SUV throwdown....input pls....

Denverdave

Denverdave

Resident Ragamuffin
My wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee has been slowly dying for years now, and is soon to give up the ghost.

We have saved a good sum of money to buy a newer used car for her for cash. Though using cash is a huge PITA so we will put a sizable down payment on it, finance the rest, and pay it off right away. Spending limit is $15,000.00.

So - any experienced input from a Mazda CX5/CX-7 vs Honda CR-V vs Toyota Rav4? At that price we are looking at mostly 2008 - 2011 models - less than 70K mileage. My wife has her eye on a 2011 CX-7 locally if we can get there to look at it before it sells.
 
I'm a big fan of Mazda myself, having had 2 Mazda3s...

My experience with all 3 from a parts perspective is they all come up equal as far as type, costs, and rates of repair...

All things being equal, buy the cleanest, lowest mileage any of the above you can find for a good price...
 
Thanks Dave....

The CX-7 that had the good price.....ends up the price is good because it has hail damage. Extensive hail damage. They managed to not mention that anywhere in the ad copy. :annoyed:
 
@Denverdave I would highly recommend the Lexus RX350.

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I've owned a Lexus SC400, ES300, RX300, and IS250 and you cannot fault the comfort and reliability of team Toyota. I was searching for an SUV that didn't drive like a truck but could still fold down the seats and carry all of my gear to a gig and I could not be happier. I will most likely replace my RX300 with a newer RX.... hopefully I'll be able to afford the RX 350 L which has a slightly longer wheelbase and power second row seats and third row jump seats.
 
Our 2006 Nissan Pathfinder is an amazing vehicle. It's a "real" SUV, and the last Pathfinder to be based on a truck platform. Not to denegrate the more "car like" unibody SUVs in any way, but none of them are really "rugged" like a good solid ladder box steel frame chassis. Even going on 12 years of age, the thing is still very much like new. Aside from the platform wide issue with the radiator/trans cooler that would fail and allow the two fluids to mix... Thereby wiping out the transmission (which was 100% covered by Nissan and all affected models *should* have long since been taken care of on Nissan's dime), it has been absolutely trouble free.

It has boatloads of torque, great storage/passenger room, can take pretty much anything you throw at it, and just keeps asking for more.

It's not particularly economical in the MPG category, but there are certainly worse offenders.

Ordinarily, we'd have likely gotten rid of it 5 or 6 years ago but it's just been too good to us.
 
I've heard some people say that Range Rover engines last forever, and other people say that a Range Rover was the least reliable vehicle they've ever owned. :shrug:

In the past I've owned Jeeps that would run when they had no business running (leaking valves, bad gas, but kept on chugging) but every single other part of the vehicle was falling apart around it... it was like a Zombie truck dropping body parts along the road side. :embarrassed:
 
The thing about Rovers is by the time they get around 100k all the factory installed problems have been mostly fixed. Mine's pushing 222k and in the last 42k I replaced the brake pads and 1 hub. About $150. did the work myself.
 
I love my 2007 Honda Element. They built them up til 2011, and should definitely fall in your price range. It’s not a rugged mountain climbing machine, but it’s functional af around town and the awd is certainly sufficient for camping, mountain biking, and other light adventure.
 
Love my Honda Pilot. Of the ones listed, I would go for the CX7 for size, but as a Honda guy, I know the CR-V would treat you great.
 
bsman said:
I have never owned an SUV.


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I never owned one before buying my CRV in 2010. And that was 27 years of Colorado winters with just FWD and for the most part doing fine. My wife really wants to AWD for winters here, but this winter (so far) I think we have maybe 6" of snow total.
 
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