Author Topic: Undervalued used SUV  (Read 5381 times)

teamzissou00

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Undervalued used SUV
« on: May 03, 2017, 10:03:41 AM »
Hi -

I'm in the market for an affordable used car to do the following: 1) hold 3 car seats, 2) have AWD, 3) have a hitch for a bike rack, and 4) last 200k+ miles.

The standard issue cars for this are: Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav 4, and Honda CRV. 

When I look for one for $5-8k I'm getting them with about 150k miles on them already.  I'd like to start off with no more than 130k miles. 

I'm not looking to be handy - and I have a trustworthy mechanic near by.  Also not looking to break down a lot on the road.

My real question - are there any undervalued, reliable and long lasting SUV's that are out there I should be looking at? 

For instance, I'm noticing that Ford Escapes are available in a 2008 with 121k for $8k.  Is that something I should be considering, or are the three models above really the best options.

thanks!

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2017, 10:35:20 AM »
The vehicles you mention are great cars, I love Toyota and Subaru, especially the ones made in the late 90's and early 2000 before they got to high-tech.

If you are not mechanically inclined, you might have a tough time finding a diamond in the rough at your price range. Unfortunately 200k miles seems to be the new 100k miles of only a few years ago, and vehicles are priced accordingly.

You might also check out, Nissan xterra or frontier, Volvo makes a few good SUV/hatchback AWD vehicles.

Nissan are almost like the little brother to Toyota that doesn't get enough attention, they make really reliable cars.

teamzissou00

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2017, 10:37:56 AM »
Nissan Rogue?

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2017, 11:29:23 AM »
I don't know enough about those cars, never owned one or looked into purchasing one. I couldn't offer a very informed opinion.

big_slacker

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2017, 11:38:43 AM »
The standard issue cars for this are: Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav 4, and Honda CRV.

For a reason. :D

Subie Baja is unloved but are cheap and gets you uncovered rear cargo room.

Subie outback, not technically an SUV but might as well be. If you need ground clearance they make springs to lift it.

Clean Shaven

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2017, 11:58:43 AM »
I don't care much for Subarus because of head gasket issues.  BTDT, and never again.  Interior and general build quality on the one we had (a 2009 Outback) was mediocre too.

I'd pick the RAV4 or CRV, without any real preference between them.  Nissan uses CVTs in many vehicles (including the Rogue, I believe), and I am not a fan of those vs. traditional automatic transmissions.

I think looking at some of the other manufacturers' options in the small SUV category is a good idea.  No idea on problem areas, but as OP mentioned, the Ford Escape is an option.  Would also suggest checking out the Hyundai Tucson/ Kia Sportage.

checkedoutat39

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2017, 12:41:13 PM »
There's always a reason used car prices are what they are. Actually $8K for that Escape sounds a little high, especially if it's not a V6.

I paid up a bit for a V6 Rav4 with relatively low miles a few years ago and don't regret it. Bought it at 125K miles, has 152K on it now and gets 27mpg highway.

HPstache

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2017, 12:49:31 PM »
The Escape is pretty undervalued, I like them... but not sure about 3 car seats unless you are counting the front passenger seat.  I think one of the best sneaky picks out there that matches your need is a 2nd generation  (2006-2012) Hyundai Santa Fe AWD.  We test drove one of these and were really impressed with it.  They have lots of luxury-ish options and can be pretty cheap with low miles.  They have really nice interior fit and finish and look pretty sharp.  If you are searching for them on craigslist make sure to search both spellings of "santa" ("sante") it is commonly misspelled.

Not sure on the mileage, but here's a WA example:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/6095072269.html
« Last Edit: May 03, 2017, 12:51:48 PM by v8rx7guy »

aFrugalFather

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2017, 01:05:47 PM »
All these are pretty tight fit for three kids seats, unless they are booster seats or special narrow car seats.  I know people with Foresters that had to buy expensive special seats to get three in the back. 

inline five

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2017, 01:12:31 PM »
I would consider a mini van.

Digital Dogma

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2017, 02:18:09 PM »

You might also check out, Nissan xterra or frontier...

Nissan are almost like the little brother to Toyota that doesn't get enough attention, they make really reliable cars.

Some Nissan models suffer from high cost of ownership maintenance issues, other models have a very low cost of ownership.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin

The Rogue seems like an economical choice but I'm not sure it would fit 3 child seats without placing one seat in the front.

HPstache

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2017, 02:29:03 PM »

You might also check out, Nissan xterra or frontier...

Nissan are almost like the little brother to Toyota that doesn't get enough attention, they make really reliable cars.

Some Nissan models suffer from high cost of ownership maintenance issues, other models have a very low cost of ownership.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin

The Rogue seems like an economical choice but I'm not sure it would fit 3 child seats without placing one seat in the front.

Indeed.  Early Xterras suffer from "SMOD" aka strawberry milkshake of death... bad day when you see SMOD when you pop the cap off your coolant system.

Last Night

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2017, 02:40:39 PM »
Toyota Venza, it's a very wide car and can hold 3 car seats side by side.  They have pretty bad resale mostly because they aren't very popular and people overlook them, but are essentially Toyota Camry wagons, except they look better, have awd and have higher ground clearance.

SavinMaven

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2017, 05:04:51 PM »
Another vote to look at minivans. Yeah, they're not "cool", but who cares? They do a great job at a better price. SUVs aren't worth the 'look cool' tax they charge. A minivan gets you SUV space at sedan prices.

teamzissou00

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2017, 09:07:44 AM »
The Venza is an inspired idea.  thanks! 

My wife drives a Sienna - so we don't want two vans.  I looked at Explorers, but the gas mileage was nuts.  So other than the original 3 models I listed, i'll keep an eye out for the venza, santa fe, and I might check out used lexus and acura SUV's to see if they are affordable. 

Just Joe

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2017, 03:45:38 PM »
The Acuras get noticeably cheaper at the 2013 model year and older. They were less frugal with gasoline but still appear to be nice vehicles in the Honda tradition (durable).

I am currently considering a used Acura. We have a '99 CR-V with 300K miles. Only thing you need to know about these older CR-Vs is that they are kind of noisy on the highway.

Whatever we buy we'll keep a long time so I want something quiet and comfortable for longer trips that we are starting to take.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #16 on: May 04, 2017, 08:43:44 PM »
Based on what you have said, does it have to be an SUV specifically? Nothing you've listed in your requirements is specific to an SUV.

Regarding three car seats, see this: http://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/3-across-car-seat-guide-html/

Regarding the hitch, that can be added after market to almost any vehicle, relatively cheaply.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #17 on: May 05, 2017, 09:37:35 AM »
Does it have to be an SUV?

A minivan seems like it would meet your needs. I don't know about used prices, but my understanding is that new vans tends to be significantly less than new SUV's because apparently minivans aren't cool.

Ben Hogan

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #18 on: May 05, 2017, 10:13:00 AM »
Im not sure which years, but some of the Rav4 and Honda CRV have timing chains. That will drastically cut down on your maintenance costs.

slappy

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Re: Undervalued used SUV
« Reply #19 on: May 05, 2017, 10:52:49 AM »
What do you drive now? We have a Subaru and a Legacy and I'm planning to buy the "special" car seats. The seats are more expensive than traditional seats, but a whole lot less expensive than a new car.