Buying a new vehicle

[dvtldav]

My wife is looking at buying a new vehicle & I am looking for input good & bad on what we are looking at. The vehicles we are looking at are the Jeep liberty, Dodge Nitro, Chevy Equinox, & the Saturn Vue. All are 6 cylinders and either 4 wheel drive or front wheel drive. This vehicle will pretty much be her run around/go to work vehicle, the Lucerne will be used on trips. Any input good or bad will be appreciated.

Dave

[SSMUFF]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Yes, here is some advice. I have a jeep grand cherokee with the 4.0 and love it. For what $3k-$5K more you can go from the liberty to the grand cherokee. Same with all of them. Why do you need 4x4? My jeep is 2x4 and drives just fine in snow. I don't get these small suv's. The trunk of a maxima is bigger then some of these. Maybe go with a passat wagon or jetta wagon if you need room.

[new2detailing]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

IMO I find the new Liberty incredibly cramped inside. The new Vue is basically an unadulterated Opel (that is a good thing...trust me) and has very good road manners. The Dodge Nitro is a Liberty clone w/o a 4low transfer case. (overpriced and pointless IMO). The Equinox is very comfortable inside. I would recommend the 3.6L V6 compared to the base V6(Chinese made...no joke) engine. My only concern is the predicted reliability of the Equinox (based on Edmunds.com owner reviews)

[Nappers]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

I know too many people/or heard of reliability problems with the Liberty/Dodge Nitro (they are made on the same line) and less as such with the Grand Cherokee. The resale on them are horrid too, Dodge vehicles don't do well on resale. But...I know a lot of people who own them and some on this very forum and haven't heard a peep about problems.

I test drove a Vue and they are very nice, drove like a dream, I almost talked the wife into getting one but didn't want another car loan extended, she wants to pay off our cars. Sheesh! The high end ones have heated seats, sunroof, leather (I think) etc. Do not get the 3.5ltr as someone mentioned, it's gutless compared to the high feature 3.6. GM has a lot of vehicles surpassing Lexus in reliability!

My inlaw's just bought a Honda CRV and it's roomier than we thought (we test drove the vue for them), 4 cylinder and plenty of power and it's 4wd (or AWD, not sure....probably auto 4wd). They get pretty decent mileage too!

Find a consumer report and check the reliability of these cars or other sources so you don't buy a pile of doo. I like a lot of Dodge vehicles, but every buddy at work who bought one has problems with it, one guy had so many troubles he got rid of it and ate the money on it when he bought a Tundra. But....a lot of Dodge vehicles out there.....(yeah, they build Jeep in case you didn't know )

I also cruise the forums for that particular vehicle and see whats happening. I learned about some part in the heater on older Liberty's and told my coworker what could be wrong with her heater (fan or something) and she got it fixed cheap instead of a dealer charging a gazillion dollars.

Have fun !!!

Aaron

[Mr Mustang]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Yes, here is some advice. I have a jeep grand cherokee with the 4.0 and love it. For what $3k-$5K more you can go from the liberty to the grand cherokee. Same with all of them. Why do you need 4x4? My jeep is 2x4 and drives just fine in snow. I don't get these small suv's. The trunk of a maxima is bigger then some of these. Maybe go with a passat wagon or jetta wagon if you need room.

+1, I have a 99, I test drove a Liberty, mine is bigger, about the same price, looks better IMO, and surprisingly enough, with a 4.0 you'll get better mileage

[sdprius858]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Get a Prius. I can fit a bike in the rear with the seats folded down and a 6 foot table. With some dedicated snow tires, they handle just fine in the snow

[Sal329]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

I would say the Vue from those choices

[Rain X Fire]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

My son has a 05 Liberty and has had zero problems with it at 150 K The question of size is a personal one. If you need to carry six people or 4 x 8 sheets of wood then it is too small. If you need to carry four people and a weeks of grocery's then it seems to be perfect.
The last point is do you intend to sell it in a year or two. If you do then the depreciation is an issue. If you intend to keep it for five to ten years then depreciation is not an issue.

All of the suggested cars are worth while. You have to decide based on your needs and budget.

