New or Used SUV Recommendations

[macuu222]

Our 2005 ford escape with 200,000 miles is about ready to go to that SUV graveyard in the sky. Was a great vehicle but now the overdrive light is blinking and we lost second gear which tells me that the transmission is failing.  Would like to stay with an SUV like a compact or even a sub compact. But whatever it is has to be able to make it up and over Saddle Road without much effort because we travel over there several times a month. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ChunksterK]

Subaru Forester is similar in size to your Escape and has excellent reliability, fuel efficiency, and safety ratings. They get better gas mileage even with AWD than many FWD vehicles in their class.

[Obie]

I would recommend a Mazda CX-5.
Sadly there are no dealers on this island.

I will probably buy another and have it shipped from Oahu.
I have only had one issue that needed a visit to the dealer when they were here. It was out of warranty and they wouldn't fix it.
I did it myself.

[My 2 cents]

I would recommend doing a diagnostic scan before making any decisions.

Second gear went out on my PU. I had the same thoughts, transmission is on it's way out.

The scanner showed a bad....shift modulator?....something like that. The guy fixed it for $100.

That was over 10 years ago. It's been a great little truck. I'm glad I still have it.

[macuu222]

Looks like its a 2/4 transmission band that broke....so big bucks to fix. And no trade in value... So I Looked at some used Escapes at Ford along with a few other brands including Niisen Rouge and Pathfinder. Is it just me or is just about everything for sale these days have CVT transmissions? I mean I know they are very fuel efficient but they break down really fast and repairs on them are higher than regular transmissions. Seems like every new vehicle priced at around $25000 these days are "throw away vehicles" with 1 or1.5 liter  3 cylinder engines that won't even get you over Saddle Road without a struggle and with only a five to 7 year life span.  And to top that off...many dealerships are now completely empty of new vehicles because of production delays at the factories due to covid 19.  All they have are used trade ins.

[oink]

Toyota Rav4. Can get all wheel drive if needed. It has a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated engine (not turbo), 8 speed conventionally geared transmission (unless hybrid), two dealerships, and wonder reputation for long term reliability. Shouldn't be much over $25K for more base models.

[terracore]

There's 69 Hawaii GSA auction vehicles getting ready to start here:

https://autoauctions.gsa.gov/GSAAutoAuct...cleListing

I've bought two vehicles there. One sedan I bought for $1600, drove for 5 years, and then sold for $2k. Where else can you buy a cheap car that appreciates in value?

p.s. The SUVs and minivans have the least amount of interest on the site so they usually get less bids and go cheaper. Trucks and sedan prices can run hot, especially the ones with super low miles. But on those rigs you are usually bidding against the lot dealers and they might be sitting this one out. Or maybe the opposite. You can frequently get < 10 year old vehicles with < 10k miles on them. It's unusual to have this many vehicles being auctioned at once so it's one of those "once every couple of years" opportunities. The low mileage vehicles are usually government lease vehicles so have all the impeccable maintenance to go with them. The high mileage are often asset forfeitures or law enforcement vehicles that have been driven hard.

Edited to add: No sales tax or license transfer fees etc when buying from the federal government. That practically pays for the cost of shipping one over!

[TomK]

macuu - I'm not an SUV fan, but over the last three years or so I've ended up renting a Chevy Equinox. It's not 4WD but it was a very nice vehicle to drive and when I was looking for a new car it was something I considered. In the end, I decided I didn't need a large car, but it was very reasonably priced.

As for CVTs, Kia and Hyundai offer 10-year/100,000 mile warranties on the power train which I assume includes the CVT. Might be worth considering, or even if 2nd hand, the warranty might still be valid. I've been driving a CVT vehicle (Elantra) for the last couple of months and the fuel efficiency is incredible, I'm averaging 40 mpg city/highway. I'm not healing large loads or anything like that, but feel very comfortable with the warranty. The more general warranty lasts five years plus free maintenance for three years.

[macuu222]

That clinched it. Went to Kia and bought a Kia Seltos. 2021. A completely new Kia model of sub compact SUV. It has a cvt transmission but with a 10 warranty on the power train...I feel better taking a chance on it. Wife says it's very comfortable. Test drove it up Saddle Road to Wilder and it had plenty of power.

[TomK]

Thanks for the update, macuu222, it's always good to get feedback. It looks like a very decent all-round vehicle and yes, the warranty is very good and was a big factor in my choice of new car.