Discuss

[firehawk1120]

$25,000 max amount new SUV with a V6. What would you choose and why? Please no bashing of import vs. american. Looking for something that can carry some bulky things like my open house signs and ballons on sunday as well as fit 4 adults for when i go show houses.

Do not suggest a 4cyl I won't get one. Do not suggest something like a station wagon I won't get one of those either i.e. the Magnum.

Prefer something with 4 wheel drive for winter, but FWD will do I guess.

I have my eye on something just from reviewing stuff on line but have to go compare 3 in person. Gimme some ideas.

Spanks a lot... :)

[foff667]

Suzuki XL7, good warranty, GM motor, I think it might even sit on a GM chassis, 7 pass seating available and right around that price range.

[jims69camaro]

jeep liberty is what i have experience with. the compass is a different price point, but i have no experience with that. then there's the unlimited, the 4 door wrangler. jeep must have 5 vehicles to fit your needs.

[Fast92RS]

I dont like them but my mother in law has a Santa fe and it seams pretty good. She had it like 2 or 3 years now with no major issues and pretty good on gas and in your price range with a great warranty.

[The Fixer]

I agree with Jim. The Liberty is a great truck. My wife bought hers new in Sept '02 and we haven't had any issues with it. Great high roofline which makes it very easy to climb in and out of, and very comfortable. Jeep 4WD systems are among the best on the planet, and the Liberty handles very well with the IFS. Highway gas mileage is decent too; we saw 23mpg going to Atlantic City and back. It is a bit small in the cargo area, but for what you need to put back there it should work fine.

[12secondv6]

Do you really need an SUV? Some cars have HUGE trunks!

PT Cruiser turbo - under 25K - yes it is a 4 banger, but it has a turbo which makes up for the 4 cyl

Dodge Charger - SXT RWD v6 with 250 HP and 250 TQ, 5 speed automatic tranny - there is an AWD but it is 27K

Dodge Avenger - SXT with the M Package w/ V6 engine n FWD 186 HP and 191 TQ

Dodge Avenger - R/T V6 w/ 6 speed automatic front wheel drive 235 HP and 232 TQ. They make an AWD version but it starts at 25K

Jeep Liberty - V6 engine

Gebe.... keep in mind... all the above vehicles.... I get discounts on so the price would be less. That might allow some of the AWD versions of the cars which start at 25K slip into your budget.

[AliWantsNss]

The TrailBlazer/Envoy would be attainable with the current incentives being offered. Much bigger than a Liberty, smoother riding, lots of power, plenty of storage, great warranty.

[shane27]

The TrailBlazer/Envoy would be attainable with the current incentives being offered. Much bigger than a Liberty, smoother riding, lots of power, plenty of storage, great warranty.agreed. i love the trailblazer, and the 2007 LS(which has the same engine as the LT) starts at 25k. great looking truck, quick and pretty powerful, and of course you will be helping the U.S Economy :-P

[12secondv6]

Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty covers the cost of all parts and labor needed to repair covered powertrain components – engine, transmission and drive system – on most new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge 2006 MY, 2007 MY and 2008 MY vehicles.

[AliWantsNss]

Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty covers the cost of all parts and labor needed to repair covered powertrain components – engine, transmission and drive system – on most new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge 2006 MY, 2007 MY and 2008 MY vehicles.

What is defined as lifetime? Just a curiousity question. Some manufacturers define what they feel is a normal lifetime, and cover it only during that time.

[BonzoHansen]

What is defined as lifetime? Just a curiousity question. Some manufacturers define what they feel is a normal lifetime, and cover it only during that time.

Initial owner only. As in not transferrable. At least that is what I read. The GM one is transferrable. So that can impact resale if sold w/i that time period.

[Ian]

What is defined as lifetime? Just a curiousity question. Some manufacturers define what they feel is a normal lifetime, and cover it only during that time.

as long as you own the vehicle

[12secondv6]

http://www.dodge.com/en/lifetime_powertrain_warranty/faq.html

Q18: What does 'lifetime' mean?
A18: Lifetime is lifetime.

:rofl:

[Knipps]

http://www.dodge.com/en/lifetime_powertrain_warranty/faq.html

Q18: What does 'lifetime' mean?
A18: Lifetime is lifetime.

