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Car Buying Advice - Need help deciding which to buy

chuspapichuspapi Member Posts: 1
edited August 2017 in General
Hey guys, I'm new here and looking for a little help deciding which vehicle would be best buy.
My wife and are looking for a good 4x4 for our family car. I personally wanted something like a Wrangler,
but with our 3 month old little boy in the picture the wife told me no. lol So we were able to find 3 that we both liked, but I'm not sure which to go for.

I'm trying to figure out which will we get the most out of I suppose. Longest lasting and upkeep. All that good stuff.

So here are the 3 we are looking at
1 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 90k miles $6,900
2 2004 Nissan Frontier XE 4 door extended bed 150k miles $4,500
3 1994 Land Rover Discovery 5 doors seats 7 70k miles $4,000
And all are in great shape.

Personally I like how the Disco has 2 seats way in the back, perfect for my mother in law and her little demon child. Lol

I look forward to any input you guys may have.

Thanks!
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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 241,012
    chuspapi said:

    Hey guys, I'm new here and looking for a little help deciding which vehicle would be best buy.
    My wife and are looking for a good 4x4 for our family car. I personally wanted something like a Wrangler,
    but with our 3 month old little boy in the picture the wife told me no. lol So we were able to find 3 that we both liked, but I'm not sure which to go for.

    I'm trying to figure out which will we get the most out of I suppose. Longest lasting and upkeep. All that good stuff.

    So here are the 3 we are looking at
    1 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 90k miles $6,900
    2 2004 Nissan Frontier XE 4 door extended bed 150k miles $4,500
    3 1994 Land Rover Discovery 5 doors seats 7 70k miles $4,000
    And all are in great shape.

    Personally I like how the Disco has 2 seats way in the back, perfect for my mother in law and her little demon child. Lol

    I look forward to any input you guys may have.

    Thanks!

    I'll get some experts to chime in here, but I'm pretty certain they will all tell you to avoid the Land Rover.

    Hang tight ...

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  • 28firefighter28firefighter Member Posts: 9,385
    edited August 2017
    From my perspective the Frontier is the way to go. Likely to be the most reliable of the bunch and leaves money in the budget for maintenance. 

    Run away from the Land Rover as fast as you can. Unreliable, expensive to fix. 

    I'd walk away from the Jeep - not really known for their reliability and it seems you're paying a premium for it being slightly newer with fairly high mileage. A coworker had a Jeep Grand Cherokee of the same vintage and the electrical system was a nightmare. He sold it almost as quickly as he bought it. 
    2022 Tesla Model Y Performance, 2018 BMW M240i Convertible, 2015 Audi Q5 TDI
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,934
    Yikes. So an LR that will drive you to tears quicker than it will drive you anywhere else, a Nissan with 150k miles, or a dark year for the JGC. I'm gonna go on record as saying none of these are a good choice. Find an older JGC with the 4.0 straight 6 or a Nissan with far fewer miles.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • tbirdmarcotbirdmarco Member Posts: 3,838
    go with the Nissan or jeep! but like said above would find sum with lower miles!
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,934
    I should have asked: what is your budget?

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • nyccarguynyccarguy Member Posts: 16,418
    Run away from the Land Rover!  Any yes, what's your budget?  Where do you live?  How many miles per year do you drive?

    2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,513
    Nissan best bet, but miles are steep, and are you sure a pick up will work? Maybe look for a lower mile pathfinder instead.

    The Land Rover, run and hide from that.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,348
    How about an Xterra SE?

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited August 2017
    The Nissan, if it passes a pre-purchase inspection and doesn't need a lot. Figure if you're lucky you'll get maybe 50K-75K miles of good service out of it.

    Wrangler is just too punishing a ride, too primitive for a family I think for normal commuting.

    Run from the Land Rover like your hair was on fire.

  • pensfan83pensfan83 Member Posts: 2,555
    As others have said run and hide from the LR. Early to mid 2000's Jeeps were not particularly reliable. If you're willing to go back as far as 1994 on a LR you may be able to find a clean late 90's early 00's Grand Cherokee with the straight six, solid engine. Other options could include a CR-V, 4Runner, Pathfinder, or the Xterra you mention. All three will have pretty solid reliability and won't break the bank if they do need repairs. Listing your budget will help narrow down the options and model years.
    1997 Honda Prelude Base - 2022 Acura MDX Type S Advance - 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road - 2006 BMW 330Ci ZHP
  • BlakeBlake Member Posts: 63
    Hello @chuspapi I would advise to stay away from the LandRover! The maintenance and costs that come with this vehicle are astronomical. A Disco would be a great second vehicle to take out off-roading or things like that, but I do not believe it will be a good daily driver.

    Unless the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a V8, I would go with the Frontier. The reliability on those Grand Cherokee's are good at best. That being said, the V8s seem to last longer and have less issues.

    The Frontier has slightly high milage but also has a proven track record of being a very reliable truck. Make sure you have the Frontier inspected by a trusted mechanic, if everything checks out on the Frontier it should be a great vehicle for the next few years.

    Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions!

    Thanks!
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