Considering an SUV in the next year or so...

[LACamper]

Jeez... no love for the xterra? I love mine. 100K miles and no major complaints. Well, gas mileage sucks but no worse than most other trucks. A few squeaks and rattles but again to be expected at 100K miles. Mine's 2wd. I couldn't justify the extra money for 4wd for a truck that rarely leaves pavement (unfortunately).

You know what sold me at the time on the Xterra? The location of the air intake. Its inside the front fender over the front wheel. Most 'SUV's' now can't make it through a foot of water without flooding out. Go check out thenewx.org.

 

[edman87k5]

The JKU is nice, but has slid too far towards "offroad only" on my scale at the $30K mark, with no satellite radio, 20mpg highway, no NAV, etc. Only the mid$30's models offer those...as options.
I don't plan on hardcore trail riding. Just something that can cross a shallow stream, some rocks, and not get stuck in the mud.

Do you know anything about jeeps? They are more pussified now than ever. I am fairly sure that whatever comes after the jk will completely do away with the seven slat grill and just have a big vagina in the front!
Oh, and where so you plan to buy a loaded out fj with Mac and all te goodies for 30k or less?

 

[JWG223]

Do you know anything about jeeps? They are more pussified now than ever. I am fairly sure that whatever comes after the jk will completely do away with the seven slat grill and just have a big vagina in the front!
Oh, and where so you plan to buy a loaded out fj with Mac and all te goodies for 30k or less?

I've seen the loaded versions for around $31-32K on Autotrader. I'm not at the tire-kicking stage, yet.

Never looked at a jeep. I will do so. I only saw a whopping SINGLE ONE traded in the entire year I worked for a Ford dealer.

 

[Scoobie]

What about a newer Forester XT?

 

[JWG223]

What about a newer Forester XT?

The '14 model is seriously nice. I've considered. I'd have to look at one next time I go on a road trip.

 

[Scoobie]

Depending on your time frame, we'll have a new Subaru dealership in Bossier by the end of the year or so.

 

[JWG223]

Depending on your time frame, we'll have a new Subaru dealership in Bossier by the end of the year or so.

I have had my eye on that.


Also...Update:

I don't know how much of a pay-cut I am going to take when I move, but I'm planning on an extreme/worst-case scenario, and if it's better, well that's awesome!

Anyway, after talking for a few hours with my CU's loan manager, I learned some things:

-If I pay enough of my land to equal 20% of the total home-loan I want to receive, I will avoid PMI on a conventional loan by rolling that land into it.
-I would like to spend $180-210K on the house.
-That means $40K or so.
-Originally, I was going to put down $25-30K on the land, and pay the rest off in a couple of years.
-When financing a house, the real deal-breaker is Debt/Income ratio. All I have is a car note, but it's not going away any time soon, so the only way to enhance my D/I is to: Make more money (I make enough now to buy whatever house I want, and this pay-cut I project has me sad, but, it's worth it to me. Money isn't everything), or, LOWER the car note.

So what I am looking at is only putting $20K down on the land, and over 2 years investing another $20K (or hopefully more) into that land, and then rolling it into the building loan mortgage, avoiding PMI, and getting into the house I want.

To accomplish that, I plan to trade my car in (It's actually only about $2-4K from "breaking even" right now, after a year and a half of ownership on a 72mo auto loan. I was surprised) once it breaks even, and get into a vehicle that I can get for around $15-20K. Maybe low 20's. If I finance $10K that will give me a monthly car-note of $220 or so. Take the $5-10K I was going to put down on the land for a total of $25-30, and use it to lower my car-note from $630 to $220 instead of from $630 to $450. That gives me an extra $200/mo in D/I to play with on the house, which is very significant and will get me where I want to be.

Regarding the vehicle, it will only push me into a 2-3 year old CPO version of the new thing, which honestly, I need to do, anyway, as I've owned two new vehicles now, one was awesome, one has sucked, so I don't buy the "someone else's headache" bit when buying used, as I have owned plenty of GOOD used vehicles in the past, and I'm tired of that instant depreciation hit. Also, CPO warranties in my experience are better in that they last longer.

To this end, I have seen a LOT! of 1-2 year old CPO low-mileage XTerra's in that price range. Also, Honda Pilots. The Pilot can fjord a 19" deep stream, offered in 4WD, and...it's a Honda. It also holds a **** ton of rifles and ammo, as I witnessed at VTAC Streetfighter earlier this year. THoughts?

