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The Saturn Vue was mentioned and it is also a very good choice. GM's Saturn Vue came with a Honda engine for several years. Also, could get a Honda transmission it.
eek, I sell used auto parts for a living and I could retire if everyone who owns a Vue bought their needed used engine and tranny from me, huge high failure rate. JMHO, YMMV.
Yeh, I'm leaning toward going back to my trusty Santy, or trying my first Honda. The disappointment with my current Toyota is too fresh for me to want another one. And again, I have lost all faith in US-made. I can get a two-year-newer Santa Fe over a CRV for about the same price. It'll probably boil down to the right ad on Craigslist at the right time.
I wild say Land Cruiser, but they are going to be much older and thirstier than a CR-V. The CR-V is a well made vehicle that is quite reliable too. A neighbor has a Santa Fe that they have owned since new and has been relatively trouble-free for 190k miles, three boys, and two nannies. Their older son drives it, and it is still running well at the hands of a sixteen year-old. I am not a Hyundai fan, but the Santa Fe seems decent.
A friend had an offset head-on with a careless driver in a Santa Fe and it performed well in the accident. He was able to walk away with a minor wrist sprain from holding the wheel during the crash.
The Subaru in your price/year range are the bad head gasket years. However, if you were to search for one that is a one owner with records, and has had a proper head gasket repair, you should have many more miles left in the vehicle. Subaru courts an affluent customer base, similar to Volvo, so maintenance issues are generally not a concern, i.e., they tend not to neglect maintenance and repairs. I would not buy a multiple owner Subaru from that era because of the lack of records and service history including timing belt and head gasket.
$8k might be low for a good Volvo too, since you would want 2004 or newer, one owner, XC70 with service history. There were transfer case issues and transmission issues with early XCs, such that a used example that has not had repairs can be very expensive to keep on the road. The Honda is perhaps the easiest on your list.
One other vehicle might be an early Toyota Highlander. They are very reliable, overall, and there was an AWD version available. I am not sure where they would rank price/mileage/year in your area when compared to other options, but might be worth a look.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
well said, BMW, but do remember the driveshafts on those XC's do fail and nobody will ship them used, not even for 600 bux. The Highlander is an excellent recommendation, but Toyo has spooked the OP so probably the SFe wins. JMHO.
Update: Well, I posted earlier in a different thread that our budget for a SUV was blown when hubby's Jag needed $3k worth of work. Then, at the beginning of December, our other car's engine blew. a Buick Le Sabre with 120,000 miles. It was a hand-me-down car and no great loss, other than reinforcing my aversion to American cars. That left us in a bind in the middle of two back-to-back snowstorms, so we cobbled together money from other sources and resumed our search. We ended up with a 2007 Santa Fe LE with 86,200 miles on it, in excellent condition .... sunroof, third-row seating, heated seats, etc. I've been reading up on problems with this model and looks like the worst is the fuel sending units going bad. I am thrilled to be back in a Santa Fe! Thanks again for all the advice; guess I just wanted to go back to our tried and true model...
If you really need best mpg, you may consider Ford (brrr) Escape Nybrid only cuz it's rebadged Mazda Tribute. Ugly and retarded, but does over 30mpg.
you dont like the escape but you like the mazda? and by the way its the other way around, the mazda is a rebadged escape.
to the OP, you might consider some fo the AWD volvos on the market.
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