Think its time for a new DD

[usp55]

My camaro was my first car and ive had it for 4 years but its starting to get to me and I think Its time for a change. Being a tall guy getting in and out of the car is starting to bother my left knee and so Im starting to look for a taller suv or truck for my dd - 40 miles/day avg the past 2 months. gas was a concern at first but when i thnk about it im only getting 18 or so mpg with the 3.4 maro.
Looking at cars no older than 2002 and with under 100k and under or right around $10k and I have found a bunch but looking for opinions and thoghts on the following:

02+ Explorer
Dodge Ram crew cab 4.7L (Always wanted a truck)
Durango
Aviator
Jeep Cherokee

Im gona keep rebuilding the firebird but sell the camaro and DD the suv or truck. Just need something newer and more reliable with working heat and 4x4 for the winter. Made it through the past 4 winters with the maro but dont want to do it again.

[bobbyn362]

my personal opinion would be a gm product. never heard good news about the dodges. especially the trucks. i had a 2003 tahoe and i loved it now i have a 2003 yukon. and i love it. there is a place near me in south jersey that deals with repo's and you can get nice cars cheap. the only catch is no financing. and the explorers and even the expeditions are a little to tight inside if you ask me

[91chevywt]

I wouldn't get a ram unless it had the hemi. A cherokee would probably make a nice driver. Theres a member here selling an extended cab colorado which looks really nice, in your price range. Maybe you'd want to look into that. I'm sure you'd be able to get the seat back pretty far with the extra cab space.

[maroman88]

jeeps are awesome.. or any GM truck

[The Fixer]

jeeps are awesome.. or any GM truck

I'm thinking about selling my '01 Cherokee Sport, only has 82K miles on it, and would be well in your budget range. I need to save some $$ first for a new DD for myself though - I've been thinking about an '06-'07 Monte SS with the LS4.

[Tru2Chevy]

I would also vote for a Jeep Cherokee, however they stopped making them in 2001, so if you insist on 2002 or newer you are out of luck. Any of the '97-01 Cherokees will serve you well though, and can be found with relatively low miles for far less than your budget.

I wouldn't get a ram unless it had the 5.9 Cummins.

Fixed for you....Hemi is junk ;)

- Justin

[FlyingDutchman]

J E E P

[qwikz28]

4.0 liter if you want a truck. If anything happened to my saturn and I was in the market for used, there wouldn't be a question. Only mine would have to be a 4.0 Grand Cherokee with leather. :)

[Miles]

JEEP ftw. Or like they said, a nice gm product. I loved my dads 2002 tahoe, even though he has a new one, it was still an amazing truck.

[sweetbmxrider]

02+ Explorer - hell no
Dodge Ram crew cab 4.7L (Always wanted a truck) - nooooo
Durango - nooo
Aviator - no experience but being a ford product, nooooo
Jeep Cherokee - yaaaaa

also agree with the gm trucks and suv's being awesome and very easy to work on with very little maintenance required. saw a statistic somewhere and they were the cheapest for repairs too in their class.

[Iroc-z86]

jeep/ gm are pretty much unstoppable in the snow. dodge is hit or miss. buddy has a 01 dakota... it sucks in the snow even with 4wd.

[camaro2you]

Any kind of jeep or go with a gm suv or pickup. Stay away from the dodges there just all around bad. The older ones are good but not so much for the newer stuff.

[usp55]

I just wish i could get over how ugly the gm trucks are, cant stand them for some reason.

found a real nice used 02 cherokee for 8k, 90 on the clock with 5 year/100k mile warrenty. very clean looking, might go look at it. I still love the ram though, just wish it didnt suck, been reading alot of hit and miss with them. hmmm

[sweetbmxrider]

i'd check out the jeep. I6 is better than the V8 too, in most people's opinions.

[87GTA]

jeep/ gm are pretty much unstoppable in the snow. dodge is hit or miss. buddy has a 01 dakota... it sucks in the snow even with 4wd.

i have a 1999 dodge durango and have had no problem in the snow with it!!

[Iroc-z86]

yeah i dunno, his truck isnt a base pos either, its the 4 door sport with the v8, so it moves. just sucks big time in the snow. my jeep was in 2wd where he needed 4wd.

The I6's are pretty solid tho, my bro beats his everyday (he cant drive) and its still runs fine... somehow.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

02+ Explorer - hell no


Why is this? I'm curious

[Teds89IROC]

Why is this? I'm curious

because you own one

[BigRocsFirebird]

because you own one

:moon::rofl:

[Tru2Chevy]

found a real nice used 02 cherokee for 8k, 90 on the clock with 5 year/100k mile warrenty. very clean looking, might go look at it.

Since I assume you mean Grand Cherokee, check out this site for lots of info on the 99-04 Grand Cherokees: www.wjjeeps.com

Post up what trim it is, which engine it has, and what 4wd system it has.

