I have no idea....what car should I buy.

[gatorboy]

I've owned a Jeep Cherokee or GC for the past 20 years. Mechanic told me last week that I should get rid of my current GC due to lack of oil pressure. I (and my sons) would love a F150, but I drive 30 miles daily each way to and from job (teacher). I have 10K to spend and need something with good gas mileage, hold 3 kids (all under 8yrs), and sporting gear.

I have no idea what I should get. Any help or rec's would be appreciated.

I searched for a wagon....but mostly horrible HHR show up.

[bagtagley]

Mazda 5?

[Blurred]

Every douche here will tell you a subaru or taco.

[Bobby Stainless]

I'd get a 99,00, or 01 Cherokee Classic.

One with 50-60k miles on it will cost around 6-7k.

[brice618]

You should probably get a Subaru, or a taco.

[Pegleg]

Tacos are good. I like carnitas with some white onion and a squeeze of lime, personally.

[El Chupacabra]

(1) How many people total in the car, and are any of the kids in car seats or boosters?
(2) Do you need AWD/4WD, or will a 2WD vehicle suffice? 2WD = many more choices, with much better gas mileage.
(2)(a) If you need AWD/4WD, can you keep the old Jeep for those days? Or is it mechanically too far gone (too expensive) to repair?

[gatorboy]

(1) How many people total in the car, and are any of the kids in car seats or boosters?
(2) Do you need AWD/4WD, or will a 2WD vehicle suffice? 2WD = many more choices, with much better gas mileage.
(2)(a) If you need AWD/4WD, can you keep the old Jeep for those days? Or is it mechanically too far gone (too expensive) to repair?

1) At most, 5 in the car. Wife has a minivan...so that is out family car...so most of the time it will be just the 4 of us. One in carseat and one in booster. My 8 yr. old can sit in the front.
2) Michigan sucks in the winter, but 2WD would suffice.
3) I am planning on selling the JGC for 5K or a bit less.

[The Tortoise]

Mazda6 wagon is also a good one. Bonus points for the manual.

If you want something a little better on gas the 6 hatch can be had in a 4cyl.

I have a Mazda5 and it's great with two kids. With the third kid you'd be using up one of the two back seats thus significantly limiting cargo capacity. Otherwise it's a great family vehicle. Reasonably fun to drive, the sliding doors are nice and a good amount of interior room for the footprint. EDIT: Just read you can put the third kid in the front. The 5 is great then since you have to extra seats in the back for the kids friends.

If you don't mind repeatedly punching yourself in the nuts a Kia Rondo would work.

Jetta wagon TDI?

[13]

Every douche here will tell you a subaru or taco.

Amen. It's so fucking dogmatic here to the point of absurdity.

Heaven forbid someone consider American branded vehicles. Have you checked out any Ford Focuses, gatorboy? Not sure why you don't like HHRs but I don't hear many complaints about them.

[GiBo]

The gas mileage isn't much different from a Jeep C or GC to a f150. I did a quick CL search and there's a shit ton out there under 10k- many of them crew cab. I commute 30 miles in a truck. Not too bad. If I had a car and got 10 MPG better, when you pencil it out, it's not a lot more money per year. And then you have a truck on the weekends.

Or just get a taco or Subaru. Those are the shit!

[The Tortoise]

HHRs are shit. py interior, shit visibility and based on the Cobalt (itself the bottom of the barrel when it was out).

"2011 will be the final year for the HHR. Reliability is average, but the HHR scores too low to be recommended." -- Consumer Reports

[devlinc]

Isuzu Trooper. Seats 5 and plenty of storage. Things never stop running, mine's an '88 just shy of 300K and it purrs.

[AdironRider]

Then you have the nicest POS Trooper ever.

Tacos are way to overpriced for your budget. All those clowns think their 150k mile 10 year old rigs are worth mid teens these days. Retarded.

The gas milage thing is moot really on a sub 10k vehicle. You will be lucky to break even as high mpg used cars are demanding a premium.

Id look at a Tahoe personally. Trucks are sweet, but loaded with a family and stuff you quickly lose interior room for luggage, etc. A tahow will handle family duty, be just as good in the bush, and probably a bit cheaper. Gas milage and performance will be a spot on match between that and an f150.

[gatorboy]

Tahoe would be nice, but that's doubling up with the van as a family car.

If gas mileage isn't an issue, I'd love a F150 supercrew '04 or newer...under 80K miles.

Here's a Passat VW

[iceman]

Bobby S. nailed it right out of the gate. peppy, seats five plus gear/dogs/whatever, run forever, cheap to fix, decent on gas and they're everywhere so they're cheap. Try to find one with as little electronic shit as possible. No power windows/locks=good. wish I never sold mine.

[13]

Tahoe would be nice, but that's doubling up with the van as a family car.

If gas mileage isn't an issue, I'd love a F150 supercrew '04 or newer...under 80K miles.

Here's a Passat VW

Not bad. Downside: More expensive parts-wise.

[Beaver]

I'm on my 4th Corolla. I've got 3 kids between 11-15. They fit for short hauls but I wouldn't want to spend a day in the car with them. Good mileage, run forever, Zero maintenance. If you need a little more space a Matrix is the same thing with a different box on top. Pontiac Vibe is a Toyota Matrix rebadged for GM. The resale on the Vibe is a little less than the Matrix.

[MontuckyFried]

Tacos are way to overpriced for your budget. All those clowns think their 150k mile 10 year old rigs are worth mid teens these days. Retarded.

SOOOOOO freaking true. I know they're really reliable vehicles and all, but no way in hell I'm spending the kind of cash they fetch for a 10 year old beat-to-crap truck with a gazillion miles. Same thing goes for Subarus. People want a freaking fortune for those things. Must think they're made out of solid gold and have rainbow emissions or something.

How did you like your GC? If you've liked it, would you consider just replacing your old one with a newer one? Used ones can be had reasonably cheap. WAY cheaper than a used Taco or Lesbaru.

[frorider]

[frorider]

SOOOOOO freaking true. I know they're really reliable vehicles and all, but no way in hell I'm spending the kind of cash they fetch for a 10 year old beat-to-crap truck with a gazillion miles. Same thing goes for Subarus. People want a freaking fortune for those things. Must think they're made out of solid gold and have rainbow emissions or something.

Why do you hate capitalism?

[sidewall]

Get an old Dodge 2500 with a cummins.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Seriously dude, get a AWD mini-van. They'll do the job.

[Mazderati]

Get an old Dodge 2500 with a cummins.

Easier said than done. At least if you want something with less than 100k miles. And a 12v engine.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

You can find a decent Subie in your price range but hey, if they're not your thing there's plenty of other options.

Any small SUV should fit the bill - Rav4 or CRV come to mind. Mazda makes decent rigs too. Stay away from Mitsubishi, whatever you do.

The newer Focuses look really nice but not sure you can find one in your price range. Not sure how good the older ones are.

Other than the Jeep brand, Chrysler makes really shitty vehicles for the most part. GMs may feel cheap and have lots of little stuff go wrong with them but the drivetrains and suspensions are generally pretty rugged.