Buying a car?

Anyone have any opinions about the Hyundai Elantra GT? I've been trying to decide between that and a Mazda3 hatchback. I've read a few articles for each, and really I think it comes down to exterior/interior looks for the Elantra, versus slight mpg and horsepower performance for the Mazda3. This article was a pretty good read -http://www.autoguide.com/car-compari...a-gt-2251.html

Anyone have any opinions on it?

fifey_sl said:

I do body work so I drive/work on a shit load of random cars so it's not 100% accurate but I'll make a list and I have a huge bias against american cars.

Chevy Equinox -- Hideous looking car and it's a Chevy so I hate it, been in a couple and just hate them.
Ford Escape -- Didn't seem too bad but I haven't seen many with high mileage in the shop so I can't tell you how it will last.
Toyota Rav4 -- By far my best choice, good styling and seen a shitload of them with 130k+ and have no drips or leaks and everything works.
Nissan Rogue -- Only drove a couple of new ones but I like the styling a little but I think Nissan has been kind of shit for the last 5~ years.
Kia Sportage -- No idea what this car is.
Nissan Murano -- I hate the styling and they felt really slow and sluggish.

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From a service stand point whats your experience been with the Equinox? Styling is subjective, I personally like the look of them. Rav4 was one of my top choices but fuuuuck they have a premium price tag.

jeydax_sl said:

Does anyone have any experience with these vehicles:

Chevy Equinox
Ford Escape
Toyota Rav4
Nissan Rogue
Kia Sportage
Nissan Murano

Sort of a mishmash of small to mid size crossover/SUV class but I've sort of narrowed down to a 2011 Chevy Equinox and in one form or another ruled the others out in the process. Do any of you have personal experience, good/bad/ugly of any of them or a similar car? I'd like to get some real life opinions on them before really putting the hammer down and getting it.

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Cousin has a 1st Gen Equinox- from her exp its been a decently solid car- she traded her first in for a 2nd (last year of 1st gen) -she seems happy with it and has taken them all to cali and back etc etc

Aunt has a Rav4 2010... the last gen before the current new one- IMO Toyoda has been phoneing it in the past 2 gen cycles on their cars- the thing is cramped and small for its size, feels worse than my wife's 05 Civic on its fit and finish and just feels like its 4cyl is too small for its size-- imo even worse than the CRV in that feeling.

I owned a 2009 Nissan Murano I bought new- I loved the thing- I love the CVT although many will argue this point- I recently traded it in for a Nissan Quest - I did a lot of test drives and I usually bug a sales rep during my oil changes etc if they are not busy and drive shit around for fun- and from the random driving and going from a 2009 Murano to a Quest I can say Nissan has improved the CVT with every generation- there is a noticable increase in responce and power in my quest's 4th or 5th gen CVT vs my Muranos 2.5gen CVT- the new Muranos should have the 4th or 5th in them now-- they also take 10-20k miles to break in their MPG- my murano was getting about 15-16city then it seemed magically once it hit about 14k miles it poped up to 18...it was kinda odd.. The Quest is getting 17-18 and I am sure will jump 1-2 once it breaks in.

Murano's are also made in Japan, as is the Quest, GT-R, Z and some others- I had absolutely no issues with my Murano mechanically, fit and finish where top notch and 'close to infinity level' - I would absolutely reccomend giving the Murano a nice long test drive. Also note that the murano's cvt computer will learn your dirving- if I drove like an old man it would start acting like an old man car- accelerate slow stay in lower rpms longer and increase mpg... but if I started pushing it - usualy about 2 "cycles" the next time I turned it on and pressed on the gas it would be noticeable different and respond faster etc.. the newer CVTs should do this more "active" while you are driving- while mine was more every time you started it would evaluate your last "trip/cycle" and go from there.

The Murano is also a "high end" of the Nissan, its interior styleing is that of the infinitis- like the Quest and Maxima-- the thing may look odd from the outside (i like it) but on the inside nothing on your list will be more comfortable or present you with a "higher end" feeling as the Murano will.

All that being said, compairing like years/miles for all those the Murano is going to cost more- all those are Rouge level while the Murano is a step up in the market etc. A Rouge is a nice Crossover also for the money but is not going to have the "high end" interiror etc like its bigger brother.

Edit: if your going for that size, check out the new Jeep Grand Cherokee's - I loved my 2nd Gen - despised the 3rd but the current 4th look nice- go Fiat, get DC back into action!

jeydax_sl said:

From a service stand point whats your experience been with the Equinox? Styling is subjective, I personally like the look of them. Rav4 was one of my top choices but fuuuuck they have a premium price tag.

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I think reliability wise its a standard Chevy, think its the standard v6 in them?

Probably will be the like any Merican car and last for 1((k without any problems then start nickel and dimeing you to death.

I've owned my 2005 Escape since it was brand new 7 1/2 years ago. I've got 130,000 miles on it currently and I've never had a single problem. It's the 4WD Limited model(non-hybrid). I'm actually pretty shitty about the general maintenance(oil changes every ~5000-8000 miles, replace the air filters and such maybe every 2nd or 3rd oil change), and even though I haven't babied it, it still runs great. Gas mileage has slipped a bit since I first got it. It used to get about 20/26 and now its more like 17/23 or so city/highway, but that's probably not too bad for a high mileage vehicle that hasn't been treated overly well.

