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Evadig said:
Back home and very tired. No car.

What do y'all think of a Jeep Grand Cherokee? Good or bad choice?
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We have an '08 that we got for the kids to have a beater to drive around since they're in the process of getting their licenses now. So far, so good, but Chryslers eat transmissions around 100k and can have engine trouble around the same if they weren't cared for.
 
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SourRoses said:
I'm really happy with our 2014 Mazda 3. Granted, she does have a back-up camera and blind spot monitor, but you can adjust the volume or mute it so that kinda fits your requirements. I was surprised to find I liked that feature (on low volume) because it's linked to the blinkers. If I put a left blinker on, she'll beep twice if someone is in the blind spot on the left. If I don't blink she doesn't say anything.

Pros:
- She's super reliable
- Great gas mileage
- Not sluggish accelerating
- Comfy seats
- Better quality finishes than anything at the same price point. In my view, Mazda is the best brand for balancing price + quality.
- High safety rating.
- Great AC.

Cons:
- Road noise in the cabin only discernible on the highway. Not an issue for me since the highway requires loud music, but if you're a silence driver it could become an issue.
- That year was prone to a valve seal cover defect from the manufacturer that can foul spark plugs. We replaced with an aftermarket valve seal cover ($10 part / $100 for labor) that works better. + New Spark Plugs. Other years may not have the problem.
- Doesn't have 60 gazillion horsepower so I can't break the sound barrier šŸ˜ž


Not that I'm suggesting it, but we actually got ours at salvage auction! She had been in a little accident, the damage was mostly cosmetic. We did all the repairs ourselves and saved a ton.
Neither my mom or I had ever done any work on cars, ever. But the info was all online, from the service manual to ChrisFix on you tube.
My mom even painted the new front passenger side fender. You can't even tell (yes, she's good, but there's also a great online shop for color matched auto paint).
It was a big risk, but we prayed about the decision and it just felt right, then the perfect car went through the online auction (copart).
With the repairs totaled in, we paid $5k for a $10k model/mileage at the time. Sure, she doesn't have the same resale value, but we didn't need a car to sell, we needed one to drive for less money and that wouldn't be coughing down the road. God really blessed us with Nelly!

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We took the down-time opportunity to do new brake rotors & pads, brake fluid, coolant flush, transmission fluid (drain & fill, NOT flush) and of course the oil lol.
There were so many silly little things. Like the sunroof was stuck open, it just hadn't been properly closed. The AC wasn't working, it needed a $15 fuse and it still blasts freezing air in summer.
New headlights, foglights, passenger side mirror, grille, trim, window washer reservoir & pump, a new radiator shroud (the support, not the radiator itself), new bumper foam stuff, other odds & ends... and of course the fender. We chose not to replace the hood because it was purely cosmetic and we wanted to get back on the road sooner. Although I watched a lot of dent repair videos online, we only managed to decrease the dent on the dog ear area. It's not very noticeable, and kinda cute.
(okay, this is what happens when emotional sorts like us work on a car, so much anthropomorphizing).
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Mazda's are very good vehicles. I actually have 2014 Mazda3 itouring that I bought new when my Dad was sick and I was having to burn up the roads since my parents live a couple hundred miles or so away. I bought it just for that and the gas savings basically paid for it. I averaged 46 mpg on highway. So, I just kept the vehicle after what I bought it for was over. Has 142 K on it now and still going strong. My sonā€™s car now until I feel it is safe enough to upgrade him to what he really wants.

You can get Mazda3 with a hatch, also, which she mentioned.

You can turn the blindside monitoring all the way off if you want, but i wouldn't because that is one of the best safety features ever thought of in my opinion. It has saved me a few times.

Mazda is reliable, affordable, and you can get most bells and whistles on the base models.

Iā€™m curious if you have Yokohama tires on it? That is what came on mine new and they are noisy and especially on rough highways. However, they are long lasting tires. Only tires I have ever had that I actually got the mileage rating out of. Rated for 70k and I have got that out of 2 sets. Put the 3rd set on recently.

I will also say Toyota is a great reliable vehicle. I just recently got my daughter a 2018 Camry as her first vehicle. Havenā€™t had it very long, but it is a really nice ride for the money. One owner, 68k miles, immaculate condition for 21K. Camry has a great reputation. Mazda will be cheaper to service. Well, at least if you take it to a dealership for service
 
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I was looking at used land rovers..... Bad fuel mileage comparatively but nice ride. The ones I was looking at were 2008ish for 5K
 
azurbanclucker said:
We have an '08 that we got for the kids to have a beater to drive around since they're in the process of getting their licenses now. So far, so good, but Chryslers eat transmissions around 100k and can have engine trouble around the same if they weren't cared for.
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I think our 2002 Chrysler town and country had some engine issue recently. I remember Dad's 1996 Grand Caravan had some sort of transmission issues but I can't remember the details.
 

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