagon, but that are likely smaller, spendier, or otherwise lacking in some manner. Curious to hear any opinions.
Click to expand...

Is that the @DeacInVermont bat signal?
 
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The girlfriend has a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek that is pretty fun to drive and has room for 3 big dogs when we travel.
 
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