Dzimm Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 So I'm looking to take the 25-30 year old Jeeps out of daily driver status and am struggling to find something. Budget $10k-$15k absolute max. 4x4/AWD and the bigger the better. The better the MPG the better for me as I have a decent length commute. I wanted a truck but I looked at many Silverados, F150s, Rams and the ones that are in my price range around here are high mileage rust buckets. Not much for Tahoe's either and I'm not looking to travel all that far. I also looked at some Dodge charger police cars as I like them quite a lot but insurance is twice as much on those as anything else I've checked. Currently I'm looking at some 2015-2016 Jeep Compass' and they seem like decent vehicles. Do any of you have a Compass? Any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 I know this is a Jeep forum, but I'll throw the Tundra at you if you want a truck. My fiance bought a 2010 Double Cab, 4wd, auto, 4.6 V8, with the tow package for $10,500 (she bought it in TN fyi). Had like 180,000ish miles, but those engines have been known to go well past 500k in Land Cruisers. Came from Ohio, but the only rust we could find was the battery tie-down. Huge interior. Towing capacity with the tow package for the 4.6 is 7,800#, 10,200# with the 5.7. With the 4.6 it averages 20mpg. Idk if you're wanting to stick to the big three but if made in America is important the Tundra around that time had the second most Made in USA parts behind the F150 and the Ridgeline oddly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 Surprisingly enough, I have yet to come across a Tundra. The sales people I talked to all said used trucks are pretty hard to find right now, especially in my price range. Some dealers have less than half the usual amount of cars on the lot right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torq_Shep Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Sienna AWD? Good mileage and pretty large. I would argue that they are cooler than compasses also =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 I remember having a Compass as a rental once. I was underwhelmed. It was decent enough and got me around town for a few days. And it had plenty of room. It would get the job done but I personally would look for better candidates. Still, you could do worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMO413 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 My wife had a compass before the journey we have now. It was a pretty decent vehicle and I could for in the driver's seat! That was why we bought it when we did. Make sure to check both suspension cross members they rust worse than an XJ or MJ could ever think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Minivan is out as we already have a newer Grand Caravan, it's a great vehicle but we don't need two. I do like the Journey but is very close to the minivan still so its a candidate but kind of low on the list. I have read that the Compass is underpowered and for some reason it is ranked as the least reliable in its class by JD power? I find that hard to believe for some reason. Good to know about the cross members! I also have trouble in smaller vehicles, so that's a huge factor as well since I'm a bigger guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Is this vehicle going to be just a commuter for you? Or will you haul people/parts/gear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 CRD Liberty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Personally, I wouldnt go with anything FCA. Used cars are at a premium right now. My dad has a few friends that own dealerships and they say nothing is coming through auction right now and inventory is limited. I picked up my new daily from UT, cars are cheap there and don't have to deal with rust. Shipping isnt too bad either. Even after a PPI and shipping I'm still 2k under a comparable vehicle in CO. Gx470 or lx470 would be my choice. Reliable, big, awd. My wife got a GX460 and that thing is amazing. Extremely comfortable, plenty of power and capable enough to go offroad. It's too nice to beat up but they are capable. Decent mpg at 20hwy. Other thought would be a highlander or a pilot. Awd and MPG are going to be tough to balance. You'll either have to get something with a turbo and as much fun as they are rarely see them last. Or something smaller like a subi. . Surprisingly the scion xB I got has more interior room than my WJ and the wifes GX. It's also pretty easy to get in and out of. I'm 6'1" and not stick figure. don't feel cramped at all. Not the prettiest but I'm sick of working on a daily and spending a fortune on gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMO413 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 28 minutes ago, Dzimm said: I also have trouble in smaller vehicles, so that's a huge factor as well since I'm a bigger guy. I fully understand guys or size don't for in most vehicles comfortably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 32 minutes ago, coheed said: Is this vehicle going to be just a commuter for you? Or will you haul people/parts/gear? Commuter. Has to be kid friendly tho hence the back seat. As well as have some room to haul stuff. I found a few more trucks tonight that I am going to look at tomorrow. Hopefully they aren't too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 14 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said: Gx470 or lx470 would be my choice. Other thought would be a highlander or a pilot. Awd and MPG are going to be tough to balance. You'll either have to get something with a turbo and as much fun as they are rarely see them last. Or something smaller like a subi. . I never really thought to look at a Lexus, don't really ever see them and I always assumed they were expensive. Hows the reliability and repair costs been for you? Yeah I'm not necessarily looking for crazy high mpg, 20 is fine with me. Was surprised to see that the 4wd Compass claims to get up to 30mpg highway. And yeah I'm staying away from turbos, I've seen a few vehicles with them but with approaching 150k miles, I'm not dealing with that. Subaru is definitely on the list. My mom has had 2 Outbacks, sister bought her first one from her. I do like them, haven't seen many for sale in my price range yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando87mj Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Before I got my wj I had a 2014 Jeep Compass. It’s amazing the hate that Jeep hates. It’s a pretty decent vehicle. Mines was the base model. 