Re: Shopping for a New Car
Just bought a 2010 Honda CR-V. Love it so far. Had been driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which may have been the most troublesome vehicle that I have ever owned. One problem after another, that never seemed to get totally fixed. Power windows, air vents, air conditioner and heater and the list goes on.
I was looking at the Ford Edge and Escape, but decided on the Honda. The main thing that influenced my decision was the Honda reputation. Hope I made the right choice.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Randy, I hope your CR-V is as good for you as ours has been. We have a 2001 with 175,000 miles on it. I had to replace a cracked radiator this past spring, and it was the first repair that wasn't a normal wear item.
As Kingspoint mentioned, the CR-V isn't much of an off-road vehicle but most SUV buyers never or hardly ever go serious off-roading anyway, and are more interested in the AWD/4WD and ground clearance etc. in terms of handling bad-weather everyday driving. The CR-V's fine for that.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
A buddy of mine has a Nissan Murano and it's a badass little truck. Would definitely check it out.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Subarus are notorious for having odd engineering, like the stupid Y pipe that held two catalytic converters. The Y pipe would fail at the manifold, leaving owners to purchase a $600 part for a 1/2 hour repair. Subarus also tend to have a lot of weird, ticky tacky problems. The one I currently own has several minor electrical problems and a malfunction with a couple engine sensors that are always activating the "check engine" light. Granted, it's a '98, but it also only has 85K miles.
I owned a ford Ranger pickup for thirteen years and have always been a fan of the drive trains they use for them, based on Mazda. I think the Escape might also use Mazda transmissions, especially if you are looking at one with a 2.3 (a great Ford engine).
In this class, though, I would probably look hard at the CRV. I love Honda engines, and have always liked the solid construction of their smaller cars. I've driven a couple CRVs, and have liked the feel of them. They are tightly, well built vehicles.
Anything Jeep- pass.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RANDY IN CHAR NC
Just bought a 2010 Honda CR-V. Love it so far. Had been driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which may have been the most troublesome vehicle that I have ever owned. One problem after another, that never seemed to get totally fixed. Power windows, air vents, air conditioner and heater and the list goes on.
I was looking at the Ford Edge and Escape, but decided on the Honda. The main thing that influenced my decision was the Honda reputation. Hope I made the right choice.
I test drove the CR-V yesterday. It had a nice ride to it, but the interior just felt "off" for some reason -- I know it seems like a really ticky-tacky thing, but the shifter felt like a toy or something you'd see on an 80s arcade racing game cabinet. Still nicer than the Escape, though -- which was unbelievably cramped for a car it's size (and had one of the ugliest looking instrument panels / radio/AC control I've ever seen).
If you don't mind my asking, Randy, did Honda deal or was it just "Here's MSRP, make your check out to us?" One of the reasons the CR-V has been at the bottom of my list is that I've heard Honda dealers are notorious for not dealing on price with their cars. They also really push leasing, which I've got no desire to do whatsoever.
Also, Island (or anyone else), how does AWD do in bad weather? I've heard mixed reviews from people, especially people who have owned both AWD and 4WD vehicles. I used to own a Jeep Cherokee when I was in college / law school, and I really liked benig able to just throw the car into 4W when there was snow on the roads.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Several of my friends own Honda CR-Vs and all speak well of them. We don't own a CR-V but I bought my wife a Honda Ridgeline a couple of years ago and she absolutely loves it; it is an extremely versatile AWD truck with seating for five, and with the in-bed trunk, the truck bed, and a roof rack it has penty of storage room. Kim has already said that if and when it needs replaced (years from now I hope) she wants another one.
Several weeks ago I traded off a 2003 Audi A4 I used for business and got a new Honda Accord. I opted for the Accord based upon its high resale value and our good experience with the Ridgeline, and the dealer did "deal" without pushing leasing. So far I really like the Accord.
I realize that neither the Ridgeline nor the Accord are the type of vehicle you are considering but I hope our Honda experiences are helpful.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
FWIW, the Car Talk guys always pimp Subarus as being reliable and good cars for the money. Never owned one myself, but I would definitely look at them next time I purchase. A couple friends have been raving about Volkswagen turbo diesels (great performance and 50 mpg), so I might look at those as well. One caveat for you, Caveat: no matter the reputation, be careful of a car in the first year of a major reddesign. I bought a Toyota Camry based on reliability, but it was in the first year of a redesign. It runs great now, but only after the engine was replaced.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Have you considered buying a used car instead? I always look for about a two year old car with around 20k miles. Why pay for the first 1/3 of the cars price in depreciation?
