Need help choosing two new (to me) cars!
December 14, 2010 8:11 AM Subscribe
I need to buy two cars. What should I do? Is it ill-advised to buy a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser with 162K miles on it?
Our baby is on the way at the beginning of March. The plan as of November 14 was to keep our '99 Honda Accord until it died of natural causes and trade in my two-door '06 Honda Civic for something with four doors sometime before the new year/arrival of the new kid.
November 15 the trusty Accord was wrecked beyond repair. Sadness. Since then, we have been trying to figure out how best to replace the Accord and trade in the Civic.
Our basic car needs/preferences are these:
1. Safe cars with room for baby and gear.
2. One of the vehicles must be AWD or 4WD. We live in Utah and need a car that can deal well with snow. We would also like the option to take it off-road down south and up the canyons in the winter without hesitation.
3. Decent gas mileage on one of the cars. We understand an SUV won't get fabulous mileage, but one of us has a very short commute.
We came across a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser for sale. It has 162K miles on it. I understand they last forever and are considered pretty reliable, but is there any reason you'd consider buying a Land Cruiser that age/mileage to be a mistake? The upsides to the Land Cruiser are the hauling/off-road capability, the reputation for reliability, and, most of all, the fact that we could buy it and not have a car payment on it. Help us see the downsides besides crappy gas mileage?
As for the other car, the Civic trade-in, we'd like to keep it a pretty even trade-in. I'm looking at four-door cars under $13K. What would be my best bets? We've been pretty loyal to Honda, but we're definitely looking to branch out. With the new kid on the way, having a reasonable car payment is an important consideration.
Thanks!
Our baby is on the way at the beginning of March. The plan as of November 14 was to keep our '99 Honda Accord until it died of natural causes and trade in my two-door '06 Honda Civic for something with four doors sometime before the new year/arrival of the new kid.
November 15 the trusty Accord was wrecked beyond repair. Sadness. Since then, we have been trying to figure out how best to replace the Accord and trade in the Civic.
Our basic car needs/preferences are these:
1. Safe cars with room for baby and gear.
2. One of the vehicles must be AWD or 4WD. We live in Utah and need a car that can deal well with snow. We would also like the option to take it off-road down south and up the canyons in the winter without hesitation.
3. Decent gas mileage on one of the cars. We understand an SUV won't get fabulous mileage, but one of us has a very short commute.
We came across a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser for sale. It has 162K miles on it. I understand they last forever and are considered pretty reliable, but is there any reason you'd consider buying a Land Cruiser that age/mileage to be a mistake? The upsides to the Land Cruiser are the hauling/off-road capability, the reputation for reliability, and, most of all, the fact that we could buy it and not have a car payment on it. Help us see the downsides besides crappy gas mileage?
As for the other car, the Civic trade-in, we'd like to keep it a pretty even trade-in. I'm looking at four-door cars under $13K. What would be my best bets? We've been pretty loyal to Honda, but we're definitely looking to branch out. With the new kid on the way, having a reasonable car payment is an important consideration.
Thanks!
There's a site now called TrueDelta where they collect information from drivers about their cars -- I'd check it out, see what they're saying about the '96 Land Cruiser. I've heard great things about them too, but it never hurts to have more data.
I've been driving Subarus for about 20 years now -- if you're looking for a 4-door sedan, check out used Legacies. They're reliable, affordable, and comfortable, and if snow is an issue the AWD is great (I live in Michigan and can testify). My Outback wagon still works well for my little family of 4 -- we've installed a variety of car seats and booster seats in the back, hauled the dog in the way back, strapped stuff to the roof for long trips, etc. Oh, and it's at 208,000 miles now and doing fine.
posted by hms71 at 8:35 AM on December 14, 2010
I've been driving Subarus for about 20 years now -- if you're looking for a 4-door sedan, check out used Legacies. They're reliable, affordable, and comfortable, and if snow is an issue the AWD is great (I live in Michigan and can testify). My Outback wagon still works well for my little family of 4 -- we've installed a variety of car seats and booster seats in the back, hauled the dog in the way back, strapped stuff to the roof for long trips, etc. Oh, and it's at 208,000 miles now and doing fine.
