recommendations for cars/suv

[justme]

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

never even considered that.
i'm not interested in paying a whole lot more in insurance

[justme]

Humph.
I no longer have the luxury of choice.
I'm going to have to find whatever i can.

It left me sit again. The rear drivers side wheel is ready to fall off. I'm not taking it home. It's sitting at the garage.

I no longer have any loyalty to the car i drive.

[Josh]

My mechanic currently thinks late 2000s / early 2010s Toyota
Corollas are the cat’s meow.

I’m happy with a 2006 Accord, 2003 Civic, and 2009 Civic.

I’m not happy with 2006 Jetta TDI. Yuck.

I’m so-so with a 2000 Jetta. Tired of the VWisms.

My 2003 Honda Odyssey is a headache and my 2004 Nissan Quest has about worn out its engine. I bought each for under $1,000 so can’t complain.

My wife’s 2017 Civic was a disaster. Electrical problems at 80,000 miles, dealership couldn’t fix still under warranty despite trying over and over. Another friend at church had a 2018 that was so bad he sold it to Carmax the second it was running again.

If I were a single man… I’d probably be back on a Kawasaki.

[Ken]

Humph.
I no longer have the luxury of choice.
I'm going to have to find whatever i can.

It left me sit again. The rear drivers side wheel is ready to fall off. I'm not taking it home. It's sitting at the garage.

I no longer have any loyalty to the car i drive.

In that case, just find whatever decent vehicle you can find in your price range. The condition of the vehicle and price are far more important than the specific make and model. While there are differences in quality and reliability between brands, when it comes to older used cars, those differences are dwarfed by price and condition of the actual car in question.

For example, I'd take a Jeep Compass or Chevy Tahoe in good condition (two cars with poor history of reliability) over a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 in bad condition (two cars with good histories of reliability).

In your shoes, I'd actually take a look at a used Prius. They have rock-solid reliability, are relatively inexpensive and you'll get about 45-50 mpg. The hatch back design is also surprisingly roomy. I have one as do my parents. You can put 3 kids in the back easily. With all the EVs on the market, a lot of people who previously bought and owned Priuses have moved on to EVs or fancier hybrids and they have kind of gone out of style. Around here you can find 2007-2010 models in good shape with low to moderate mileage in the $6000 range.

[Ken]

My mechanic currently thinks late 2000s / early 2010s Toyota
Corollas are the cat’s meow.

I’m happy with a 2006 Accord, 2003 Civic, and 2009 Civic.

I’m not happy with 2006 Jetta TDI. Yuck.

I’m so-so with a 2000 Jetta. Tired of the VWisms.

My 2003 Honda Odyssey is a headache and my 2004 Nissan Quest has about worn out its engine. I bought each for under $1,000 so can’t complain.

My wife’s 2017 Civic was a disaster. Electrical problems at 80,000 miles, dealership couldn’t fix still under warranty despite trying over and over. Another friend at church had a 2018 that was so bad he sold it to Carmax the second it was running again.

If I were a single man… I’d probably be back on a Kawasaki.

Good grief. How many cars do you own?

[Josh]

My mechanic currently thinks late 2000s / early 2010s Toyota
Corollas are the cat’s meow.

I’m happy with a 2006 Accord, 2003 Civic, and 2009 Civic.

I’m not happy with 2006 Jetta TDI. Yuck.

I’m so-so with a 2000 Jetta. Tired of the VWisms.

My 2003 Honda Odyssey is a headache and my 2004 Nissan Quest has about worn out its engine. I bought each for under $1,000 so can’t complain.

My wife’s 2017 Civic was a disaster. Electrical problems at 80,000 miles, dealership couldn’t fix still under warranty despite trying over and over. Another friend at church had a 2018 that was so bad he sold it to Carmax the second it was running again.

If I were a single man… I’d probably be back on a Kawasaki.

Good grief. How many cars do you own?

Collectively, 10 amongst 3 adults; 2 of them are shared with additional other people (dump trucks).

We have winter cars that are rusty and perhaps don't have working A/C, and summer cars that have working A/C but wouldn't be so good in the snow. 1 is an antique vehicle. 3 of the vehicles get great fuel mileage (small sedans), the rest are terrible on fuel economy (minivans and pickups and and an SUV). It also means a few can be in the shop or getting worked on, and less trouble worrying about changing between summer and winter tyres.

I have my eye on an affordable Jeep Grand Cherokee I saw recently.. has the nice 4.0 engine. It seems too cheap to be true, though.

[temporal1]

Humph.
I no longer have the luxury of choice.
I'm going to have to find whatever i can.

It left me sit again. The rear drivers side wheel is ready to fall off. I'm not taking it home. It's sitting at the garage.

I no longer have any loyalty to the car i drive.

i hope you check with insurance to see if you have rental car coverage.
My car is sitting idle while my foot heals, i’d be happy to loan it to you, if distance weren’t a problem.

Otherwise, i hope you have a friend that could loan you a car until you find something.

undershepherd is no longer in the car business? he hasn’t posted in a long while.