Economy 'suv'

Isn't that the box-on-wheels-matchboxcar-looking-thing they have? No offense, ya know to each their own, but no thanks.
 
Yep, thats the one. I used to think the same thing about it, then I actually looked at one. I really like the interior, front and back. The back seats recline all the way, and can fold up to the sides of the car to make a big huge cargo area. They sell a bunch of camping type things for it, like table legs that attach to the bottom of the spare tire cover in the back to make a table, mountain bike mounts for the front forks, a tent that attaches to the back... Anyhow, it started looking a lot better once I saw all the things I could use it for. But like you said, to each his own.

schiesz
 
Buck268 said:
Despite driving my luxo-barge for years, I've had quite a lot of seat time in a number of different jeeps (not to mention almost two years driving International dumps at work!). I am really suprised about all these reliablilty issues. The people I've known with jeeps that didnt beat on them seemed to fair just fine with avoiding the stealership. Hell, my folks have the ever-hated KJ (liberty) and I don't recall it having any real problems...ever... Well, not counting the absolutely horrid access to the oil filter for changes!

I'm very reserved about all these FWD based SUV's. I guess I'm old school... I just don't trust transaxles and CV joints.
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Well your parents ought to look into the recall on ball joints for their liberty then. My friend just had the driver side front wheel fall off the axle on hers. Luckily she was in a parking lot instead of going down the road 50mph:eek:
 
Do you know what years it affects? Definately important info. Although last time I was in it it tracked just fine. BTW, the wheel falling off the "axle" (actually it would hub) sounds more like a bearing issue, unless you mean the spindle popped out of the control arm and the wheel broke free after that.
 
It didn't really fall off....I just didn't feel like going into all the details. The upper and lower ball joints both failed so it was left with nothing but the spindle holding the wheel on. Both folded up and left the jeep laid down flat on its front end stranded.
Couldn't tell you what years it affected. Jeep wasn't very good about getting the information out. She got the notice about 2 weeks AFTER the ball joints failed on her jeep. I doubt it was one of the first ones, but you never know.
 
Yeah, found the recall on Edmunds. In fact, my folks still havent gotten any information of DC about it...
 
I really looked hard at the Honda Element, but the towing capacity was an issue with me since I tow a boat around once in awhile.

DC was pretty quick about my recall for the ball joints on my Liberty, but not so quick with the torque converter recall on mine. Not all model years get all recalls, so that my be the question some may have for their dealer.

As I said, my Liberty is a love/hate relationship. I needed to find a vehicle that would tow 5000 lbs with no problem and get 20+ mpg. The diesel liberty was the only one I could find, and with the criteria I set, it does those things quite well.
 
Sounds to me like you want something that's tough, reliable, fun, compact, gets good mileage, and is 4WD. That spells Subaru, maybe a Forester. My wife has had 2 Jeep Cherokees. The 4 cylinder (automatic) was very short on power, but not bad otherwise. Her 2001 has the big, 4.0L inline 6 (automatic) which is an excellent and very powerful engine. Cherokees are good, tough, crashworthy wagons and I like them a lot. I've had 2 Isuzu Troopers. The first had a small 4 (manual) that was very underpowered, but my '88 had a bigger 4 with fuel injection (automatic). Both were exceedingly tough and fairly reliable, but not very good road vehicles. Poor mileage. They truly are trucks, not just cars that look like an SUV. If I were looking for something new, I'd consider a Subaru very seriously. Some years ago I was trying out a well used 4WD Subaru, a little model they called the Justy that had a tiny 3 cylinder engine. It ran OK at 60, so I bumped it up to 80 coming back. Apparently a rear wheel bearing locked, followed immediately by the tire on that wheel blowing out, and then things got real exciting for a short time. Finally, after getting it slowed down while still on the pavement, I accidentally got over into the slick grassy median doing about 20-25 and rolled it over on its left side where it slid to a stop. It's a funny feeling watching the ground coming up at your window. (That's twice that's happened now!) Anyway, I climbed out the window of the right door, pushed that little Subaru back up on its wheels by myself, cranked it up again, and drove it across the opposing lanes and down the shoulder of the highway to the car lot. The damage done was surprisingly slight. I was impressed.
 
I'd look at a used Subaru Forester XT. At least take one for a test drive if only for the heck of it. My brother owns one and it's fast & reliable.
 
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Appearently a lot of subie fans here, wow... What type of reliablitity do they offer? I've heard tons of good things. Also, how is the interior room? I'm a good sized guy at 6 foot 3 inchs 230 athletic pounds...
 
Buck268 said:
Appearently a lot of subie fans here, wow... What type of reliablitity do they offer? I've heard tons of good things. Also, how is the interior room? I'm a good sized guy at 6 foot 3 inchs 230 athletic pounds...
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Interior room's great. My Dad's 6'3" and he drives a Forester and loves it. I think it's his second.
 
Buck268 said:
Appearently a lot of subie fans here, wow... What type of reliablitity do they offer? I've heard tons of good things. Also, how is the interior room? I'm a good sized guy at 6 foot 3 inchs 230 athletic pounds...
Click to expand...


You'll be plenty comfortable in the front seats. You'll never want to see the backseat @ 6'3" though. At least not for long. :D

FWIW, I haven't had any problems at all with my XT yet. Then again, I only have 34,000 miles on it so I shouldn't have had any.
 
We have a 2006 V6 Rav 4 and love it! We have the 4 x 4 version and this thing has incredible power and acceleration. Gets around 23 mpg if you dont gun it. When we were looking, it was between the Rav 4 and the Forrester. One thing to remember is these two are car based and really only for light 4 wheeling.
 
If you get out from under now on the school loans, great. If your credit is good, don't waste your money on a new car. Spend 5 to ten grand on a good single cab 4x4 truck. Any of the older Chevrolets, Fords or Toyotas will run forever. I have heard that Fords with a 325 instead of a 350 are junk, and that you should buy one from 1970's to 1990; some Chevys will need small crap replaced, but it could add up over time, for the most part I like them; and Toyotas are rust buckets before 1990, but they will run up to 450k.
 
I'm quite unaware of any Fords with 350's. Now, there was an oddball FE engine around that size, I want to say 358 but I can't remember.


...unless that FE was actually 350 cid.
 
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