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I’ve had the same car for 11 years. A 2008 Saturn Aura. It’s on its last leg, has broken down again, and I may have to finally replace it in the next couple weeks. Over 250k miles on it and in the last year it’s had to be towed 3x and it’s broken down at least 4x ( is it bad that I’ve lost count? ) I have probably put 200k+ miles on it myself, it has been well loved.

I have very few ideas about what I want next though. I’ll buy pre-owned for sure. Would like to keep it around 10-12k. I’d love some sort of fuel efficient suv... I drove a Mitsubishi Outlander in AZ as a rental and really liked it but I’m not seeing them used for much less than 15k so far, but I have just started looking.
Safety, trunk space, and fuel efficiency are my biggest priorities.
Wish list but not deal breaker items would be a backup camera and heated seats.

Any thoughts on where to start? Make/ model suggestions? I know very little about car buying, my Saturn is the first vehicle I purchased myself on financing, and it’s been such a long time!

Have you seen this: https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/best-used ... der-15000/

If you want heated seats, you need to look past base models, i.e., not just Honda CRV but Honda CRV-EX trim (next level up from base model). This seems to be case when I was researching. I think I would avoid Mitsubishi, not a lot around, that would be a big hint in my opinion.

Do you really need an SUV and/or AWD? At that price point you could get something newer/lower mileage in a wagon or sedan. The heated seats do tend to be in the higher trim lines, and you're going to pay for the extra features at the cost of age/miles/potential issues. Most 2015 and newer vehicles tend to have backup cameras, but it's easy enough to add one after market if needed. I think they became mandatory in 2018.

I have not heard great things about the Mitsubishis as compared to the other compact SUVs out there. I was recently toying with the idea of getting something a little bigger than my Nissan Juke, and with the caveat that I don't drive very much these days. I was looking at lightly used Ford Escapes and Subaru Foresters, but didn't get too deep into research because I decided I would need to do a private sale on my Juke for it to pencil out, and that ain't happening until most of us are vaccinated. But those were the two vehicles that were rising to the top for me in terms of price for something that isn't older or more miles than my current vehicle. Lightly used CRVs and RAV-4s were really expensive.

ETA: Agree with Heddy, I always forget about Hyundai. Nissan Rogue might be another one to look at; Nissan has had some transmission issues, but they extended the warranty on the transmission to I think 85,000 miles. I have 42,000 miles and knock wood, no problems so far.

I'd check Hyundai SUVs.

The space of an SUV would definitely be nice. Aside from horsey endeavors, we travel out of state to visit family frequently and will have our 3 dogs and now baby Gil in tow. We were really cramped in my husbands larger sedan before adding Gil to the mix.
4 wheel drive isn’t a necessity, but wouldn’t hurt anything during our winters and again also our trips to visit family, in the mountains where they get lots of snow!

I’m seeing now that the Mitsubishi’s have pretty bad reviews, which is a bit disappointing. I did really like that one, but not if it’s not going to be reliable!

gee wrote:Have you seen this: https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/best-used ... der-15000/

I had not seen it, but it’s super helpful!

I did some pretty heavy research into new SUVs (small to medium sized) in 2018 when I was car shopping. My major criteria were long term Maintanance, safety, and gas mileage. There were three that basically came out equally at the top. All were within the same price range. Honda CRV, Toyota RAV 4, and Subaru Forester. Then I test drove them all several times. I ended up with the Subaru Forester, but I liked all of them. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them. Get as new as possible and as low mileage as possible in your price range. Take it to a mechanic for an inspection before you finalize. The inspection knowledge is worth $300-400. With a new baby safety and reliability are important! Good luck.

Don't laugh, but what about a minivan? I drove a rental Grand Caravan (gets lousy ratings) to deliver 6 pet carriers to mom a couple years ago, in preparation for her epic relo to move out this way; 5 hrs each way. Really liked the comfort and the fact that seats folded down flush with the floorboard. But here are some updated ratings on used minis:

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/ran ... minivans-1

Hubby suggested a van too. I told him I’m just not there mentally yet and maybe when we get to kid #2

I’ve been browsing local dealerships with all these suggestions in mind, and I’m starting to think I’m not going to find something that ticks all my boxes for the price range we need. So I’m starting to question what I’m willing to budge on to make it work.
All these higher rated SUV’s are out of budget, I’d have to buy one with pretty high mileage, or a model already much older than I’d like.
I can find the Mitsubishi Outlanders that tick all my boxes, but now after reading about them I’m nervous to pursue that. Then again, it’s looking like better options may currently be out of reach.

While Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus are very nice and reliable, you can get quite a lot of value from a few year old Hyundai or Kia. Consider that for your needs.

p.s. I'm entering year 6 with a diesel VW wagon. It has almost 150k miles and feels young. But I would love heated seats and a heated steering wheel!

Second (third?) Hyundai and Kia. Prices are good for both around here, even new.

There’s a 2014 Hyundai Tucson available at the same dealership that has the Mitsubishi that ticks all the boxes. 2014 is older than I’d like but it has the features I want as well as only having 66k miles so I think I could forgive the year as I’m really only worried about it in terms of longevity.
I might call and ask about a test drive on it tomorrow

That's not bad. My Juke is a 2015 with 42K and if you ignore the eau de stable, it still feels and drives like new.

As an aside,SF, i had 2 Jukes in a row. Loved that little car! (But little, it was!) Fabulous winter vehicle, with great awd and ground clearance,, and tons of peppy fun to drive. Such a pity they discontinued it.

We went and test drove the Tucson and now it’s parked in my driveway.
I really, really like it. It has all the features I wanted, a really good turning radius especially compared to my last car, and with its lower mileage I think it will last me a long time!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help!

Congrats!

Most importantly, what color is your new ride?

PaulaO wrote:Most importantly, what color is your new ride?

It’s red! Which would have been my first choice anyway!

Very nice, enjoy!

Red is the best car color.

SPIFFY
That doesn't age me at all

Susan