[seth1066]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Coming from the used automobile industry, I'd get a "previously owned" anything rather than new. My current favorite SUV is a Honda Pilot. For your choices, here are some actual dealer to dealer transactions from an East coast auction in late July and earlier this month:

2007.NITRO.....6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.SR.4X4..7,261.BLACK.$14,700
2007.NITRO.R/T.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.SR.4X4.12,848.RED...$18,600
2007.NITRO.SLT.6G.4SUV.O.PS.PB.AC.HT.4X4.20,124.WHITE.$13,700
2007.NITRO.SXT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC....4X4.28,496.GOLD..$12,000
2007.NITRO.SXT.6G.4SUV.O.PS.PB.AC.HT.4X4.27,646.WHITE.$12,200
2007.NITRO.SLT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.SR.4X4.12,404.BLACK.$16,500
2007.NITRO.SLT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC....4X2.35,840.PEWT..$11,800
2007.NITRO.SXT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC....4X4.12,515.BRONZ.$13,200
2007.NITRO.SXT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC....4X4.27,050.CHAMP.$12,400
2008.NITRO.SXT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC....4X4.21,720.WHITE.$14,600

2007.EQUINOX.LT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.......25,214.MARN..$11,400
2007.EQUINOX.LS.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC...AWD.6,912.GRAY...$12,800
2007.EQUINOX.LT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC...AWD.31,609.WHITE.$12,000
2007.EQUINOX.LT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC...AWD.30,854.WHITE.$12,800
2007.EQUINOX.LT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC...AWD.42,209.BLUE..$11,300
2007.EQUINOX.LS.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.......16,167.GRAY..$12,800
2007.EQUINOX.LT.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC...4X2.32,621.DKGRY.$11,800
2008.EQUINOX.LTZ.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC......22,217.GREY..$13,200

2008.VUE.AWD.XE.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.AWD..4,761.BLACK...$15,800
2008.VUE.AWD.XR.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.AWD.28,277.SLVR....$16,000
2008.VUE.2WD.XE.4G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.4X2.23,115.ORANGE..$14,100
2008.VUE.2WD.XE.4G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.4X2.29,873.WHITE...$13,400
2008.VUE.2WD.XR.6G.4SUV.A.PS.PB.AC.....23,281.BEIGE...$14,700
2008.VUE.AWD.XR.6G.4SUV.O.PS.PB.AC.AWD.30,763.GOLD....$16,600
2008.VUE.AWD.XR.6G.4SUV.O.PS.PB.AC.AWD.30,763.GOLD....$16,600
2007.VUE.AWD....6G.4SUV.A..........AWD.41,121.WHT.....$13,000

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Get a Prius. I can fit a bike in the rear with the seats folded down and a 6 foot table. With some dedicated snow tires, they handle just fine in the snow

Rofl...

Isn't the Prius the car that will SHUT OFF if you go up a certain (rather mild) incline in the snow? The car literally freaks out and turns off...no known fix last I heard.

On that note, if by your logic a Prius handles fine in the snow, than every single car on the road can too...so why get the Prius?

[Jeepster04]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Weve got 4 jeeps so my opinion is a bit biased.

One thing is when you own a jeep youve got to want to own it. Weve never had any major problems out of our Jeeps but they are not perfect, its a Jeep.

I would never give it up based on gas prices but youve got to remember, 'its a jeep'... It will get between 16-20mpg.

Get that new sky slider roof!

[sdprius858]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Rofl...

Isn't the Prius the car that will SHUT OFF if you go up a certain (rather mild) incline in the snow? The car literally freaks out and turns off...no known fix last I heard.

On that note, if by your logic a Prius handles fine in the snow, than every single car on the road can too...so why get the Prius?

Well, in that case, a Mercedes Unimog or Pinzgauer should be suitable enough

[CarbonBlack]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

I would get one of the GM's. The lambada platform is great!

[Ryan L.]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

I have a 04 Liberty (see avatar and threads of mine) and I love it. Unlike most people, we haven't had one problem with it. Gone through a lot of brakes and tires, but we go out to the desert a couple times a month and it's lifted with bigger tires. It handles really well and has relatively good power considering its a 4000 SUV powered by a 3.7L V-6. The main reason I like it is because its not as bone stock as a Wrangler, and not as nice as the other models at the time. Right in between.

Ryan

[pwaug]

Re: Buying a new vehicle

Seems like you are looking for something with some utility. Have you looked at the new VW Sportswagon. With the 2.OT engine it has allot of pick up or you could wait until the TDI is available in the winter, but don't pay attention to the EPA numbers on the TDI as they are not accurate. Milage will be more like 38/46.