The Automotive Thread
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snickerd3
Taking suggestions
all suvs are starting to look like minivans, its quite horrible. another reason i was leaning towards truck
MetsFan
Well-known member
Too bad the Touareg isn't coming back to the US. My V6 has a 6,600 lb towing capacity. My co-worker has a Nissan Armada that he tows with, but that's a lot bigger than the Pilot.
I still have my sedan, and honestly don't feel like it's too small. Obviously, if we're taking a trip to Ikea, the Touareg would be better suited for it, but I pretty much drive the G everywhere else.
Get the truck! Don't be like me! I hate having to borrow friend's trucks when I need to pick something big up. I knew I should have bought a truck when I first got here, and I didn't. And I regret it almost every day.
That said, you probably don't need a 4x4 where you live. No offense. So you don't have to spend $40k on a truck.
snickerd3
Taking suggestions
other than the 1-2 yrs i drove a beat up K-car in college, I have driven suv or larger vehicles. Learned to drive in a chevy astro van, had a chevy blazer, CRV and now a pilot. I'm just more comfortable driving larger vehicles.
"larger' is a relative term. I would not necessarily consider any of those a "larger vehicle". I grew up in the late 70's when the full size Impalas, Cadillac Fleetwoods and Olds 98s were the larger vehicles.
When the kids were small we had a '93 Caprice Classic wagon. Comfortable 8 passenger car. I just got rid of a '99 Buick LeSabre IMHO, it was a full size car but the Park Avenue was even bigger at the time.
To me now a larger vehicle is a Suburban, Expedition, full size quad cab pick up, full size van, etc.
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Paying $20k up front for a used vehicle that you keep 5 years is the same is paying $333/mo on a lease. The main difference is with the lease you start with a new vehicle and you get another new vehicle every 2-3 years. There's a lot of reasons this can be attractive, e.g. if you really need a newer, reliable vehicle (such as my 90 year old grandma who leased vehicles for many years) and/or don't want the possibility of massive maintenance/repair costs when the vehicle goes out of warranty.Which is definitely a different situation for you. However, I just can't fathom signing up to always have a payment for something I'll never own. I already do that for insurance.
On the other hand if you're like me and are super cheap about vehicles and don't mind driving something old and crappy, then you buy something cheap and drive it into the ground for 20+ years.
Another option is to get a trailer. Most things you haul with a truck you can also haul on a trailer. That way you're not buying a truck you only need a few times a year and paying for low gas mileage 100% of the time. This is the option I've been using lately, either borrowing a trailer or renting one from Uhaul for $25/day.
Road Guy
Well-known member
that's how I survived back in ATL is I had a 4X6 trailer (bought it from Lowes $400 bucks) that thing was a life saver.
I don't have room for a trailer here here so I just use my 2002 Tahoe with no seats in the rear of the vehicle its almost like having an actual truck (my kids are driving the Tahoe)
The wife is already regretting not getting a 4 Runner - she bought a highlander because we need the 3 rows of seats but this thing is really a piece of crap, no horsepower but it gets about the same gas mileage as he Tahoe does.. So I think if you have a job, a credit score >700 just get the vehicle you want and don't listen to any of the other hens out there
I don't have room for a trailer here here so I just use my 2002 Tahoe with no seats in the rear of the vehicle its almost like having an actual truck (my kids are driving the Tahoe)
The wife is already regretting not getting a 4 Runner - she bought a highlander because we need the 3 rows of seats but this thing is really a piece of crap, no horsepower but it gets about the same gas mileage as he Tahoe does.. So I think if you have a job, a credit score >700 just get the vehicle you want and don't listen to any of the other hens out there
I have the 4Runner and it doesn't have very good gas mileage, either. Seems OK in the power department though, but it drives an offroad vehicle on the highway - maybe a little more comfortable but it doesn't exactly instill confidence going around curves at highway speed.
knight1fox3
Jedi MASTER & Friend of Capt. Solo
Understood. But it's the ownership aspect of it and not having a payment for that length of time allows for income to be applied to other areas of our budget. And we generally keep our cars for 10-11 years.
Ble_PE
I need a beer.
