a good svu for a girl?

i kinda like ford escapes and i really like 4-runners...any other ideas would be appreciated :-D thanks.

1/17/2006 12:08:21 AM

4 runners are nice. toyota will treat you good.

i know a couple people with 4 runners. if you treat the car well, then it will last

1/17/2006 12:09:44 AM

4runners will ride like trucks.. I figure you might want something a little more car-like in terms of ride quality

1/17/2006 12:23:29 AM

i've got an suv for you

1/17/2006 12:26:14 AM

^^any ideas?

^haha

1/17/2006 12:26:51 AM

we need pics of you before a decision can be made. kthnx

1/17/2006 12:27:53 AM

best i can do.

1/17/2006 12:36:57 AM

A jeep cherokee.

Newer model.

1/17/2006 12:37:11 AM

none, unless you have a good reason for having an SUV


cars do a helluva lot better job of being cars than SUVs do

1/17/2006 12:37:41 AM

word

1/17/2006 12:40:34 AM

Quote :

"cars do a helluva lot better job of being cars than SUVs do"

omg but they make me feel so safe lol

1/17/2006 12:41:03 AM

i dont want a car.....i have a 323i BMW i've had it for 5 years and any maintance on it is super expensive so since my dad pays the bills he told me to get something new...and i've always wanted an svu...

he (my dad) has a denali xl and that's a little too big i think but like i said i want an svu not a car.

1/17/2006 12:42:15 AM

your money, but you are basically saying "i need to drive nails, but i want a screwdriver, not a hammer...not for any particular reason--just because i want a screwdriver"

1/17/2006 12:45:40 AM

yea ok...thanks a lot guys guess i'm on my own

1/17/2006 12:47:14 AM

i'm not trying to be an asshole...but you wanted the opinions of people who are "in the know", and, well, there you have it.



4-Runners are pretty close to indestructable from what i've seen.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 12:51 AM. Reason : asdf]

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 12:51 AM. Reason : Escapes are totally gay and completely worthless]

1/17/2006 12:49:31 AM

what is wrong with either of the vehicles i like?

{escape and 4 runner}
and i only asked if you had more suggestions of vehicles. until just now i never asked what you thought about the cars just for ideas.


edit:: the escape is kinda plain the main reason i looked at it is b/c they had a hybrid which would help as far as gas.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 12:53 AM. Reason : posted at the same time]

1/17/2006 12:52:14 AM

Get a jeep!

Seriously.

Ford escape isn't a terrible call, really, but ford's always got the problem of falling apart after 5-7 years.

You could easily get a nice jeep cherokee with low miles that'll last you for a long time.

If you want new, I guess a Liberty wouldn't be a bad thing to look at either (I'm assuming you're not going off-road with this car).

Don't get anything from Toyota or Honda (or their luxury counterparts).

Stick with a "Compact" SUV (like the ones you have been looking at).

Edit: Don't get an escape hybrid just because it saves on gas. If you were really concerned about gas you'd be driving around in a little civic.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 12:56 AM. Reason : ]

1/17/2006 12:55:30 AM

you'll be alot better off getting a crossover suv like an escape. from what you've posted so far, it doesn't sound like you need and suv for towing, off road use, or any "real" utility. i had a decent amount of seat time (~2-3k miles) in an escape last year. it surprisingly really impressed me for what it is. did everything with it from driving across the mojave desert to running 90-100 through LA. maybe consider a toyota rav4 also? that brings toyota reliability/build quality that alot of manufacturers don't.

1/17/2006 12:56:00 AM

^^you talk about a ford falling apart in 5-7 years, yet reccomend a jeep? riiiight...

1/17/2006 12:56:45 AM

sport vehicle utility

that being said
i like the new 4 runner they ride nice and are kinda quick
the new xterra is pretty cool too.

don't get a honda... they are cars with big bodies on them thats all
unless you get that ridgeline... its pretty cool

if daddy's got the bling get a land rover... any of them (new)

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 12:58 AM. Reason : ^ good point i love jeeps but unless you want to work on your car don't get one ]

1/17/2006 12:58:06 AM

the smaller lexus is okay, get a used one

and i second the 4 runner if you dont wanna spend the money

1/17/2006 12:58:37 AM

rav4's arent bad...thanks :-D

1/17/2006 12:59:10 AM

nothing is wrong with a 4-Runner. they're great vehicles. You're just asking it to do a job that it isn't totally suited for, compared to dozens of other vehicles. If you had to tow a trailer, or go off-road, or drive through deep snow on a regular basis, or a combination of the above, it would be just the ticket.

however, to drive around town or on the highway, well, yeah, it can DO it, just like i can drive a nail with a screwdriver if i really have to, but it's a big compromise, because it can do all that other stuff.

a car doesn't have all kinds of things working against it to make it a half-assed around-town vehicle. your BMW is like the gold standard of good all-around, does every thing pretty well, daily driver car. (it might be worn out, but you understand what i'm saying)




an Escape is worthless. It's a tall car--not a truck. It can't do any of the "truck" things that, say, a 4-Runner can do, but it isn't as good at doing "car" stuff as a normal car is. I mean, really, BigBlueRam is right--it's a better vehicle than a 4-Runner for what you will use it for, but still not very good at all...if I'm gonna have something that doesn't drive worth a damn, I at least want something in return!