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Caveat Emperor
Also, Island (or anyone else), how does AWD do in bad weather? I've heard mixed reviews from people, especially people who have owned both AWD and 4WD vehicles. I used to own a Jeep Cherokee when I was in college / law school, and I really liked benig able to just throw the car into 4W when there was snow on the roads.
That's the best thing about Subarus. You will not get stuck. Anywhere.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SunDeck
That's the best thing about Subarus. You will not get stuck. Anywhere.
Except in Pittsburgh during the blizzard of 2010.
carry on.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
vaticanplum
Except in Pittsburgh during the blizzard of 2010.
carry on.
I've driven mine through pretty bad snow and off road in the gullies that pass for roads in the Hoosier National Forest. But it's all about clearance and I'll grant that deep snow is not passable unless your differential is out of the way. But in 99.9% of other road situations, it's the best car for the money. If you want to plan for blizzards, buy a dump truck.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Caveat Emperor
I test drove the CR-V yesterday. It had a nice ride to it, but the interior just felt "off" for some reason -- I know it seems like a really ticky-tacky thing, but the shifter felt like a toy or something you'd see on an 80s arcade racing game cabinet. Still nicer than the Escape, though -- which was unbelievably cramped for a car it's size (and had one of the ugliest looking instrument panels / radio/AC control I've ever seen).
If you don't mind my asking, Randy, did Honda deal or was it just "Here's MSRP, make your check out to us?" One of the reasons the CR-V has been at the bottom of my list is that I've heard Honda dealers are notorious for not dealing on price with their cars. They also really push leasing, which I've got no desire to do whatsoever.
Also, Island (or anyone else), how does AWD do in bad weather? I've heard mixed reviews from people, especially people who have owned both AWD and 4WD vehicles. I used to own a Jeep Cherokee when I was in college / law school, and I really liked benig able to just throw the car into 4W when there was snow on the roads.
The dealership definitely wanted to sell the car. They were a very low pressure dealership, and it was a good experience, all the way around. They called me twice, lowering the price, and eventually gave me more on my trade in to get the deal done. I told them that I was ready to buy "used" at another location. I had looked at two used CR-V's, one a 2009 with 11,000 miles and believe it or not, the new car, with the 1.9% financing and the price that I was able to obtain, was a much better deal.
A good friend of mine told me that with the economy, the prices of good used cars have started to really inflate. I was very happy with this buying experience with Honda.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RFS62
Have you considered buying a used car instead? I always look for about a two year old car with around 20k miles. Why pay for the first 1/3 of the cars price in depreciation?
With the economy and the advent of the "certified used" programs and the markup that comes with the certification, used cars aren't necessarily the bargian they once were. If you can find out the financing options, rebates, factory to dealer incentives, and the like, most of which is available online, you can often get better deals on new cars than used. The manufacturers are doing everything they can to get new cars off the lot. Our last car we purchased new was actually cheaper than some of the same model used after all the deals were figured in. And because we went through the internet, they started negotiating at invoice and went down rather than starting at MSRP.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yachtzee
With the economy and the advent of the "certified used" programs and the markup that comes with the certification, used cars aren't necessarily the bargian they once were. If you can find out the financing options, rebates, factory to dealer incentives, and the like, most of which is available online, you can often get better deals on new cars than used. The manufacturers are doing everything they can to get new cars off the lot. Our last car we purchased new was actually cheaper than some of the same model used after all the deals were figured in. And because we went through the internet, they started negotiating at invoice and went down rather than starting at MSRP.
Most certified pre-owned cars I've looked at are ripoffs. Depending on the manufacturer, the prices on CPO's aren't much cheaper than buying new. I looked at one where the price of a 1 year old CPO, with 13k miles it on, it was only $2,000 cheaper than a brand new one. No joke.
Re: Shopping for a New Car
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RANDY IN CHAR NC
Just bought a 2010 Honda CR-V. Love it so far. Had been driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which may have been the most troublesome vehicle that I have ever owned. One problem after another, that never seemed to get totally fixed. Power windows, air vents, air conditioner and heater and the list goes on.
I was looking at the Ford Edge and Escape, but decided on the Honda. The main thing that influenced my decision was the Honda reputation. Hope I made the right choice.
Nobody makes better cars than Honda right now, or for the past 5 years dollar for dollar (of those vehicles under $40K). But, I still prefer a Subaru as it's safer at preventing accidents over all other cars other than Audi's top AWD vehicle.