posted by hms71 at 8:35 AM on December 14, 2010
If you want a four-wheeler buy an old jeep rather than the Toyota. Jeeps are more ubiquitous in your locale which means parts and mechanics are easier to find and thus cheaper. I found Jeep Cherokees to be fine vehicles. I'm not sure how the Liberty stacks up but you may want to look into those before the Toyota.
posted by JJ86 at 8:40 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by JJ86 at 8:40 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
It all depends on what kind of car guy you want to be, and if you don't want to be a car guy, buying any vehicle with 162k miles on it is a last resort. If you want a carefree car that can do all that you listed above-get a subaru (probably and outback model) no more than 3 years old, a Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4 in that order. A Ford escape may also suit your needs but I don't have any personal experience with them. I totally agree with hms71 on the legacies and subaru AWD is really great, reliable and easy to work on.
The toyota land cruisers are great vehicles for what they are-a true off road capable station wagon. They are also heavy, complex, handle on road poorly, prone to rolling over in extreme manuevurs and get poor gas mileage-these compromises are pretty much unavoidable when you want true off road capability.
Jeeps are great vehicles, have great drivetrains and shit for interiors and electrical systems. I currently own two jeeps-a liberty and an old wrangler. The liberty is a great vehicle and was the wifes graduation gift from her family-but it does weird stuff that I see causing expensive problems later in the interior-windows sometimes stick, or don't work at all, interior lights are kinda wonky, and it doesn't get good mileage at all-around 15-16 is normal for day to day driving. The wrangler was also a freebie and is a bit of a nightmare maintenance wise for such a simple, basic vehicle. I have also owned about 5 jeeps over the years from the old huge wagoneers and cherokees to the the xj cherokee and the grand cherokees and now the liberties-and that is how i have formed the above opinion. Very little actual mechinical trouble but lots and lots of really annoying things breaking. A few years ago I talked my Mom into selling her grand cherokee and getting a lease return subura outback-which she loves.
If cost is a big issue (it usually is) the new kias are actually pretty good vehicls and great values. The soul would appear to make a great cheap family vehicle. The nissan altima also looks to be a great value if you want something accordish but don't want to pay the honda premium.
posted by bartonlong at 9:50 AM on December 14, 2010
The toyota land cruisers are great vehicles for what they are-a true off road capable station wagon. They are also heavy, complex, handle on road poorly, prone to rolling over in extreme manuevurs and get poor gas mileage-these compromises are pretty much unavoidable when you want true off road capability.
Jeeps are great vehicles, have great drivetrains and shit for interiors and electrical systems. I currently own two jeeps-a liberty and an old wrangler. The liberty is a great vehicle and was the wifes graduation gift from her family-but it does weird stuff that I see causing expensive problems later in the interior-windows sometimes stick, or don't work at all, interior lights are kinda wonky, and it doesn't get good mileage at all-around 15-16 is normal for day to day driving. The wrangler was also a freebie and is a bit of a nightmare maintenance wise for such a simple, basic vehicle. I have also owned about 5 jeeps over the years from the old huge wagoneers and cherokees to the the xj cherokee and the grand cherokees and now the liberties-and that is how i have formed the above opinion. Very little actual mechinical trouble but lots and lots of really annoying things breaking. A few years ago I talked my Mom into selling her grand cherokee and getting a lease return subura outback-which she loves.
If cost is a big issue (it usually is) the new kias are actually pretty good vehicls and great values. The soul would appear to make a great cheap family vehicle. The nissan altima also looks to be a great value if you want something accordish but don't want to pay the honda premium.
posted by bartonlong at 9:50 AM on December 14, 2010
Jeep Cherokees
Second, if you can find one. They are the best bet for 4WD price/performance and so are becoming less common as people scoop them up. You can still get them dirt cheap - around $3000 for a nicer one that hasn't seen off-road action. ~15mpg or more depending on how you drive it, and parts are common and cheap. Look for non-modified with the Inline-6 engine.
posted by anti social order at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2010
Second, if you can find one. They are the best bet for 4WD price/performance and so are becoming less common as people scoop them up. You can still get them dirt cheap - around $3000 for a nicer one that hasn't seen off-road action. ~15mpg or more depending on how you drive it, and parts are common and cheap. Look for non-modified with the Inline-6 engine.
