First Vehicle for Daughter

lncoop

lncoop

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Time to get Little Deuce her own ride! :eek: Needs to be under $4k and would prefer a small SUV. I've been looking at CR-Vs, RAV4s and Hyundai Tucsons. Was considering the Jeep Liberty but it appears to have a bit of an increased rollover risk compared to the rest of the class so that's off the table. She's a really good driver so I wouldn't be too concerned about it, but her mom would be and I prefer to keep the peace. Was also considering the Forester but the endemic head gasket issue scares me.

So, thoughts on the aforementioned? Any others I should consider? Anything I should know? Etc. etc. etc.
 
aspeck

aspeck

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Army surplus has a Deuce and a Half for sale ... That should be safe enough for Momma!
 
lncoop

lncoop

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aspeck said:
Army surplus has a Deuce and a Half for sale ... That should be safe enough for Momma!
Click to expand...

Don't tempt me. Deuce and Little Deuce would both approve! The former Mrs. Deuce not so much. Then again, it's coming out of my pocket.............. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.............
 
avenger79

avenger79

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so you call your daughter a little turd? LOL

BTW the Jeep Liberty is a very good vehicle, I would not hesitate to put my child in one.
I have a friend with a Rav4 and a sister with a CRV those are nice vehicles as well but I think you will spend more on them.

I have a Jeep wrangler that has been very good to me for reliability and my friends Liberty seems to be doing as well.
 
Water logged

Water logged

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Go with a Crv if you can find one. I drove a 99 Crv from April 99 to July 2011, minimal maintenance costs, nice to drive.

Glenn
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

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Personally, I didn't let any of our kids get SUVs when they were new drivers, and they didn't get to drive the pickup (without me being in it) until I was sure they were sufficiently experienced.

IMO, the handling characteristics of an SUV are not suited to inexperienced drivers. The Jeep Liberty is fairly bad compared to the others in that class, but all of them tend to have fairly high centers of gravity and are prone to rollovers compared to most sedans.

(I've known a couple of friends who bought Jeeps and regretted it immensely, but I'm not familiar with their overall track record.)
 
lncoop

lncoop

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avenger79 said:
so you call your daughter a little turd? LOL

BTW the Jeep Liberty is a very good vehicle, I would not hesitate to put my child in one.
I have a friend with a Rav4 and a sister with a CRV those are nice vehicles as well but I think you will spend more on them.

I have a Jeep wrangler that has been very good to me for reliability and my friends Liberty seems to be doing as well.
Click to expand...

Ha. Nope. My nickname is Deuce as in Little Deuce Coop, so all my buddies call her Little Deuce.
 
dingbat

dingbat

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I bought my middle daughter a loaded 1999 Camry for $4,500 when she got here license at 16.

Fast forward, 3 years of high school, 5 years of college and 8 months of the real world (work) it's now her daily driver.

Youngest daughter drove the Tahoe (5.3L) for the first 2 years. Went broke putting gas in the thing going to and from school and work. Bought her a 2003 Civic LX and shes' never been happier. One more year of college and it will be her daily driver as well.
 
lncoop

lncoop

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Okay. 98 RAV4 five speed manual AWD. 144k miles. First owner bought it for a camp he donated land to. Second owner bought it with 100k miles as a commuter for a job he no longer has. Says no issues other than two lowest speeds on heat and a/c fan control don't work. Works fine on top two speeds and blows hot and cold as it should. Burns maybe a quart of oil per change but doesn't smoke nor leak. Otherwise perfect. Interior and exterior are nearly immaculate. He'd allow me to pick it up, drive it two hours south to a Toyota dealership whose owners I know for a thorough going through, then return to close the deal assuming it checks out. Asking $2600. 4.5 hour drive one way but it's a purty drive. Thoughts?
 
lncoop

lncoop

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dingbat said:
I bought my middle daughter a loaded 1999 Camry for $4,500 when she got here license at 16.

Fast forward, 3 years of high school, 5 years of college and 8 months of the real world (work) it's now her daily driver.

Youngest daughter drove the Tahoe (5.3L) for the first 2 years. Went broke putting gas in the thing going to and from school and work. Bought her a 2003 Civic LX and shes' never been happier. One more year of college and it will be her daily driver as well.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty set on getting her a small SUV for several reasons, and the ones I'm considering get very good mileage. According to my agent cost to insure is comparable to a car, in some cases (Civic being one) they're even a little cheaper.
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

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just sold my '03 Blazer 4x4 for $2k with only 124k on the clock and I knew the history of the vehicle from new. most of the miles put on 100 per day by me.

sold to the neighbor for his son. they wanted it because of the aggressive tires, knowledge of who owned it, etc.

$2600 for a 20 year old Rav 4 with 144k on the clock is a bit over-priced
 
lncoop

lncoop

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Scott Danforth said:
just sold my '03 Blazer 4x4 for $2k with only 124k on the clock and I knew the history of the vehicle from new. most of the miles put on 100 per day by me.

sold to the neighbor for his son. they wanted it because of the aggressive tires, knowledge of who owned it, etc.

$2600 for a 20 year old Rav 4 with 144k on the clock is a bit over-priced
Click to expand...

Thanks Scott. Apparently it doesn't have ESC either which is a deal breaker. Sigh.
 
aspeck

aspeck

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Since you didn't like my original ideas (which I thought were great for a 16 year old driver, BTW), because you are looking at older vehicles, basically through the Used Car Prices book out the window. It all comes down to miles on the odometer and over all shape of the vehicle. You can get any older vintage vehicle at any price, it all depends on the shape of the vehicle and how picky your are going to be. So, don't worry about the year, just worry about the condition of the engine, interior, exterior, and transmission. And don't forget to look at those Deuce and A Halfs.
 
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