Advice on purchasing my first vehicle (SUV)

[Talos91]

Good day fellas, i've been looking to buy my first vehicle for a few months now and i made the decision to go for an SUV. I can't afford a brand new vehicle so my budget runs along the 60k - 75k max line. I have been driving my parents Sorento for a few years and i'm used to larger sized vehicles.

I've narrowed it down to a few models which i will include in the pictures to follow. I know there's no "best" vehicle to buy but given the experience of fellow owners, i'd like to know what model out of my selection would be the best purchase. I'm mainly looking at reliability, cost of parts, availability of said parts and room for tall people (6 feet+). Secondary preference would be an SUV with 4 wheel drive capability. Not planning on going off road but in the unfortunate instance where my front or rear tires are stuck, it would be nice to not have to ask for a tow or call a wrecker.

Thanks for the advice, here are the models i was most interested in:

2003-2006 rav4


2006 x-trail


2006 CRV


2001 RX300


2005 Forester


2000 Surf


1996 Prado


2003 Sorento


1998 Pajero



If you can give me an idea of which of those are the most economic and easily maintained, i'd appreciate it alot. If you prefer not to reply to the thread, i will have an online poll here in case you don't want any ole talk.

http://www.strawpoll.me/18022866

Thanks for the advice guys.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Personally I'd say the rav4 or the xtrail based on the budget and availability of parts...parts for the rav 4 will be more than the x trail but both ah good vehicles.....I know someone with the model Crv you are interested in and according to him, prices for some parts lil high and well a pain in the arse to locate...

[SLVR1]

RAV4 or CRV IMO. The older you go, the more repairs/maintenance will be needed. That's a fact no matter how well maintained. Look for someone with service records to back up your purchase so you will know what was/was not changed.

[tr1ad]

rav or xtrail… forester heavy on gas

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

The Golden rule is if in doubt, buy Toyota and if you don't like how the Toyota looks then go Nissan, the quality is lower but parts cheaper. And there is a reason for this, but you will only ever learn it the hard way when you invest your hard earned money and the vehicle starts to break down and when you go to buy parts you either can't find it or the price is high.

And when I say high I don't mean high as in how all Toyota parts cost more, with Toyota you actually get value for money but in those other brands you will pay high prices simply because there is limited availability of the parts. And trust me you eh want this to happen to you.

Ultimately do what you want, you won't buy a Toyota you will buy the sexier looking vehicle since Toyotas are known to be ugly.
When you do this you will learn your lesson the hard way which IMO is the proper way to learn. I mean how else would other car makers survive if we didn't make mistakes in life when buying vehicles?

When you buy Toyota you have a vehicle for life.

[blitz83]

The Golden rule is if in doubt, buy Toyota and if you don't like how the Toyota looks then go Nissan, the quality is lower but parts cheaper. And there is a reason for this, but you will only ever learn it the hard way when you invest your hard earned money and the vehicle starts to break down and when you go to buy parts you either can't find it or the price is high.

And when I say high I don't mean high as in how all Toyota parts cost more, with Toyota you actually get value for money but in those other brands you will pay high prices simply because there is limited availability of the parts. And trust me you eh want this to happen to you.

Ultimately do what you want, you won't buy a Toyota you will buy the sexier looking vehicle since Toyotas are known to be ugly.
When you do this you will learn your lesson the hard way which IMO is the proper way to learn. I mean how else would other car makers survive if we didn't make mistakes in life when buying vehicles?

When you buy Toyota you have a vehicle for life.

I thought is ah bicycle yuh have? You giving man car advice now.

[TurboSingh12]

Rav or the Crv

[Spitfir3]

Rav4 or Xtrail, if you look around you might be able to get a 2008 rav4 in your price range
parts will be more of a problem with the other options

[shake d livin wake d dead]

forget that prado and lexus

[MaxPower]

Hello OP,

RAV or the CRV.

Stay away from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru.