posted by anti social order at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2010
My family owns a used dealership. It really depends on who owned that landcruiser before and how they took care of it. I would trade that civic in on a dodge caliber awd (what I drive).
posted by bravowhiskey at 10:29 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by bravowhiskey at 10:29 AM on December 14, 2010
Best answer: Having owned a few Toyotas (trucks, 4runner, not a land cruiser), I wouldn't hesitate to buy one with this mileage if it checks out at my mechanic and the price was right. It's true that most american cars are on borrowed time by 160k, but with proper care, toyota trucks can, quite literally, last forever.
I currently have an 01 Cherokee (last year they sold them in the U.S.) and can report similar experiences to bartonalong -- no mechanical issues, but lots of electrical and sensor gremlins. In fact, right now it's a month overdue for registration because I can't figure out how to fix an emissions problem that trips the check engine light. And last month it was in the shop for a week to track down a stalling problem (crankshaft position sensor). It has 140,000 miles on it, and my wife and I love driving it and consider it a member of the family. But one which has stranded us a few times, is not particularly comfortable, and can be damned unreliable. If we had/have kids, it'll probably have to go before it hits 200K.
Back in the early 00s, we had a '98 Subaru Forester, which we absolutely loathed. Its off-road performance (AWD vs. real 4WD) was pitiful for anything but driving up snowy paved roads to a ski area, and it had some engine problems that plagued Soobs from that era (leaking, overheating, piston slap). If you're really doing off-road driving, you need a real off-road truck with a frame and mechanical 4WD.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2010
I currently have an 01 Cherokee (last year they sold them in the U.S.) and can report similar experiences to bartonalong -- no mechanical issues, but lots of electrical and sensor gremlins. In fact, right now it's a month overdue for registration because I can't figure out how to fix an emissions problem that trips the check engine light. And last month it was in the shop for a week to track down a stalling problem (crankshaft position sensor). It has 140,000 miles on it, and my wife and I love driving it and consider it a member of the family. But one which has stranded us a few times, is not particularly comfortable, and can be damned unreliable. If we had/have kids, it'll probably have to go before it hits 200K.
Back in the early 00s, we had a '98 Subaru Forester, which we absolutely loathed. Its off-road performance (AWD vs. real 4WD) was pitiful for anything but driving up snowy paved roads to a ski area, and it had some engine problems that plagued Soobs from that era (leaking, overheating, piston slap). If you're really doing off-road driving, you need a real off-road truck with a frame and mechanical 4WD.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2010
My Dad had his '89 Land Cruiser for 16 years, and the only reason he sold it was because we moved to a different country. In that entire time, the only thing he ever replaced on it were the tires and the battery.
posted by LarrenD at 10:49 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by LarrenD at 10:49 AM on December 14, 2010
(And all the stuff for routine services, I guess. Spark plugs, dist. cap, the like.)
posted by LarrenD at 10:51 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by LarrenD at 10:51 AM on December 14, 2010
re trading in the 2 door Civic for a 4 door: my wife and I traded her 2 door Civic in for a 4 door VW when our child was born. As it turns out, it was actually a lot easier to get in and out of my 2 door BMW than into the VW. I don't remember if the Civic's seats lift forward or not, but if they do it's not as difficult to get to the car seat as you might think.
posted by dabug at 12:33 PM on December 14, 2010
posted by dabug at 12:33 PM on December 14, 2010
A Toyota Land Cruiser is a beast. I mean that in every sense of the word. They last for ever, they hold all your stuff, plus a whole bunch of other stuff, and they drive very... deliberately. Like an old Volvo wagon with a 12-foot mast and sail.
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:00 PM on December 14, 2010
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:00 PM on December 14, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for all of your responses. We opted against the Land Cruiser because the dealership seemed kind of shady. This weekend we bought an '07 4Runner with 86K miles. We got a great price on it and I'm hoping it lasts forever, of course! Still haven't figured out the Civic trade-in.
posted by lbo at 9:00 AM on December 20, 2010
posted by lbo at 9:00 AM on December 20, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by caddis at 8:21 AM on December 14, 2010