I'm leaning toward the truck, and if I get a truck I'll get 4x4 even if I don't really need it ! RWD trucks are worse than anything else on the road if you get some snow or ice and Raleigh is known for getting a few ice storms every winter. I'm going to keep this thing 10-15 years, so I might as well get what I want!
! RWD trucks are worse than anything else on the road if you get some snow or ice and Raleigh is known for getting a few ice storms every winter. I'm going to keep this thing 10-15 years, so I might as well get what I want!
Ble_PE
I need a beer.
The newest CRV is actually bigger than any of the others. I used to have an 06 and I thought the same thing, but I looked it up and they now have more cargo space than ever. Still don't think I want one...
Dexman PE PMP
Internationally PMP'n his PE-ness
I'm not really a good authority on the "want vs need" category of buying vehicles. The Camaro is only car I've truly owned outright (not counting anything purchased for less than $3k on craigslist).
For the truck vs trailer aspect, we went with a small trailer. We bought one from Harbor Freight through a guy on Craigslist who did all the assembly ($300 for the trailer, $100 for assembly). Cost another $100 or so getting it titled, licensed, insured, and the side panels built. It was amazing because we could fold it up into the corner of the garage when not needed (footprint of about 2' x 5') and it was light enough for me to pick up the hitch and walk it around.
The Camaro is only car I've truly owned outright (not counting anything purchased for less than $3k on craigslist).For the truck vs trailer aspect, we went with a small trailer. We bought one from Harbor Freight through a guy on Craigslist who did all the assembly ($300 for the trailer, $100 for assembly). Cost another $100 or so getting it titled, licensed, insured, and the side panels built. It was amazing because we could fold it up into the corner of the garage when not needed (footprint of about 2' x 5') and it was light enough for me to pick up the hitch and walk it around.
New 4x4 trucks are nuts. The Mrs. Supe's 05 CRV is starting to grow on me in terms of convenience/how much shit you can cram in the back. I'd personally buy the CRV, and buy a beater truck to go with it. You'd probably still come in under the cost of a decent new truck.
Finally got the Porsche running again yesterday. Getting good at swapping engines, this is the third time I've done it. Had a serious pucker moment when the oil light came on and stayed on. Ended up swapping the oil pressure sending unit off the old motor and the light went off, so fingers crossed there are no issues. Still need to put strut tower bar back on, change sway bar settings, install new brake lines and bleed brakes before Friday.
Finally got the Porsche running again yesterday. Getting good at swapping engines, this is the third time I've done it. Had a serious pucker moment when the oil light came on and stayed on. Ended up swapping the oil pressure sending unit off the old motor and the light went off, so fingers crossed there are no issues. Still need to put strut tower bar back on, change sway bar settings, install new brake lines and bleed brakes before Friday.
Saturn is really starting to turn into a piece of shit. Expensive timing belt change looming, also. Think it is going to get reduced to beater status very soon. I was dead set on a Focus ST, but the more I read, the more it supposedly sucked as a family car because of a complete lack of rear seat room. I am probably going to go give the Civic SI sedan a test drive and see how the loss of HP stacks up.
Ble_PE
I need a beer.
Yea, it's hard to swallow over $6000 more for a truck that doesn't have near the number of luxuries that the CRV would have. The 2017 CRV is much nicer than the 2007-2016 IMHO.
That must be a cheap truck. Last decent truck I priced out online was nearly $55K. A Silverado short box crew cab starts at over $40K and aren't all that practical.
The only issue with the wife's CRV is a damn headlight issue that was recalled for the earlier years, but not for 2005. Other than that, it's damn near indestructible. She has run it out of oil, repeatedly, and it keeps on ticking with nothing more than replacing a $105 VTEC solenoid/oil pressure switch combo. I'm determined to make that thing live for another 100K.
The only issue with the wife's CRV is a damn headlight issue that was recalled for the earlier years, but not for 2005. Other than that, it's damn near indestructible. She has run it out of oil, repeatedly, and it keeps on ticking with nothing more than replacing a $105 VTEC solenoid/oil pressure switch combo. I'm determined to make that thing live for another 100K.
Flyer_PE
Jr. PE / Sr. Company Pilot
I was wandering around the lot a few weeks ago while my truck was being serviced. Sticker prices on a new F150 with pretty much the same options I'm running now are over $60k. Who the hell can afford that?