:rofl:

that's great.. at least there's no deductible for the original owner

but what also is interesting is that the SRT & Diesel models are excluded

# Q7: Are any Chrysler vehicles excluded?
# A7: Our new Lifetime Powertrain Warranty covers over 88% of our vehicles sold at retail in the U.S. Vehicles that not covered include those used as/for/by police, taxis, limousines, postal delivery, ambulances, rental or government – these will continue to be covered by the 3-year/36,000-mile Basic Limited Warranty. Also excluded are SRT models and Dodge Sprinters which are covered by our 3-year/36,000-mile Basic Limited Warranty; and our diesel-engine vehicles (Dodge Ram Cab/Chassis and Dodge Sprinter) which are covered by a 5-year/100,000-mile engine warranty – our diesel-equipped Jeep vehicles have a 3-year/36,000-mile engine warranty.

[r0nin89]

I would look at a Toyota 4runner and the jeeps. I'd lean to the jeeps though cause of this new warrenty.

[NJSPEEDER]

pontiac torrent is pretty nice. bases around 21k i think, for 25k you could have it nicely tricked out, 100k mi powertrain warranty and pretty good resale values if you want/need to move into something different in a few years. can't remember exactly, think it gets 26 or 28 mpg too.

[maroman88]

i love the torrent and equinox's. there FWD or AWD and have V6's as well. theres a new equinox sport (baby TBSS look) and the torrent GXP.

[Tru2Chevy]

The Torrent/Equinox/Vue is a good truck - my wife and I were looking at getting a Vue before we found a good deal on a lightly used Grand Cherokee for her.

The Torrent and Vue are priced a bit higher than the Equinox, but you can still get a great SUV right around your price point. An AWD 3.4L v6/5spd automatic Equinox starts at $24,365. See standard features here: http://www.chevrolet.com/equinox/features/ (this is for an '08 )

- Justin

[CJDZ24_Z28]

The Equinox is great!! My girl brought hers for $20,000 brand new 07 back in Nov of 06. It stickered a little over 22. I was impressed. Great GM interior and nice ride with good gas mileage. It was brought right off the showroom floor with 21 miles on it now has almost 15,000:) Please buy American don't put americans out of work!

http://item.slide.com/r/1/27/i/O9Ua7w-zD1puQ_l1MOsoA6k-7_93P7Jl/

[Z28 Heritage]

Stick with GM. Have a 2003 Trailblazer LT....Never any problems at all.

[qwikz28]

23k for my vue. v6, AWD, heated and power seats. don't buy a car without test driving it.

by the way, skip over the 08s and get a 07. much better cars IMO

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Ford Exploder. I have an 06 and love it. Can fit real people (i.e. me and my cousin - 6' and 6'1 respectively) in the back seat AND 3rd row seats. Or, if the 3rd row is down you have lots of room. It also hauls stuff well, I've had 600 lbs of salt in the rear, and handled/accelerated/braked just like normal, nothing changed.

Mine is has the Advancetrac RSC system so its full-time AWD, but switchable into 4 hi/low. I have an XLT and it's real comfy.

The 4.0L is decently peppy, and returns decent gas mileage (I live on a 1k foot mountain, so i go up and down it regularly), i've averaged 14.99 over the last 6k miles, 90% of which was around towns.

If you have any specific questions I can help.

[firehawk1120]

Thanks for all the input guys. I don't think I'll be making any decisions until later on in the year if I even do it this year I may wait til next year, but I am def. going to keep all my options open. lots of stuff changes in a few months, job, weather, etc. I may be hating my light front wheel drive Altima if we have a bad winter.

Anti-rice thanks, but I really try to stay away from used cars as much as possible. I don't like inheriting other peoples problems. But I have considered buying a year old car, i just don't think it would work for me right now.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Thanks for all the input guys. I don't think I'll be making any decisions until later on in the year if I even do it this year I may wait til next year, but I am def. going to keep all my options open. lots of stuff changes in a few months, job, weather, etc. I may be hating my light front wheel drive Altima if we have a bad winter.

Anti-rice thanks, but I really try to stay away from used cars as much as possible. I don't like inheriting other peoples problems. But I have considered buying a year old car, i just don't think it would work for me right now.

My offer will still be on the table if you want it. It only had 16k miles on it, serviced by that dealership, and we got the extended warranty, so it's covered. Since you have time, you can start shopping around for something like that, because the good part is someone else took the initial major depreciation, so it makes for a much better deal.

[jims69camaro]

the good part is someone else took the initial major depreciation, so it makes for a much better deal.