[K74T]

CRV

[VexXx Dogg]

Agreed, RAV or CRV

[Ben_spanna]

Rav, Xtrail, Crv,, all those others you going to have a lot of maintenance and parts will be hard and expensive to get.

[TheBoostLord]

If you can work on cars, and can bring in your own parts get any damn one you want. if you will be paying a mechanic to do work and sourcing parts locally stick to toyota or nissan. Forget those older vehicles, cus im SURE you need a 50% extra whatever you paid to get them up to standard. FYI from that list ive owned a few foresters, prado, pajero & lexus. If i couldnt do my own work and had to pay someone i wouldnt even consider them.

[snatman]

why not a 2009/2010 Forester?

[Ben_spanna]

Foresters burn too much gas...period...…..

[hustla_ambition101]

Rav4 or xtrail. Have friends who always complaining about their crvs and parts availability and something always fixing. If you dont mind premium go for the fozzy.

[maj. tom]

Toyota or Honda.

Make sure you check the service history before you buy. You want a used car from someone who used to take care of their vehicle or else you may end up having to search Bamboo for a transmission 1 month later. You could carry a mechanic or someone with that kind of garage experience with you if you've decided, but want to make sure it's a good deal. Would save you plenty money in the long run.


Scotty Kilmer can give some good advice too when he ready, so check out these videos:

[TheBoostLord]

why not a 2009/2010 Forester?

a non turbo forester can actually work out pretty well. they are reliable, parts easy to get, economy could be better though. they are awd all the time, not fwd until the wheels slips. So the trade off is a bit less fuel economy. newer models with the fa engines are muchhh better on fuel. def cant go wrong with those, just they are out of this price range.

[De Dragon]

Surprised no one has said it yet. B14, if'n you want the extra seating, overload it.

[DVSTT]

OP have you considered a Grand Vitara. You may be able to get the 2006-2010 model for around your budget.

[Talos91]

OP have you considered a Grand Vitara. You may be able to get the 2006-2010 model for around your budget.

I have considered the grand vitara but i was told parts are expensive and hard to find and they aren't as reliable as the others listed.

Thanks for the advice from everyone else, i will narrow my search with the advice given.

[hondablood]

x trail is just a big almera with 4wd,waste of time,crv or rav 4 is the better options

[screwbash]

doh buy no vehicle. is wasting money . insurance gone up for no dam reason, gas gone up to full dem minister puckets, jus now gas go run out so no gas to drive d car, dem auto parts place raise the price ah all d oil and sheit so it more expensive, jus now police gonna start to stop parking on all dem streets where people parking dey car on d road like if it dey own car park an causing traffic. it have no pro reason to buy a vehicle. save d money an buy a house close to where u working so u cud walk tuh work instead.

[brainchild]

Rav 4 or CRV. Xtrails have a habit of disappearing from carparks.

[dean_spleen09]

op them men selling you dreams
buy a b14

[moti]

Rav 4 or CRV. Xtrails have a habit of disappearing from carparks.

x trail is just a big almera with 4wd,waste of time,crv or rav 4 is the better options

I thought I was the only one who thought this.


OP, the Rav 4 is a great option.
The RX300 is also not a bad one as although they are old there are a lot in the US which is always a good thing when buying a vehicle as you have another source for most parts.
I also have a RX and it isn't hard to get parts like joints, shocks engine parts as the 1MZ V6 also came in some camry.
Bushings are not an issue as I got those remade in a machine shop.

[agent007]

OP, $75k for any used vehicle has its risks. SUVs/Crossovers are experiencing better resale value than cars now so with a $75k max budget, you won’t be getting an exceptional vehicle. Sellers today are also very unethical and the truth is, not all of them are migrating or already upgraded. They are passing a headache onto you and they might have been somewhat successful in hiding some problems to make you feel all is well but no longer than a month into ownership, you visiting mechanic to fix blown gaskets and worn transmissions etc.

