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My parents agreed to help buy me a car. I thought I'd ask you fella's some advice before heading out to the dealership.

Ya'll gotta help me and give me offer me some input on a car YOU would get.
What I'm looking for is a car no bigger than a Toyota 4runner. Something along the lines of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Xterra, 4runner, a car similar in size. I need a car thats very reliable, not terrible on gas but nothing lower than a V6.
Nothing that sucks up gas like an Expedition. Something powerful yet sleek looking. I have around 15k to spend so it's gonna be used. What you buy if you had to buy a car similar to the ones listed?

Any advice for me? Which would you go for? Reasons why?

id look into v8 explorers....but im a ford guy and the 5.0 is damn near bullet proof and the v8 explorers had gt40p heads with better plug placement than other 5.0 equipped vehicles....

ok I'm definitely retiring the Charger now.. keeping it hidden and safe in the garage! hahaha

umm why do you need an SUV? especially if you want something good on gas, that has power, and looks "sleek."
this is a total contradiction. Do you need an SUV or would a car do fine?

Thanks smoker you pimp you.
Sorry about what I wrote up their, it was around, 1 AM or like, early. I sounded like a japenese tourist.
Keep that sexy Charger on the Road.
Yes, it has to be a SUV or truck. I drive through dirt roads like you don't no
because my job requires it. So an SUV would suit my needs as far as driving.
I'm really looking into a jeep grand cherokee but tons of people say
maintenance on these cars are ridiculous.

one piece of advice from me dont buy a friggin blazer ive had mine its a 99 with 37000 miles on it when i bougt it i just went over 50000 and its been in the shop 20 times!!! all warranty work i bought the extended warranty. was just in for a complete rear end replace ment 3700 i only payed 100. overall its a good truck just is in the shop to much. always got me home though. im going to look at an 01 camaro tomorrow.

get a suv for about 10g's and a system for 5g's. you can get into a pretty decent suv for that and have a good system.

Xterra's and new Cherokees(2000 to 2003) have horrible reliability. Explorers are more reliable but after yesterday's recall make sure the speed control has been fixed. A 4-runner or Pathfinder would probably suit your needs and they have better maintenance records (other than the 04 4-runners). SUV's have the worst reliability of any vehicle class so be sure to keep that in mind when purchasing one.

kevinberry1 wrote:Xterra's and new Cherokees(2000 to 2003) have horrible reliability. Explorers are more reliable but after yesterday's recall make sure the speed control has been fixed. A 4-runner or Pathfinder would probably suit your needs and they have better maintenance records (other than the 04 4-runners). SUV's have the worst reliability of any vehicle class so be sure to keep that in mind when purchasing one.

Just curious why do you exclude the 04Runners for maintenance records?

Anywho back to the orignal post,
I've had 2 4Runners, loved the first one, and love the second one even more. I've never had any problems with mine, and most likely when it's time for me to buy another truck/SUV it's going to be a Tacoma or another 4Runner.

You can most likely find a nice late 90's Runner for around 15k.
Go to bluebook, and do some searching to get an idea of what they are going for in your area.

I did a search for a 98 SR5, with 70k miles and it came up with a price of around 14k.

Out of SUVs, I'd go for either a used Grand Cherokee with a 4.0L I-6, fairly low mileage, or an Explorer V-8. Both are near bulletproof.

1 out of every 10 reviews I've read about the 1999-2004 Jeep grand cherokees was a positive one. That means 9 weren't. Jeeps are out.

I'm looking at a 4runner now. nothing older than a 99. Which models should I look at? And will this sucker hold it down on the dirt and muddy roads?