Help me pick a used car

[flip]

Actually, Element is the WORST people hauler. Damn thing only has 4 seats for christs sake. And, if you actually want any cargo room in the back 1 of those 4 seats is coming out or folding up against the wall, so 3 seats.

4 comfy seats with good legroom and headroom. Sure you can fit a 5th person in the other two but they won't be comfy for a 3 hour trip.

I've owned the 4runner (two, in fact) and a Forester (because the Outback wasn't tall enough internally to haul bikes) and have spent plenty of time in my ex's Element. The interior of her car was definitely more usable and practical than either of mine.

[voiron]

Buy German.

[Nobody Famous]

one of these:


Or these:

[Nobody Famous]

If you're into the retro thing:

[davieboot]

If you had a choice between a 1999 4Runner with 160k miles or a 2002 Xterra with 80k miles for the same price, which would you get? Both are in great shape.

[Tye 1on]

If you're into the retro thing:

[Jesse]

Personnally I'd buy X-Terra, 1/2 the miles * same price = no brainer
My dad has had Frontier since new as 2nd car and has had no problems at all yet (2000? truck, but baisicaly same as the x-terra). I would agree that the 3.3l is a little underpowered and the milage isn't that great, but reliability has been solid. A slightly new x-terra with 4.0l has more power and better milage. Take a look for one of those if they are within your budget.
Saying that, if I was shopping I'd buy a smaller car like a Subie or Audi. I'd really like a A3 if I had the $.

[Nobody Famous]

-4WD/AWD
-Manual Transmission
-enough room to carry 4 people and their gear on a road trip
-Reliable
-Ability to fold down the seats and have enough room to sleep in it.

1. Check
2. Check, an auto tranny wouldn't support those treads.
3. Ah, no. 2 at most.
4. It's an old Ford PU. These things are built like WW II tanks.
5. No. But you could take off the homemade uni-strut frame and put a camper shell on 'er.

[davieboot]

Anyone have a CR-V, or have driven one extensively? They seem decent, but wanted a first hand review.

[puhisurfer]

I went trough all of these, extensively, when looking to buy. CRV won hands down. The element is a joke advertised for the Pepsi crowd. If you need a bigger/more powerful car, then go there. If you need a mid-size people hauler that'll go through most any conditions you wanna drive through, then go the CRV. I've driven mine all over the snows of Wyoming, NE, and the sands of HI, and never been stuck.

Currently my CRV has 73,000 miles on it, and aside from tires, brake pads, and oil changes, I've had to put exactly $0 into repairs. I am completely confident that this car will go well past 150k without significant investment.

Like I've said before here, though, if you are taller than 6'0 then you need to look elsewhere.