Ideas on used SUVs

Sapperfire

Sapperfire

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I have to get the lady of the house another car, she was driving a beat to hell 96 Geo Tracker and after the 3rd motor I sold it for $400
she wants an SUV, somthing bigger than the Tracker but not as big as an Expedition
it has to be something "nice" with not alot of mechanical or electrical failures
I'm wanting to keep it newer than 10 years old and under 100k for around $8k

any suggestions on year make models with known probs is appreciated
sorry in advance if this isn't a good place for this thread, but car people know cars
 
You can get a fairly new Ford Escape for that price. My brother bought one for his wife and they love it.
 
I've actually thought alot about the Escape, she won't drive a civilians tank, so any bigger than a mid-size suv is out...
Exploder,Durango ...something like that...I would like -some- power incase I get stuck driving it if my Mark breaks down...and I need decent gas milage, which means no Dodges
 
If you want fuel economy, a 4 cylinder 5-speed Escape is the way to go. If you want "something "nice" with not alot of mechanical or electrical failures" and "like -some- power" then the Explorer/Mountaineer is the way to go. I get over 20MPG in my Mountaineer highway, and 18MPG in mixed driving. It has the 4.6L which I am assuming, since you posted this in the Mark VIII forum, you are familiar with. If you like having leather, heated seats, sunroof, etc. then the easiest option is a Mountaineer, but you can still dig through all the Explorer ads to find an Eddie Bauer. They can be had for well under $8k and under 100k miles.
 
After driving a Geo Tracker, even an Exploder would seem like a civilian tank to your wife! :p The Escape would be more her size.

You can get a V6 in it if you want some extra pep.
 
Damnit Jeremy! You change the damn ammount you want to spend all the damn time! Fugger, she wants a Liberty. Can find a nice Liberty in that range with no problem.


Hey everyone, she wants a Liberty pretty bad. Lets find her a nice one for under that $8000. Gonna have to be a dealer so that will make it a little harder but still dooable.



http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/1728494637.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/1727998201.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/1727848462.html
 
Be careful of sludge with a Liberty! My wife bought a nice looking one that had 50k on it. Needless to say it started running real rough, so we took it back to the dealer. They said it was so filled with sludge that cleaners probably wouldn't even clean it. Make sure to check for that before she buys. Apparently that was a common issue with these engines after I did research on it.
 
Durango r\t
Tahoe
Hhr
Mazda 3 5door
Cherokee sport
Pacifica
Trailblazer (ss would b sweet but not even close to $8k)
Explorer
Mountaineer
Envoy
 
ripped camel said:
Be careful of sludge with a Liberty! My wife bought a nice looking one that had 50k on it. Needless to say it started running real rough, so we took it back to the dealer. They said it was so filled with sludge that cleaners probably wouldn't even clean it. Make sure to check for that before she buys. Apparently that was a common issue with these engines after I did research on it.
Click to expand...
Sludge is a common issue in any engine when proper maintenence isnt done.
 
k9t8m said:
Durango r\t
Tahoe
Hhr
Mazda 3 5door
Cherokee sport
Pacifica
Trailblazer (ss would b sweet but not even close to $8k)
Explorer
Mountaineer
Envoy
Click to expand...
OK, they need to have full coverage on top of the payment. Needs something with a smallish engine as its 90% city driving. Something that can seat both kids comfetably and something that has room to work on.

If you ask Jen what she wants its a Liberty and then a Blazer. She really likes the Liberty but since Sapperfire thinks they look girly he dont want one. Thing is they fit the criteria and its what she wants and is within their meens.


Sapper, if she has a vehicle she really likes then she wont care when you work on your Mark. :)
 
jrherald420 said:
Anything but a Trailblazer....trust me!!!!
Click to expand...

sorry to thread-jack, but...

Why do you say this? I ask because my sister is currently VERY interested in one, and is about to purchase. She's looking at an 07 with the v6 (4.2L IIRC) LT trim, 35K miles.
 
I owned a 03 and it was a gas sucking pig with a mile long list of eletrical problems. The MPG's were 12-13 in town and maybe 16 interstate even after a full tune up and new rubber, the both rear windows quit working due to the wire cable that would lift and lower the window fraying and snapping, the rear window wiper had a short in the wiring and would only turn on when the headlights were on....and stay on the whole time!
The wiring shorted out to the rear window defrost, the wiring harness shorted out to both taillights and when the brakes were on the reverse lights would glow and the turn signal would flash the other light (left insted of right..ect), then one day i went out and found the passanger side taillight smoking!!!!! the whole connector was on fire!!!! All in all it was a new problem every week my wife drove it for the 3 years we had it. I had heard that with the release of the SS most of the wiring problems were fixed but im still seeing them even today. My instructor was a Tech at a GM dealership and said they worked on more Trailblazers than coolant leaks on GM 3.8 engines.
 
LaserSVT said:
Sludge is a common issue in any engine when proper maintenence isnt done.
Click to expand...

Yes, However there was some error that caused excessive sludge build up in these engines. There were guys that had their oil changed every 3k at the dealer and they too had sludge build up really bad. It was a design flaw, I don't remember the facts behind it because it's been about two years but we promptly got rid of the truck once I learned about it. There were people trying to formulate a class action suit because of it, and the guy at the dealership pulled me aside and verified this saying this is common, and it has nothing to do with the maintenance on these cars (implying although poor maintenance usually is the cause, with those cars it was not).

Then if that wasn't bad enough look at the reviews on the new Liberty/Nitro. They get bad ratings across the board.

Just a warning. I loved it had it not been for the sludge. She had a Limited model that had all painted panels and handles. It was jet black with tan leather and chrome jeep rims. It was a beauty. Too bad it had to be a lemon :(
 
After doing some research there is quite allot of talk about a sludge issue.

Well then, get an Escape or OHC Exploder. :)
 
Also stay away from the V6 explorers (the newer body style 2000+ i think) you know the ones that like to snap the timing chain and have the pistons slap the valves silly.
 
Ive had two high mileage OHV 4.0's and they were excellent.
 
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