I think this thread morphed into a "What would you want as a bug-out vehicle or trail-riding vehicle" vs. "What would you want as a daily driver that you can take over a little creek and some rocks on the weekends or that will do okay in mud/snow during the winter in the Ozarks"

Anyway, all thoughts on all things are welcome. I'm no banker, and I know nothing of SUV's or houses beyond my experience working for a Ford dealership for a year, and what I read on the 'net.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

Ummm, I think you need to look around the area.

Your going to be looking at LOTS of land, or a very big house for a single dude... Or both at that price if your looking rurally.

 

[JWG223]

Ummm, I think you need to look around the area.

Your going to be looking at LOTS of land, or a very big house for a single dude... Or both at that price if your looking rurally.

I guess that depends on opinions.

My builder averages $100/sq foot for what I want (2 story, brick, custom, lifetime warranty).
The land I am looking at, rurally, is running $40-70K for 20-40 acres, depending on various things.

I don't consider 18-2200 sq foot to be an exceptionally large house, personally. Also, while I don't plan on marriage, I also recognize that opinions change. It would be nice to to change houses, too, or at least, not HAVE TO, due to size of the house.

 

[LACamper]

I'd say build at 1800 but design it so that an addition is an option. Maybe even run water, power, HVAC, etc. out to where the addition would connect. Having to maintain, heat/cool, etc. a house bigger than you need is only going to be annoying.

One difference you might want to consider: The xterra is built on a frontier frame while most of the other suv's are build on car frames. The xterra is a truck and rides like one. I'd consider it tougher (for lack of a better word) than the pilot.
The Forester is worth looking at. i have some high value clients that could afford to drive anything they want but drive foresters, and always have. They keep them or give them to family when they buy a new one. That says something... they could drive range rover, mercedes, etc but drive a forester.

 

[JWG223]

I'd say build at 1800 but design it so that an addition is an option. Maybe even run water, power, HVAC, etc. out to where the addition would connect. Having to maintain, heat/cool, etc. a house bigger than you need is only going to be annoying.

One difference you might want to consider: The xterra is built on a frontier frame while most of the other suv's are build on car frames. The xterra is a truck and rides like one. I'd consider it tougher (for lack of a better word) than the pilot.
The Forester is worth looking at. i have some high value clients that could afford to drive anything they want but drive foresters, and always have. They keep them or give them to family when they buy a new one. That says something... they could drive range rover, mercedes, etc but drive a forester.

Thanks. What, specifically, do they find so appealing about the Forester?
My first car was a police car. It had some rattles and creaks because of being body-on-frame, but it was pretty stout.

According to my contractor, cooling one of his 2300sq foot houses costs about what I pay to cool my 485sq foot apartment in the dead of summer (about $85/mo). True? Not? Misunderstood answer/question? I don't know.

I'm not sure how many square feet, but I want 4 bedrooms, 2 stories, a deck, a fire-place, and a garage incorporated into the main structure. Beyond that, I'm almost completely open to ideas that the contractor may have.

 

[BigNick73]

As someone who lives in the mountains and drives in ice and snow regularly I'd suggest keeping the car and buying a POS cheap 4x4 for cash. Don't know what the Ozarks are like in winter but if there's regular ice/snow you will end up in the guardrail or ditch. There's no avoiding it, happens to everyone at some point. Put a good bumper on it too, there's no stopping for deer when the roads are iced over. No extra note and when you tear it up you're not out much and still have a car to drive into town or to work. Plus if you get a truck instead of a SUV you can get a slide in camper, been thinking about selling/trading my bronco just for this. Also when it comes to chains they're easier to put on and less likely to tear stuff up on the older vehicles.

 

[olivs260]

Ahh, I knew you'd find a way to over-complicate this

I drive a Honda Ridgeline. It's basically a Pilot with a truck bed. It isn't a true truck so my friends tease me a lot, but it's pretty solid, and I'm very satisfied with it. Plus, yeah it's a Honda. I just hit 100k miles and have had absolutely zero problems, and I don't even change the oil on time usually. My only complaints are that it's butt-ugly, and I feel like it's a little under-powered. I just don't really know one way or the other how well the Pilot would do where you're talking about moving. The closest thing to a mountain I've ever driven it on is the Sunshine Bridge.

