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Looking to trade-in my old 1999 Nissan Altima for a small used SUV. Problem is, I've been doing so much research that I am completely confused as to what to get.
The contenders are:
Kia Sportage (2005 and up)
Ford Escape
Hyundai Tucson
Honda CRV (I've found a 2002 within my price range, around 78k miles on it).
I've been trying to compare fuel economy with safety and reliability, mileage and year, and I flat-out don't have any clue as to which to get anymore.
Does anyone out there have any strong opinions about which of these cars to get? (or which to avoid?)
I'm looking to only spend around $10k (w/ financing, cash and my trade).
Not sure which would be my first pick out of that list, as they are all used, and all replaced by 'better' versions...fwiw, we had a '03 CR-V from new to this past May. It was my wife's car, but she soon became ambivalent about it with its 3rd world interior, by comparison to most other cars then, and especially now.
We had a litany of problems with it, during warranty, and especially after warranty expired. I have owned several Honda motorcycles, (still have 2, which run better than my Rolex), and have always been impressed with Honda m'cycles, but that CR-V would not be my pick based on my anecdotal experience. My 50Cts...
GL, mD
Not sure which would be my first pick out of that list, as they are all used, and all replaced by 'better' versions...fwiw, we had a '03 CR-V from new to this past May. It was my wife's car, but she soon became ambivalent about it with its 3rd world interior, by comparison to most other cars then, and especially now.
We had a litany of problems with it, during warranty, and especially after warranty expired. I have owned several Honda motorcycles, (still have 2, which run better than my Rolex), and have always been impressed with Honda m'cycles, but that CR-V would not be my pick based on my anecdotal experience. My 50Cts...
GL, mD
Sorry for your bad experience First long time CRV owner I have ever heard to have so many problems. Of the 3 we have had in our family (01, 06, 07) all have been remarkable and like I said before literally maintenence free. Maybe you got a bad apple.
You get the one in the best condition for the best price. No matter what the reputaion of a car is, if the prior owner beat it to hell or ignored maintainance, the reputaion may mean nothing. Having been to asia way too many times and drove those as their own country varients, here's my guess if all things were equal in the soundness of the vehicles.
1. CRV, this is a great car off the line and if in the same condition as the others, will rpobably last the longest with the litteless problems.
2. Tucson, second best since Hyundai went to a lot of engineering to get it to compete favorably with other imports. They still havn't gotten the little things like plastic parts that don;t break too often, but those are easy to fix and the prices for those things are not that bad afterall.
3. Sportage. Similar to Tucson but the engineering wasn't up to the better Hyundai level.
X. Escape, piece of crap. Don;t waste your money. won;t even rate it with a number unless you want to go down to something like #72 on the list.
Many many thanks to the people who read and responded to my query.
I finally made it out to test drive what I thought would be my dream car (had all the bells and whistles I was looking for and what I thought was my price range). It was a 2005 Ford Escape, around 81k mi, for an asking price of nearly $10k.
I drove it for a while and was taken aback by the loudness inside the cabin. I had read that this was an issue for some, so I sort of knew what to expect, but still...Plus I'm not joyful at the 6 cyl thirsty engine. Finally, the last hit was that the salesman explained that the price (though he did drop the price for everything significantly) is till somewhat out of my range, unless I want to put more cash down. Still, it looked nice and clean.
I'm off tomorrow to check out the 2002 CRV. I'm hoping that one works out, as my hopes for a Sportage and Tucson seem to be drying up.
Thanks again for all the input and I'd be happy to receive more!
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First long time CRV owner I have ever heard to have so many problems. Of the 3 we have had in our family (01, 06, 07) all have been remarkable and like I said before literally maintenence free. Maybe you got a bad apple.
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