QFT!

if you buy one year or two year olds, you are basically getting a leased vehicle that was most likely treated correctly with proper maintenance. it's cars over 5 years old that you might inherit "someone else's problems" with.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

I wiiiiin. But seriously the most depreciation happens when someone first takes ownership of a car, so...basically you profit off of someone else's misfortune. I guess I should have clarified that I recommend like 2 year old or less though. My bad.

[jims69camaro]

my wife's '02 liberty was bought in '03 as a one year lease program car. it had 22,000 miles on it (the only thing that made me think something was up), but i bought it for $9k less than it originally stickered. i didn't care much about the mileage, knowing that they had a good warranty program (even better now), but that was where the major price break took place.

the only thing we've done to the car is put oil, gas, windshield washer and tires on it. since my deal with the internship included parts, i replaced a worn electric-lock door-actuator. not bad for a one year old, huh?

[firehawk1120]

Ok so I went out and looked at the Torrent, the Equinox, the Nitro, the Grand Cherokee and the Liberty.

I'm leaning towards the Liberty or Nitro only because of the lower price tag, but the cherokee rides so much nicer the other two are a bit more truck like. Anyone with experience with the liberty or nitro care to persuade me against the cherokee I am really crunched for time because the rebate is up at the end of the month.

Thanks.

[Knipps]

Liberty = chick car.

[12secondv6]

Mom absolutely hated her liberty - kept it one year.

I found the interior quite cheap, doors sounded very "tinny," and under powered

[Tru2Chevy]

Did you look at the Patriot? It's almost exactly the same size as the Cherokee, and it's getting lots of good reviews. The Limited 4x4 starts at $12,600.

- Justin

[maroman88]

IMO the patriot and compass arent JEEP's !!

[Tru2Chevy]

IMO the patriot and compass arent JEEP's !!

I understand the Compass, but why the Patriot? That's the closest thing to a Cherokee replacement they have yet......

- Justin

[firehawk1120]

I looked at both, the patriot doesn't come in a 6 cyl. or is it the liberty that doesn't. Which ever one is the 4 cyl I didn't look at I looked at the other and it is about 24K. not included hook up discounts.

[qwikz28]

you do know they redesigned the liberty right? i would look at that instead....

my friend got a nitro and its very unimpressive

i swear by my saturn vue btw. you are more than welcome to drive mine and see if you like it. i don't know much about the new design, but my 06 is very comfortable and the lightweight makes it a blast to drive

[maroman88]

the redesigned Vue is very not good looking lol

[firehawk1120]

is the vue a 6cyl??

[qwikz28]

is the vue a 6cyl??

yes sir. it gets me an average of about 20mpg.

driving hard i get ~18
nice driving i get ~22
all highway i get ~24

it also tows well and has run a 15.8 @ 88 at island in some ridiculous weather.

[MonmouthCtyAntz]

Not sure but I bought a 2003 Chevy Tracker brand new v6 4x4 when I was stationed in alaska (only because I have 2 small children lol)...I believe it has mazda engine it it. Not the fastest thing (very far from), but reliable as hell..nearing 90k miles and never had a single problem w/ it besides changing the pads on the front brakes and some new tires...Still runs like a top. Oil change every 3k is all it takes :)

[jims69camaro]

not sure if they come in 4wd or awd, but i really like the exterior of the HHR.

i couldn't possibly put into words how happy we've been with the liberty. the v6 gets up and goes, with the AC on and in 4wd mode. if you are leaning toward another car, by all means, go for it. there are lemons in every make/model of car, so get it out of your head that one car is more of a lemon than another. it's the luck of the draw. the question you have to ask yourself is how many owners have had the same problem with the car. i have never heard of any issues with the liberty other than a recall for the front ball joints (some of them were losing their grease and becoming difficult to drive - something to do with the seal). that was a coupla years ago. :shrug:

[firehawk1120]

Decision made, pictures coming on Mon. when I go pick it up. Left Deposit Fri. night and they said they didn't have time to detail it and get it ready and Sat. they didn't have someone working to get it ready so Mon. it is.

:)

[12secondv6]

he got an SRT 10 8-)

[maroman88]

:drool:

[misterjuice]

is it a Suzuki Aerio SX SWT?

[qwikz28]

i'm very interested to hear what you got... let us know asap dood

edit: http://reviews.cnet.com/suv/2008-saturn-vue-xr/4505-10868_7-32471266.html?tag=ss_rltd?tag=txt

[MonmouthCtyAntz]

he got an SRT 10 8-)

Nice truck if your into them, but i dont think dodge expected the weight to hurt the performance of the Viper engine that much. Hence the big price drop after the 1st year of production. Those srt cherokee's are bad though.