2.0 6 speed Hyundai automatic , fwd sadly. cons. -AVOID THE CVT -Interior was a on the cheaper side but not horrible , it’s simple and it works. -smaller 2.0 engine was pretty weak but using the auto stick feature I could get it going fairly decently. - it is on the smaller side especially if you’re a big guy. I am 6’3 and room was decent. -sport base model was a little lacking on the features department. pros -better 4x4 system than competitors - First gen Compass Platform started in ‘07 , by 2014 or later most of the kinks had been Worked out - simple design - maintenance like spark plugs , brakes , oil changes , filters are all easy to perform -parts aren’t to expensive on it since it shares it with many other jeeps - 2.0 and 2.4 world engines appear to be fairly solid engines. Hardly hear any horror stories about those. hyundai 6 speed automatic used in it is pretty solid too. Just make sure to change the trans fluid. They say it’s sealed for life but don’t buy into that. -it’s safe. My 14 had standard seat airbags , curtain airbags , front airbags and kept my mom safe when she got hit by a red light runner. There was not a scratch on her. To sum it up , I had my 2014 Compass from 48k up to 122k when it was totaled. only issue I ever had with it was that the a/c recirculation door Actuator went bad which isnt horrible To replace and 1 day before it got totaled I had the check engine come on for a faulty brake light switch. That was it. Not bad compared to what I see working at a Honda dealer. Everything else was normal maintenance. It was a simple but reliable car and did it’s job up till the end. If you Just want a simple daily driver that will get you there and back with pretty good mpg and you want the Jeep name I wouldn’t shy away from it. this is how the Nissan that hit it looked like little compass held up extremely well. It is a safe car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 are the early hemi Durangos cheap enough yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 What about a KL? Earlier models "should" be coming down in price some. I'm thinking I'll be trading in my KJ on one some day (not anytime soon though). It's funny, when KJ's first came out I swore I'd never drive one, let alone own one. Well, here we are now LOL. I said the same thing about the KL's too, but the more I see them the more I'm starting to like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 9 hours ago, Dzimm said: I never really thought to look at a Lexus, don't really ever see them and I always assumed they were expensive. Hows the reliability and repair costs been for you? Yeah I'm not necessarily looking for crazy high mpg, 20 is fine with me. Was surprised to see that the 4wd Compass claims to get up to 30mpg highway. And yeah I'm staying away from turbos, I've seen a few vehicles with them but with approaching 150k miles, I'm not dealing with that. Subaru is definitely on the list. My mom has had 2 Outbacks, sister bought her first one from her. I do like them, haven't seen many for sale in my price range yet. We've had it almost a year and just done basic maintenance on it. Cost wise hasnt been any different than anything else really. Fluids can be more only because it takes 8.2 qts of oil. Tcase fluid was $60 a quart, but otherwise nothing that needs to happen that will break the bank. Oil changes are a PITA because of dropping the skid but I've gotten use to it. When we got the GX is was actually cheaper, less mileage and nicer than comparable 4rs. Lexus has the initial upcharge but after that settles down. Interior wise is nicer than Toyota for base features. The tech is outdated compared to some manufactures but isnt a headache. One nice thing is they hold their value extremely well so you aren't getting shafted on depreciation. Reliability in short I trust the GX more than anything else I've ever owned and I've owned a lot. The only close contender is the xB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 So I went to a Chrysler dealer and test drove a 2015 Compass Altitude 4WD, 60k miles asking $12,500. It was a little tight for my knee on the center console side and my head was basically touching the grab handle on the ceiling but otherwise was okay. Definitely not the fastest vehicle, as is common knowledge. Cargo area is smaller than I hoped it would be. I did like the look of the burgundy with black badges and trim though. I also looked at a 2014 Dodge Journey Crossroad AWD, 86k miles asking $12,800 and is fully loaded, all options I didn't realize were even available in 2014. Full service record since new, new brakes and tires. Needless to say I was pretty impressed by it. The only downside is that the third row of seats is basically useless and they take up a lot of cargo space. Curious if they could come out to add usable space. We started working out a deal on it tonight but will continue tomorrow as it was after bank hours. Very much unintended but we may end up with a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Dodge Journey, both in black with black leather interior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Welp I did a thing.. I did some research and it's flat under the seats and people actually take the 3rd row of seats out all the time to get quite a bit more space so I will likely be doing the same. Thanks for all the input everyone! If it wasn't for the Compass bringing me to the lot, I wouldn't have even looked at the Journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMO413 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Good looking ride! We love ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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