 

[JWG223]

I've continued gathering ideas, and one that keeps coming up as an "offroad SUV" is the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I would never buy one new (I'm considering 2011/2012 model mid next-year, should be able to find a Laredo 4WD + Leather for around $20-24K), as they plummet in value during the first 1-2 years, but some things I found appealing:

Every review says it handles good on the road.
All-time 4WD is an option. I need this for mud and snow and maybe a shallow creek with rock bottom. Not boulder crawling.
V6 with 22mpg with the 4WD and 290hp
5-speed Mercedes based transmission that based on what I can see is capable of withstanding ridiculous amounts of torque.
The Laredo with leather is pretty nice inside, and has tons of storage with the seats flat.

Serious selling points for me:

-5/100,000 standard powertrain warranty
-Satellite radio standard
-E85/87 Octane compatible
-Based on Mercedes ML platform, should feel at home on the pavement, allegedly does fine off-road for what I want
-60-0 braking in 120-130 feet depending on the test
-500+ mile highway range on one tank of gas


Thoughts good/bad?

 

[LACamper]

Thanks. What, specifically, do they find so appealing about the Forester?
.

I honestly don't know. They just keep buying them. And they keep the old ones or give them to family. I've asked why they were buying a new one, the answer is 'I wanted a new one but there's nothing wrong with the old one'. Or on some cases, my daughter needed a different car.

 

[Jack]

Do you know anything about jeeps? They are more pussified now than ever. I am fairly sure that whatever comes after the jk will completely do away with the seven slat grill and just have a big vagina in the front!
Oh, and where so you plan to buy a loaded out fj with Mac and all te goodies for 30k or less?

Just be one big slat?

 

[Scoobie]

I may be a little bias toward the Forester, due to owning my own Subaru.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/14/2014-subaru-forester-xt-review/

The number one reason to purchase any Subaru is for it's full time Symetrical AWD system. Handling on the Forester compared to other similarly classed vehicles is inherently due to its lower CG. Its not necessarily an offroad vehicle but an off weather vehicle (ie. snow, slush, mud, sand). It has ~8.7" of ground clearance (which can be increased 1.5" with spacers or king springs, with adverse affects on handling/mileage).

The second reason to purchase any Subaru in general are their crash test ratings. IIRC 100% of them have 5star safety ratings.

The third reason would be resale value. Most people love their Subies and tend not to let them go.

All that being said, some bad things about Subaru's, the Forester in particular:

1. No low gear/hill descent mode (for the older models, 2014 CVT has this).
2. No rear climate control vents (the only vents are on the floor)
3. Low towing capacity (~#1500)
4. Low warranty (3yr/36k general, 5y/60k drivetrain)
5. Cheap interior

Generally you can purchase any Subaru below Invoice, if you're willing to travel. Heuberger Subaru in Colorado is known for catering to out of state buyers as they are the #1 Subaru sellers in the nation. Plane ticket is about $400 but you'll save over $4k in the long run.

 

[JWG223]

I may be a little bias toward the Forester, due to owning my own Subaru.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/14/2014-subaru-forester-xt-review/

The number one reason to purchase any Subaru is for it's full time Symetrical AWD system. Handling on the Forester compared to other similarly classed vehicles is inherently due to its lower CG. Its not necessarily an offroad vehicle but an off weather vehicle (ie. snow, slush, mud, sand). It has ~8.7" of ground clearance (which can be increased 1.5" with spacers or king springs, with adverse affects on handling/mileage).

The second reason to purchase any Subaru in general are their crash test ratings. IIRC 100% of them have 5star safety ratings.

The third reason would be resale value. Most people love their Subies and tend not to let them go.

All that being said, some bad things about Subaru's, the Forester in particular:

1. No low gear/hill descent mode (for the older models, 2014 CVT has this).
2. No rear climate control vents (the only vents are on the floor)
3. Low towing capacity (~#1500)
4. Low warranty (3yr/36k general, 5y/60k drivetrain)
5. Cheap interior

Generally you can purchase any Subaru below Invoice, if you're willing to travel. Heuberger Subaru in Colorado is known for catering to out of state buyers as they are the #1 Subaru sellers in the nation. Plane ticket is about $400 but you'll save over $4k in the long run.

I'm looking for a 2011-2012 model. The Subaru powertrain warranty really kills it, there, as I can't imagine AWD being cheap to service, and if I buy one with 40-50K miles on it, 10-20K miles more is about 8 months coverage for me. The options with 100K miles will give me coverage until the time expires, which if it's a 2011 or 2012 may well be 2016 or 2017.