- Justin

[NjbadSS]

any interest in my durango? I know it has a little more miles than you are looking for but runs like new. You wouldn't be disappointed with it.

[gotmudnj]

i love my jeep i have owned two on my second...im a huge jeep fan as some have seen mine and heard my stories. i must stay the i6 is what you want for a jeep. get one its great on torc and will be a fun dd. if u get a wrangler you loose on gas mileage but on plus side you get the jeep wave lol.

[bad64chevelle]

my personal opinion would be a gm product. never heard good news about the dodges. especially the trucks.

Thats funny, My Ram is at 180k miles original trans and engine. If it weren't for the bald tires I would drive it anywhere...a lot better than any of the other vehicles I have ever owned. Lifted & Big tires for 60k of those miles, not to mention its been in mud up to the middle of the door, been through hell and back, and its a gas 5.9


Oh, and as for on the beach....well it pulled many ford and chevy trucks out of the sand...I paid for my entire OBX vacation pulling people off the beach.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

because you own one

Thanks for the clarification pal :-P

[sweetbmxrider]

sorry nick, never had good luck with them. they are nicknamed exploders in the business.

granted there are always exceptions to the norm, but in a generalized format those were my thoughts.

[Stevoone]

I've had my 2004 Ram 1500 for about 3-4 years now. Haven't had any problems with it. It's a Hemi 2wd and it does better in the snow than my F150 did. I get about 13-14 mpg around town and about 17-20 on the highway.

Maintenance would have been nicer with a GM truck tho, 100k mile spark plugs. Dodge recommends them every 30k for the Hemi and theirs 16 of them.

[sweetbmxrider]

:lol: plus the ignition wires! man those hemi's are something special. if a coil pack goes, it potentially knocks out 2 cylinders instead of 1

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

sorry nick, never had good luck with them. they are nicknamed exploders in the business.

granted there are always exceptions to the norm, but in a generalized format those were my thoughts.

I haven't had any problems in my 06 (55k), my cousin has 85k on his 02, and my friend has 60k on his 04.

I thought they got the name Exploder because they were infamous for the tire blowouts back in the day?

[sweetbmxrider]

no, they break alot. you have relatively low miles though so don't be too worried.

[SilverDropTop]

I don't know how tall you are (I'm 6'2) but I think you should look at a nice 02 and up Tahoe. I found a few that may fit the bill of what your looking for but this looked like an awesome deal:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=268118663&dealer_id=64159417&car_year=2004&rdm=1255720906028&lastStartYear=1981&model=TAHOE&num_records=50&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=2002&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=100&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&sownerid=6365807&showZipError=n&make=CHEV&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=0&drive=&default_sort=&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=10314&advanced=&end_year=2010&doors=&transmission=&max_price=10000&cardist=11&standard=false (http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=268118663&dealer_id=64159417&car_year=2004&rdm=1255720906028&lastStartYear=1981&model=TAHOE&num_records=50&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=2002&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=100&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&sownerid=6365807&showZipError=n&make=CHEV&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=0&drive=&default_sort=&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=10314&advanced=&end_year=2010&doors=&transmission=&max_price=10000&cardist=11&standard=false)

[Miles]

My buddy is selling his 97 Suburban with a 454 if you are interested..

[usp55]

6'8" 247

Im loving the seats in the tahoes, they look so wide and nice. Im not likeing the sound of 13mpg but i really need to ride in a larger car.

anyway to squeeze a one or two more mpg more out of them? besides layin off the gas. sort of feel if im gona be burning through gas like thati should just get a truck

[The Fixer]

6'8" 247



OK, forget the Cherokee Sport then. :) The GC would definitely be more comfortable for ya!

[B4C]

I haven't had any problems in my 06 (55k), my cousin has 85k on his 02, and my friend has 60k on his 04.

I thought they got the name Exploder because they were infamous for the tire blowouts back in the day?

The new ones arent that bad, I used to work at a ford dealer. I think the most common problems on the 06+ models were the rad's kept going bad in them. I think the new ones like to waste wheel bearings, and the diff's tend to whine and need to be rebuilt too. Nothing else I can think of. Do you have a 4.0 or 4.6??

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

The new ones arent that bad, I used to work at a ford dealer. I think the most common problems on the 06+ models were the rad's kept going bad in them. I think the new ones like to waste wheel bearings, and the diff's tend to whine and need to be rebuilt too. Nothing else I can think of. Do you have a 4.0 or 4.6??

Me, my cousin and my friend all have 4.0's.

[imjustinlampe]

corolla ftw hahahaha and its good on gas haha



why not look into an f150

[Tru2Chevy]

why not look into an f150

http://www.ridelust.com/wp-content/uploads/ford_circle_problem.jpg

- Justin