The thing is a beast in snow and inclimate weather, sits up high enough that 12" of snow is no problem, and the 4WD is nice as well. Several snows this winter I was zipping up hills where other front-wheel-drive SUVs and cars were stuck and spinning their tires. Good size, not overly huge. I've hauled a washer and dryer in it(with the back seats down).

My dad bought a 2011 Escape a couple years ago and is loving it as well so far. I'm probably going to get rid of mine sometime this year before I get to 150K miles, but I'll probably just get another Escape.

I wish you luck with the new Escapes, they are way more "Crossover" in their new generation vs the Escapes you had that still held on to some of their truck roots-- thats also why many people loved the Explorer cross trek? sport tack? thing, the one that had a truck bed on it or whatnot- because it had the foundation of the f150 with the explorer comfort bells and whistles. With that I hope they are able to keep the trucky-abilities on the new gen Escapes, as they are moving it into some of the old Explorer buyers sights as they moved the Explorer way out of the SUV and deep into the Crossover... Just like Nissan did with the new Pathfinder, as much as they want to say its truck like capabilties are still there.

But from my shopping for 3rd row vehicles I must say, Fords interior and technology is- oh so nice on its latest cars. Van's practicallity and price just destroyed any thought of the large 3rd row crossovers to me- The Explorer and Durango where still somewhat fun to drive while being large- as the GM 3rd row trio- enclave etc where whales (1st gen, dont know about their current revised editions- other than they had a big jump on the inside- I havent driven them) and my Quest is the most compitatnt Van out of the 4 common contenders- Grand Caravan, Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

Tacoma a good truck?

Maybe I'll get a Tacoma...I don't need the truck part, as much as I want to stop being bossed around by the snow, ice, and wind. I want to drive through a snowstorm, and be like...whatever, I don't give a fuck.

jeydax_sl said:

Does anyone have any experience with these vehicles:

Chevy Equinox
Ford Escape
Toyota Rav4
Nissan Rogue
Kia Sportage
Nissan Murano

Sort of a mishmash of small to mid size crossover/SUV class but I've sort of narrowed down to a 2011 Chevy Equinox and in one form or another ruled the others out in the process. Do any of you have personal experience, good/bad/ugly of any of them or a similar car? I'd like to get some real life opinions on them before really putting the hammer down and getting it.

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2007 Rav4 Owner here. We bought it new and have had zero problems. It currently has 91k miles on it. OEM tires lasted until the 70-80k range, had them replaced in 2011. OEM brakes lasted until this year, had them replaced today. I'm pretty religious with maintenance and whatnot, so she keeps going strong. I just wish we got the V6 instead of the 4 cylinder; it really is underpowered. Otherwise it's a great vehicle.

Onlything I don't care about the Tacoma that is uses a composite bed, instead of the standard steel all other trucks use. If you're just looking for a badass vehicle to use in the snow/ice and not to haul/tow shit, look at a Subaru minus the BRZ.

You mean the Outback,Forester, or Tribeca...only cars in the category I'm talking about. Nah I want boxy utilitarian shit bro. Boxy, Heavy, Ground Clearance, and either AWD or 4X4 that will last forever or until I drive off a cliff and die.

Voyce_sl said:

You mean the Outback,Forester, or Tribeca...only cars in the category I'm talking about. Nah I want boxy utilitarian shit bro. Boxy, Heavy, Ground Clearance, and either AWD or 4X4 that will last forever or until I drive off a cliff and die.

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Get a Volvo V50 or V70 non turbo.

Things are fucking tanks.

IMO - The Tacoma's are really nice, but overpriced compared to the current domestic trucks. Of the big 3, I think I like the Ram the best for the half ton market followed by the Ford F150 with the Ecoboost. All of the current trucks are pretty bad ass, but I would take a long look at a Ram 1500.

Does anyone have any opinions on a Subaru Outback?

after 8 years of college i'll be out of law school this fall. i'd like to try to save up 10k or so and snag a car at auction by then. very small, very rural community here, not needing / wanting flash at all. any ideas on something decent, looking for MPG (we drive a lot) and reliability as far as 4 door sedans go? looking to stay around 10k while look presentable until i can save up for something nicer (def. wanting to pay cash).

jeydax_sl said:

Does anyone have any experience with these vehicles:

Chevy Equinox
Ford Escape
Toyota Rav4
Nissan Rogue
Kia Sportage
Nissan Murano

Sort of a mishmash of small to mid size crossover/SUV class but I've sort of narrowed down to a 2011 Chevy Equinox and in one form or another ruled the others out in the process. Do any of you have personal experience, good/bad/ugly of any of them or a similar car? I'd like to get some real life opinions on them before really putting the hammer down and getting it.

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I've owned a Nissan Rogue since 2009. Great little truck. I put snow tires on it and drove circles around people in our Canadian winters.
I've just replaced it with a 2014 Kia Sorento. The 5 year bumper to bumper warranty sold me.
Just FYI the 2014 Rogue is a complete rebuild expected in Q4 of 2013.

edit ** spelling

OFWGKTA_sl said:

after 8 years of college i'll be out of law school this fall. i'd like to try to save up 10k or so and snag a car at auction by then. very small, very rural community here, not needing / wanting flash at all. any ideas on something decent, looking for MPG (we drive a lot) and reliability as far as 4 door sedans go? looking to stay around 10k while look presentable until i can save up for something nicer (def. wanting to pay cash).

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VW Jetta TDI should have great MPG. No idea on prices though, sorry. Keep in mind parts and repairs might be expensive but ideally these things last two lifetimes.
And of course, Honda Civic. Reliable little workers.