That said, of all the vehicles you highlighted, I would say go for the:

00-05 XA20 RAV4 with the 1AZ-FE engine
05-12 XA30 RAV4 with the 1AZ-FE engine
01-06 RD4 CRV with the K20A4 engine
02-13 T30 X-Trail with the QR20DE engine

Stay far from from a 13-19 XA40 RAV4 because if ever you see one selling for under $100k, tell yourself it’s a wrecked vehicle and the seller failed to mention that it’s a half-cut they advertising.

Stay far from the 06-11 RE CRV with the R20A engine. Consider one with the K24 motor (yes there are a few out there) but good luck finding one under $100k. If you do find a K24 3rd gen for sale at your asking price, refer to XA40 RAV4 comments above or they selling the vehicle minus the transmission.

Stay away from T31 and T32 Xtrails period regardless of the asking price unless you like headache. In terms of the T30s, there are actually some QR25DE units around with additional features. If you do manage to get one of these well taken care of at your asking price then take it ASAP.

Try to stick with local used, not foreign abused with single or multiple local owners. Also, don’t even think about buying a used Forester that is more than a decade old. That vehicle will make you broke and if it’s chaos you like, a used 1st gen Kia Sorento 2.5 diesel will seal the deal for you. Utter rubbish.

[hong kong phooey]

Talos
i know this have nothing to do with the question asked
but you should consider fuel consumption, SUV burn a lot more gas than a small car.
What ever car you decide to buy take a mechanic with you let them check it out .
to many vehicles out there with false history. Run a search on it . Loads of people buying crashed vehicles fixing cheaply and reselling them
stay away from any vehicle you see advertised as lady driven

[Talos91]

Talos
i know this have nothing to do with the question asked
but you should consider fuel consumption, SUV burn a lot more gas than a small car.
What ever car you decide to buy take a mechanic with you let them check it out .
to many vehicles out there with false history. Run a search on it . Loads of people buying crashed vehicles fixing cheaply and reselling them
stay away from any vehicle you see advertised as lady driven

Will keep that in mind man, thanks.

OP, $75k for any used vehicle has its risks. SUVs/Crossovers are experiencing better resale value than cars now so with a $75k max budget, you won’t be getting an exceptional vehicle. Sellers today are also very unethical and the truth is, not all of them are migrating or already upgraded. They are passing a headache onto you and they might have been somewhat successful in hiding some problems to make you feel all is well but no longer than a month into ownership, you visiting mechanic to fix blown gaskets and worn transmissions etc.

That said, of all the vehicles you highlighted, I would say go for the:

00-05 XA20 RAV4 with the 1AZ-FE engine
05-12 XA30 RAV4 with the 1AZ-FE engine
01-06 RD4 CRV with the K20A4 engine
02-13 T30 X-Trail with the QR20DE engine

Stay far from from a 13-19 XA40 RAV4 because if ever you see one selling for under $100k, tell yourself it’s a wrecked vehicle and the seller failed to mention that it’s a half-cut they advertising.

Stay far from the 06-11 RE CRV with the R20A engine. Consider one with the K24 motor (yes there are a few out there) but good luck finding one under $100k. If you do find a K24 3rd gen for sale at your asking price, refer to XA40 RAV4 comments above or they selling the vehicle minus the transmission.

Stay away from T31 and T32 Xtrails period regardless of the asking price unless you like headache. In terms of the T30s, there are actually some QR25DE units around with additional features. If you do manage to get one of these well taken care of at your asking price then take it ASAP.

Try to stick with local used, not foreign abused with single or multiple local owners. Also, don’t even think about buying a used Forester that is more than a decade old. That vehicle will make you broke and if it’s chaos you like, a used 1st gen Kia Sorento 2.5 diesel will seal the deal for you. Utter rubbish.

Thanks alot for taking the time to go into elaborate detail about the specifics regarding these vehicles. I'll try my best to follow your advice when making my purchase.