Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Sorry, I'm with bitkahuna. My 2003 Explorer has been rock solid.

In fact my Family and relatives are a testament to good Ford trucks and SUVs. The only Ford that ever gave my family problems was a '97 Windstar. But I would never hesitate to buy a Ford truck or SUV

Here's our Armada

wasjr

I am on my third MDX and would highly rate them all around. I would be highly favorable to Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus for the attributes you desired, with specific vehicle dependent on your specific needs.

Re domestic, I had two GMC Yukons over an 8 yr period and never had any issues.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

fixed for you.

egs21

Thanks guys. I actually ran across a 2006 Lexus LX470. 72k for miles. Good condition. Dealer wants $30k which seems high. I think it would be nice rig if I could get it to $25k. That would be a little over what I want to spend, but I would stretch for the right car. Big drawback to the Lexus is the abysmal gas mileage. Although if you compare it to something like a MDX, it isn't much worse.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

lx470 certainly a VERY well made, go anywhere luxury tank.

hlee12

my wife's 08 santa fe has been rock solid. 85k miles of nothing but an oil change. we travel alot in summer, and we don't rent. so it's been our work horse. last summer we went to denver to big horn to jackson horn to san fran to LA to vegas to salt lake back to denver. and just very comfortable on the road. it's no luxury, for the $, it's hard to find something better. interior still looks like new. it's not the prettiest design, but sturdy and just get the job done.

we love it, but we need 3rd row, so we will be looking to upgrade ours to something bigger this summer.

we will be looking into newer santa fe or highlander most likely.

hlee12

that does seem pricey. and i would be weary of fuel economy. personally i would choose RX for my wife if the size isn't the issue.

mmarshall

True to some extent, as far as the powertrain and sheet metal goes. But I think that was also the generation of Explorer/Mountaineer that was still stuck with the ancient Twin-I-Beam front suspension and heat-sensitive Firestone Wilderness tires that contributed to those controversial roll-overs. Since then, of course, Ford completely redesigned the front suspensions and broke their 100-year-old tie with Firestone tires.

SteVTEC

Seriously can't go wrong with a 1st gen Toyota Highlander. Avoid 2001's maybe due to potential sludge issues, but 02 and up are all solid as a rock.

SteVTEC

I think there's a bit of a difference between Consumer Reports saying something is "less reliable than average" and something just plain being an unreliable breakdown prone piece of junk. I don't really think that there are too many cars that you could actually describe like that these days. Land Rovers and Volkswagens.... rated very poorly, but tons of people drive them, and I can't actually remember the last time I've seen one sitting on the side of the road broken down. Cars have gotten a whole lot better in the past 10-15 years.

mmarshall

CR, for specific problem areas (brakes, body-integrity, transmission major/minor, etc....), generally uses a scale based on percentage-totals compared to those of all vehicles in the survey. And, as you note, reliability, in ganeral, HAS been improving in the last decadeor so. For a problem rate in a specific area to now be considered much better then average, it has to be a rate of less than two percent of all of those vehicles. So, for example, if the 2012 Honda Civic earned a red-circle for engine reliability (which most Hondas do), that means that less than 2% of all 2012 Civics in the survey reported engine problems, warranty-covered or not, which the owner considered serious or inconvienient to repair. Some for all of the other vehicle components.

-J-P-L-

If reliability is #1 issue, Toyota and Honda are the go to's. There may be examples of domestics doing well, but guaranteed if you're looking for many years of low cost operation, go Toyota/Honda. Subaru's are good too, but not too much in the way of compact to mid-size SUV's. Tribeca? Mostly tall wagons from Subaru. Nissan may be worth a look.

Rav-4
CRV
Highlander
Pilot
Murano

I'm not mentioning luxury badges because I assume you have a budget since you are buying used.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

No sir my generation (3rd gen 2002-2005) was not part of the Firestone controversy. It was the 2nd gen 1995-2001.

1st gen 1990-1994
2nd gen 1995-2001
3rd gen 2002-2005
4th gen 2006-2010
5th gen 2011-present

My only gripe is that I have the ancient 4.0L "Colonge" V6 and not the 4.6L V8

mmarshall

OK, I'll take your word for it. After all, you work at a Ford dealership, right? I just didn't remember the 2Gen Explorer being in production that long.....but, at my age, it's getting more difficult to remember all the little details about some products from decades ago, though I still remember a lot of stuff.

Still, all things considered, I'm surprised that Ford left the ancient Twin-I-Beam front end on their production trucks and SUVs for so long (it actually dated back to 1964). From what I read, the engineers wanted to redesign it sooner, but the bean-counters liked the fact that it was simple and inexpensive to produce and install.


From what I knew of the 4.6L V8, though, it was the same block used in the Mustang GT, which, being a then-unusual (for an American design) overhead-cam design, lacked some of the previous 5.0L's low-end torque needed for a truck. It made up for it somewhat, though, at higher RPMs, although there was some controversy over just how much HP it maxed out at in the Mustang Cobra. The only other American-designed OHC V8 I was aware of at that time was the Cadillac Northstar....and it had reliability problems.

egs21

Thanks guys. This is my wife's SUV so she is going to have to like a certain make/model that I may suggest is reliable and high quality. She is ridiculously picky so it will be a long road. Good points that all makes/models have really improved their reliability over the years. If we go domestic I may increase the budget so we can get something certified with a warranty for extra peace of mind.

She doesn't care for the Lexus RX which is the best SUV in my mind if you consider the total package. But we will see. We are probably a couple months away from making a purchase.