Quote :

" the escape is kinda plain the main reason i looked at it is b/c they had a hybrid which would help as far as gas."

i haven't looked into hybrids much, but how much more expensive is it than the regular one (market price--what they are actually selling for--not just MSRP)? you might be able to buy a whole helluva lot of gas for the price difference. Also, do you still have to replace those expensive batteries every so often? Check into that. Is it slow, or is it comparable to the regular version?


Or you could just get a car, which would get better gas mileage than an SUV, while certainly driving much better, and likely being cheaper to operate in terms of tires, INSURANCE, etc.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:05 AM. Reason : asdf]

1/17/2006 12:59:34 AM

the little lexus is a really nice rav4 with a bigger motor

1/17/2006 12:59:41 AM

money isnt really the prob. since my dad's paying and not me :-) and i'm hoping to save him some money on tution next year.

i LOVE the lexus suv's only second to the BMW suv's however i wondered if any maintance work would be just as expensive as my car now...b/c that would defeat the point of getting a new vehicle.

1/17/2006 1:00:58 AM

^^^seriously, drive an escape... you might be surprised. it performed better than alot of "real" suv's i've driven. i was especially surprised at it off road.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:02 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2006 1:02:24 AM

Well, the jeeps we've got so far with good maintenance records were fine. The one we got with a shitty maintenance record and an unreported wreck had some problems that were hard to detect (due to shitty mechanics, mostly), but it was still cheaper to buy and repair than the other cars (which were all fords) that we'd had before that. Once the shit that was broken on it was fixed, it was reliable as could be until I got the one I have now. This one is an '00 with 94k miles on it, it was driven on the highway, has perfect maintenance records, one owner, and was garaged. It still hasn't had any problems even though I treat it like shit (city driving, sporadic driving).

We've also gone through a lot of fords. They all fall apart after that period of time.

Plus cherokees are cheap and everywhere. If she can get a new car than she can afford to buy a well maintained cherokee.

1/17/2006 1:02:30 AM

get a used toyota / lexus or honda / acura

thats my opinion

1/17/2006 1:02:42 AM

lexus =toyota = rarely brake but when they do its not as bad as a bimmer but not good either.

1/17/2006 1:03:11 AM

i like jeep cherokee's too i guess i didnt really think about it cuz i only saw one i liked today...it was used and looked like somebody waxed it with nails...


anyways...with Lexus suv's would i be able to take it anywhere if something goes wrong or only to a dealer?

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:06 AM. Reason : answered]

1/17/2006 1:05:38 AM

hahah my dads ranger lasted for 300,000 miles and was still goin... it had a pretty severe valve tick but it still moved.

fords aren't that bad.

jeep automatic transmissions blow... if one hasn't broken on you yet... just wait it will
the 4.0 is pretty stout i've had to go to 150k miles w/ no probs before i sell them.
i don't know anything about the rest of the motors. but 4/4 people with auto jeeps for a significant amout of time have had transmission problems.


i have a 1999 cherokee 5 speed and have had no problems w/ anything on it... and its pushin 150k miles now

1/17/2006 1:07:56 AM

Well, if maintenance costs/repairs are going to be a concern, and you're going to have this car until it breaks, then go japanese.

Some of the Lexus SUVs do look pretty slick, although it's not really my thing.

Which lexus SUV were you looking at?

^ We've got a 1993 Cherokee Sport 2dr 4.0L with an automatic that's got about 220,000 miles on it that my brother beats the living shit out of. He probably did get lucky, as I don't believe that he's done any major maintenance on the tranny besides putting in some different fluids.

Oh yeah, as far as fords go, I'm talking mainly about the automatic transmissions. A stickshift in a ford looks to be pretty reliable, an automatic always seemed to give us problems once it hit about 70,000. My brother had a ford probe that just gave him all sorts of shitty problems (I know, it's basically a mazda), but that was another turnoff. An escape v6 with a stick would probably work pretty well.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:09 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:11 AM. Reason : ]

1/17/2006 1:07:59 AM

anything short of an exotic or something can be taken somewhere besides the dealer. specialty shops are becoming more and more common. with dealerships increasingly treating their good techs like dirt, these shops are getting some very well qualified people.

1/17/2006 1:08:22 AM

prob. the RX

1/17/2006 1:09:59 AM

Quote :

"jeep automatic transmissions blow... if one hasn't broken on you yet... just wait it will"

in the 4cyl Wrangler, the auto trans is actually the more durable of the two, although until recently they were just 3 speeds.

the AX-5 is a piece. i blew one up while cruising down the interstate at like 110k miles.

1/17/2006 1:10:19 AM

or an escape... i think the mercury escape can come a little better equiped and i've heard rumors of a lincoln

btw the lincoln aviator is BEAUTIFUL on all sides but is bigger and drives a little more trucky

1/17/2006 1:10:20 AM

Quote :

"jeep automatic transmissions blow"

damn it, your constant bs around here is getting really annoying. the aw4 is one of the best domestic autos around. the 999 isn't bad either. plz 2 quit commenting on stuff you have no idea about. it's jeep manuals that are junk (post amc and pre nv3550).

