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Car Gaf: Help me buy a used car (warning: I'll be talking SUV's)

Fbh

Member
First of all I'm not in the US so prices might be different or cars that in the US are in a certain price range might be more expensive here.
Also, based on some other thread I saw lots of people hate SUV's...so you've been warned.

So long story short, me and my dad have a business idea we'll try out later this year. We moved to the countryside and are looking for a car we can both use to move around.
There's a small city with well maintained regular roads but go a bit outside and it starts to look like this :
CL0214EP0914_carretera-austral-caleta-gonzalo-to-chaiten.jpg

We are looking for something decent in size, with 4X4 (not really for off road but for stuff like mud on a dirt road) and enough space for 5 people to fit in somewhat comfortably.
We looked at SUV's and pick ups but ended up deciding on an SUV because decent pickus are more expensive here and we don't really need the pick up feature anyway.

We are buying used because our current budget isn't very high (around USD 10.000) and we'd rather get something decent used than a crappy new car.

Some of the models we have looked at:

Suzuki Grand Vitara:
Seems to be the best in terms of price/features, I also just happen to know several people that have owned Suzukis and all of them have had good experiences. You can get some that aren't too old and don't have a very high mileage that are actually under our budget.
My only issue with these is that I'm not sure I trust most of the good offers (and there's A LOT). There's some that are like 7 years old but only have like 40000 miles which seems a bit fishy. But then again I do actually know people that really don't use their cars a lot so who knows.

Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee:
There' some pretty nice ones and they look big and spacious. BUT I don't know a lot about Jeep and the ones that are in our budget are slightly older (like 2008-2010).
I was also looking at the compass but my dad rented one a few years ago and didn't like it so he doesn't want one.

Mitsubishi Outlander:
The only decent ones are right at the limit of our budget. They seem fine though I don't think we need 3 seat rows.
There's also the slight negative bias that it looks like a soccer mom car lol.

Ford Edge:
There's literally 2 good offers I've seen of a 2011 and a 2010 model but they have like 40k more miles on it than all the cars mentioned above. It does seem nice though and the few reviews I've read were pretty positive.



But I know nothing about cars (I actually only got my drivers license like 2 months ago, at 27 because I could never afford a car before so why bother?) and my dad has a better understanding of them but no experience with SUV's.

So, any advice? any model you'd recommend that I should look at?
How much mileage is a lot for a modern car? I've read some places that say you shouldn't get something with more than 80K miles and other that say it's just a number and the way the car has been maintained by the previous owner is way more important. I've also read that the odometer is easy as fuck to alter so you should be suspicious of any car that's several years old but has a very low mileage.
 

iamblades

Member
If you can get a Grand Cherokee for your budget, it's the best of those options. It's also a good 2 price tiers above the Suzuki and 1 above the ford, so that should be expected.

Be warned that the Cherokee is not even close to the same model of vehicle. The one they sold overseas during that time period when it was discontinued from 2000-2014 is the Jeep Liberty here, and it is a shitbox that you should avoid.

Do you not have the Toyota RAV4 or 4runner there though? That is where I'd be looking first, though I may be biased because all of my cars have been Toyotas.

As far as mileage, I'd be less concerned about that than in seeing evidence of proper maintenance. Modern vehicles are really good, IF you take care of them. Too many horror stories of people abusing them for me to trust a used vehicle without a fairly decent maintenance record to go along with it.
 
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Stay away from Jeep/Chrysler imo.

As suggested, the Forester is pretty good option if you have it there. I don't know much about Suzuki, but you're right about their prices. I find their interiors to be a bit small though.

I've heard not complaints about the Ford Edge other than its gas mileage. The previous gen Escapes are well liked and bigger than the current gen. More truck looking.

2012_ford_escape_hybrid-pic-8443100498924946434.png
 

Mohonky

Member
Suzuki Grand Vitara - great vehicles. Simple but reliable. Also has proper off road ability if you want to use it.

Jeep - just dont, stay well clear.

Mitsubishi - good vehicle but it's going to cost you. Otherwise if you can get at a decent price, you may like the extra space.

Ford Edge - its a Ford, so the interior plsstics will probably fall apart, but the Edge seems at least half way decent, but wouldnt be my pick over the Suzuki or Mitsubishi
 

Fbh

Member
Thanks for all the comments.
Going to spend next week checking several of the models and I think I'll just go for the one that seems to be maintained the best

If you can get a Grand Cherokee for your budget, it's the best of those options. It's also a good 2 price tiers above the Suzuki and 1 above the ford, so that should be expected.

I really like that one but the one thing scaring me away is the fuel efficiency. Seems to be extremely bad

Are Subaru Foresters a thing in your country? If so get one of those.
They are but they are really expensive.

A decent one of around the same year and same mileage is around 3 to 4K more expensive than any of the other models
 

TheContact

Member
I drive a CX5 and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned. Though for 10k you might want to get an older rav4 or CRV.
 

iamblades

Member
Thanks for all the comments.
Going to spend next week checking several of the models and I think I'll just go for the one that seems to be maintained the best



I really like that one but the one thing scaring me away is the fuel efficiency. Seems to be extremely bad


They are but they are really expensive.

A decent one of around the same year and same mileage is around 3 to 4K more expensive than any of the other models

Yeah, it's a substantially bigger vehicle than the other options, so that's to be expected.
 

highrider

Banned
If you can get a Grand Cherokee for your budget, it's the best of those options. It's also a good 2 price tiers above the Suzuki and 1 above the ford, so that should be expected.

Be warned that the Cherokee is not even close to the same model of vehicle. The one they sold overseas during that time period when it was discontinued from 2000-2014 is the Jeep Liberty here, and it is a shitbox that you should avoid.

Do you not have the Toyota RAV4 or 4runner there though? That is where I'd be looking first, though I may be biased because all of my cars have been Toyotas.

As far as mileage, I'd be less concerned about that than in seeing evidence of proper maintenance. Modern vehicles are really good, IF you take care of them. Too many horror stories of people abusing them for me to trust a used vehicle without a fairly decent maintenance record to go along with it.
This is good advice. Jeep makes some weak stuff but thier higher end is good quality imo. I’d be thinking RAV4 as well. Also anyone that uses the term shitbox usually has industry experience 🙂
 
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navii

My fantasy is that my girlfriend was actually a young high school girl.
I had a suzuki hatxhback for 10 years, 200,000kms and the only major thing that was wrong with it was the manual gearbox went. I got it fixed cheaply, but it could have been expensive.
 

Cato

Banned
Get a proper 4x4, not one of those teenage girl city cars.

Toyota Landcruiser (real landcruiser, not Prado)
Nissan Patrol
Mitsubishi Pajero.


Those are kind of the three options you have.
You can possibly get a 10 year old pajero for 10k. Possibly.
You can probably get a 30 year old Landcruiser for 10k, but that is not a bad deal
since those cars are more like huge tractor in suv form factor so they will just continue to run on and
on forever.

If you need a strong car that will just run, on and on and on,
a proper landcruser, 30 years old if you can find one for 10k
you will never regret.
 
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