Used car help?

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perc-o-prince

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As of today's ads on cars.com, I'm considering:

2003 Mazda MPV 95k miles $4k

2002 Nissan Pathfinder 96k $4k

2004 Ford Explorer XLT 121k $4600

2004 Ford Explorer XLS 98k $5k

2003 Ford Explorer Limited 123k $5k

2007 Chevy Uplander 110k $5300

Anything glaring? I've never owned Nissan, Ford, Mazda.

Thanks,
Chuck

p.s.- my 03 Town & Country needs a tranny so I'm looking again. Just want a beater for a year or two.
 
At that mileage any one of those could need a tranny job in short order as well. Find out if any of those cars have had one done already and see how it drives and go from there. Also at those mileages they're probably all just as prone to having some major thing go wrong but I'd be inclined to lean towards Nissan or Mazda.

At that age and mileage I think it probably just comes down to which one is in the best condition, and which one you like the most. Maybe find out the full service history of the ones you're really leaning towards.
 
I'm guessing the Pathfinder is the most reliable of the bunch.

 

If AWD is your thing, have you considered a Subaru Outback?  I'm really impressed with the '03 Baja (Outback/Legacy platform) I bought in November with 121K on it.
 
 

 

Since you seem to want to spend $5K, how about a short term lease at $450 a month and nothing down?  

 

Trade-off all maintenance covered and no fear of a big bill coming due next month.  
 
I think financing is a moot point.  I'm guessing this would be a cash deal.

 

Besides, Chuck stated that he's just looking for a beater, not a brand new car.
 
I'd personally go for the Mazda MPV or Chevy Uplander.. One of our neighbors has a 2004 MPV and absolutely loves it. I've ridden in it a couple times and it is a really nice car. Hers has something like 120k on it so you should be good. Chevy's tend to be either great or awful, but every GM vehicle I've had has been pretty good. I don't know about where you are but Fords here have major rust issues. Like 5 year old cars with rust holes, and in my experience they are none too reliable. Nissan might be good too, they seem to run forever with minimal problems.
 
I'm partial to Nissans made prior to 2002. My sister had a '95 Altima that gave her 230,000 miles before the trans went and she traded it for a '97 Toyota 4Runner with like 250,000 miles that lasted her til 300,000 or some insane number like that and was still running great when she bought her 2015 4Runner and sold it. My other sister had a 2000 Altima that gave her no major trouble except some electrical issue that caused the A/C compressor to not run, that she eventually traded it at 115,000 miles when the trans started leaking and she just wanted a new car. After the 2002 model year Altima, Nissan became like every other brand out there, I don't consider them anything special in the dependability department anymore.
 
Ralph- Bingo. I'm pretty much looking for something that will be reliable enough to take to PA a couple of times a year and get me around to flea markets on the weekends (once they open). I'll probably take advantage of one of those checks that attaches to the credit card with 0 interest for 12 mos and 3% fee. That way I can spread out what I want to spend and keep more $$ in the bank.

The van I have now I bought 2 years ago this month and put 20k miles on it. Most of that was flea markets on the weekends. After about 3 weeks of owning it, I "felt" something in the trans and went back to the dealer. As he pointed out, the (30 day) warranty on it, as enforced by the state, is pretty much a "usability" warranty. He wasn't about to pop for a new trans when the car still drove fine. Needless to say I won't be going back there!

Thanks for the opinions. Some of these do have the Carfax available for service records and I've checked them. I'll also scan cars.com again in a little bit, as well as checking the websites of a few locals who aren't on there.

Chuck
 
Hey chuck,

With the Mazdas and any US made vehicle with a timing belt, make sure that it has been replaced. The mpv may be late enough that it has a timing chain, but over here that was the period that Mazda switched from belts to chains. If the mpv is a v6 then it mayve always had a timing chain as I think only the 4 cyl had belts.

The interval here to do the timing belt and water pump was 90,000km which is about 60,000 miles. So if it has one, it'd be a good idea to double check its history as it should've had it replaced once already.

Cheers

Nathan
 
I found a page on another car search site that had the 02 Nissan Pathfinder and listed all of the goodies on it (link below). I was ready to get in the car and go to the dealer till I read the Edmund's reviews.

Throws fuel cap seal codes even when you replace the cap.

Supposedly a known problem with Nissan and Infinity: the passenger side window drops 3" after it's put up. Can be re-set with a button inside the door panel, but...

Throws o2 sensor codes

Gas mileage is terrible (least troubling of the tings I read).

Too bad- this had a lot of the bells and whistles that I had with my last few rides.

Chuck

http://www.clearviewautoinc.com/2002_Nissan_Pathfinder_Worcester_MA_1578686.veh#
 
Sheesh...

After now having read the reviews on the Mazda MPV, I think I'll either 1) stop reading reviews, or, 2) never buy another car! The MPV eats coil packs for snacks it seems! LOL!

Are Edmund's reviews generally reliable? I know I've heard the name for years. If they're not, where might good reviews be found?

Chuck
 
Thanks for the endorsement, Tim, but I haven't found a Honda minivan or SUV with "reasonable" mileage in the range of the cars listed above. I'd like to have at least a year under my belt with the new job before I go new or "slightly used."

Chuck
 
Have you considered just replacing the tranny in your van if it's otherwise in good shape?

Have you considered a Ford Windstar? My aunt had a 2000 that she scrapped at 235k after hitting a deer, then a 2003 that ran great at 141k when we sold it. Both were used hard as delivery vans in a rural area. Both still had the original tranny
 
Honda was transitioning to its then new 5 spd automatic around 2003 and they had trouble with them failing for the first year or two. Outside of that they're totally bulletproof.
 

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