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[quote=Paige65;2792076]
Two vehicles I would never buy (again) are the Acura MDX and the Mercedes ML320.
What is wrong with the Acura MDX? I have a TL and would like to move to
Acura SUV. My TL has been the most reliable vehicle I ever owned.
Also, I was told that premium gas is recommended but not necessary at least on my TL. I'm pretty certain the same thing goes for the new ones.
I love my Honda Pilot, but I also used to have a Subaru Forester which I loved. Both Hondas and Subarus are reliable vehicles.
My dh has two Dodge Ram pickups, the oldest has over 200,000 miles on it. I've never heard of Dodge having transmission problems, but thankfully that hasn't been an issue for us. So far they have been very reliable.
I would suggest looking into a Subaru Forester. Its a good sized SUV, decent gas mileage (average 25-56 mpg), excellent safety, AWD and reliable. You probably could get a used 2003-2005 Forester for $9000-15,000. If you want a new car, wait until this spring when the redesigned Forester comes out. Its will be bigger and more SUV like in esthetics.
An outback is an option if you don't mind the wagon type of car.
I bought a 07 Forester last spring. It was a tossup between that and the Rav4, but the Forester was more capable of towing my Scamp trailer around the country, ( 173 hp and tows 2400 pounds ) but I sure as heck don't the kind of gas mileage you are talking about. The best it's done for me was 38 mpg...And that is on the Canadian gallon which is bigger than the US gallon. That being said I do love the comfort, quietness and handling of the Forester on long trips. I drove it all over the Canadian Rockies towing the trailer last summer. It never missed a beat, and the high altitude didn't seem to bother it at all.
I would recommend a Mazda CX-7. Stylish, very safe, quick and has fantastic handling. You could probably get a gently used one for under $20k. They ride very much like a car (I will admit the ride can be stiff over uneven pavement - due to the stiffer suspension) and feel like one when you're in the driver's seat. I would highly recommend test driving one.
Well, nothing is wrong with the Pilot. It's one of the best SUVs on the market, but I would personally opt for a Toyota 4Runner before I got the Pilot. When I turned 16, I got a 4Runner. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was totaled in 06 (lightning struck a tree, splat). After 4 years, it was still worth 23K. I ended up getting a Lexus GX which I think is based on the same platform as the 4Runner and I do know that the GX holds its value more than any other luxury SUV.
Well, nothing is wrong with the Pilot. It's one of the best SUVs on the market, but I would personally opt for a Toyota 4Runner before I got the Pilot. When I turned 16, I got a 4Runner. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was totaled in 06 (lightning struck a tree, splat). After 4 years, it was still worth 23K. I ended up getting a Lexus GX which I think is based on the same platform as the 4Runner and I do know that the GX holds its value more than any other luxury SUV.
4Runners have good resale, Pilots do too, the average is roughly 51% after 5 years, last I read.
4Runners are a real off-road vehicle though, and if that's important to the OP then the 4Runner is a great one to look at. Pilots come in 2-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. You can do light off-roading in an AWD Pilot, but nothing like what you can do in a 4Runner.
Two vehicles I would never buy (again) are the Acura MDX and the Mercedes ML320.
What is wrong with the Acura MDX? I have a TL and would like to move to
Acura SUV. My TL has been the most reliable vehicle I ever owned.
Also, I was told that premium gas is recommended but not necessary at least on my TL. I'm pretty certain the same thing goes for the new ones.
You'll probably be just fine, as I know lots of people who drive them and haven't had the problems I've had. Water comes in through doors, new radiator, U-joints, electrical problems, three batteries (it's a 2003), there's so much more, but I'm not a car person so I'd have to look at all my invoices, which I'm happy to do if you'd like more info about everything that's gone wrong. Like I said though, I know several people who haven't had much of anything go wrong with the MDX. So it could just be bad luck.
The Mercedes was just my stupidity in buying a first year model SUV ('98). In hindsight, it probably wasn't as bad as I recall (I've had more go wrong with the Acura), but it was my first experience with a "luxury" brand so I expected much more. I traded it in at 90,000 miles for the Acura, which now has about 110,000.
There a bunch of them out there to choose from, My wife bought a Saturn Vue in 2006, she hasn't had a problem yet. It's got a V6 made by Honda in it, 250 hp, it has a lot of power and good mpg, we took a trip to Vegas and got 30mpg keeping up with traffic at 80mph+. We've both been happy with it so far.
Huh? Everyone I know with a Jeep (and Dodge) has always had transmission problems.
Late 90's early 00's jeep vehicles use the aw4 transmission and is a very stout trans indistinguishable from the a430 used in 4 Runners, older lexus and toyota models.
It was a joint venture between toyota's transmission supplier asin, and borg warner.
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