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:11 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2006 1:10:33 AM

yeah, the AX-15 isn't really anything great, either, is it...

still doesn't suck as much as the AX-5

1/17/2006 1:11:58 AM

yea i looked at an aviator today...but when i said money wasnt a prob. i lied i would say it should prob. be around 30,000 and they want 47 for the aviator.

1/17/2006 1:12:17 AM

yeah the ax5 is a pos and so is tha peugot transmission in the carbed jeeps...

but i wouldn't get a 4 popper anyway...

i'll never own a non ohc 4banger just cause it sounds like the perfect prescription to be underpowered.

1/17/2006 1:12:17 AM

Quote :

"yeah, the AX-15 isn't really anything great, either, is it..."

not terrible, but nothing to write home about either. neither come close to the aw4, it's a pretty beastly trans. the nv3550's are very solid too.

1/17/2006 1:14:29 AM

^^^you can buy such a sweet ride for $30,000. Why you would CHOOSE to drive a 4-Runner, Escape, or Aviator on that budget when you have no use for it blows my mind!


^^mine would run about 95-100 on 235/75s...only about 80 on 31x10.50s



[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:16 AM. Reason : sadfsadf]

1/17/2006 1:15:09 AM

well i've been asking for ideas this whole time...obviously i'm not a huge car person...otherwise i wouldnt ask for help....SO GIVE ME SOME FREAKIN IDEAS OR STOP BEING MEAN

btw no foreign.

1/17/2006 1:16:37 AM

yes the aw4 is STRONG
although the shifting tends to get fucked up around 120-150k miles... my sisters did and 4 more guys i wheel with did its not the gears them selves its they hydrolics that run them.


also the transmissions in the v8s ARE ABSOLUTE SHIT!! hence the recal for them shifting into reverse w/ the lever in drive while in forward motion (the one behind the 5.2 and i assume the 5.9 since its just the same thing with a little more beef)



[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:19 AM. Reason : delete useless text]

1/17/2006 1:16:41 AM

Damn. $30k for a new car?

Wait. There are new crossover SUVs hitting the market this year that will probably pique your interest and serve the whole "saving on gas" thing.

Plus you could enjoy the mechanical problems of a first year car.

(Honestly I'd go for a nice sedan for $30k, but if you want an SUV, the RX330 does look like a pretty sweet luxury suv, assuming you don't mind paying a lot to drive it around. But you've got a 30k budget for a vehicle, so I imagine gas prices aren't a problem.)

Quote :

"btw no foreign."

Eh? So does that rule out the lexus? Get the escape then, lol.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:18 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:22 AM. Reason : suv, vehicle]

1/17/2006 1:18:22 AM

Quote :

"btw no foreign"

oh God, why? You are determined to stack the deck against yourself!


BTW, a 4-Runner is Japanese, and so is a Lexus (Lexus is made by Toyota)

PS-it doesn't matter, because there is, in my book, not really any such thing as a foreign or domestic car anymore. Hondas and BMWs are made in America, GMs are made in Mexico...

...Daimler-Chrysler...

Acura is made by Honda, but as far as I know, they're only sold in America

Mitsubishi has been in bed with Chrysler for 20 years...Mazda with Ford (You mean to tell me you'd buy a Ford Explorer but not a Mazda Navajo? They're the exact same truck)...hell, Saab is officially a GM brand now just like Chevy is.

i could go on, but you get the idea.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:23 AM. Reason : asdfasd]

1/17/2006 1:22:18 AM

i smell a troll

1/17/2006 1:23:14 AM

ok foreign was a bad word i should have said european

bmw :-(
mercedes
ferrari lol


my dad is the one that said none of these if it was up to me i would have bought a BMW suv TODAY

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:25 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2006 1:23:40 AM

Quote :

"also the transmissions in the v8s ARE ABSOLUTE SHIT!!"

those aren't jeep transmissions. the main problems were limited to early models. don't jump on the internet bandwagon.

Quote :

"although the shifting tends to get fucked up around 120-150k miles"

that's a pretty respectable age for a late model OD trans to live. i can't think of any OD auto that frequently makes it that long with 0 problems.

Quote :

"btw no foreign."

Quote :

"btw no foreign"

well that makes things easy. with that budget, WJ grand cherokee. hands down. most suv for your money without being too big and not foreign.

1/17/2006 1:25:07 AM

how much does an IS250 go for?

Quote :

"my dad is the one that said none of these if it was up to me i would have bought a BMW suv TODAY"

My dad's owned a 330i and two X5s (along with a Z3 2.5...and an LS-400 and Q-45, for that matter). I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would choose to drive an X3 or X5 over a 3 series simply as a daily commuter. The only reason he does is because he basically gets to write off the entire cost of the car as a business expense.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 1:28 AM. Reason : asdf]

1/17/2006 1:25:57 AM