Anyone got some recommendations for a vehicle to drive for winter/early spring. Have the cool cars to drive in the summer, but want something bigger and safer for the winter months.
Maybe a leased SUV ? Or would used be a better option? Should I wait till end of December for a better deal?

Thanks

My grand Cherokee is great. Plenty of room and is super comfortable. Plus it's got all the extra goodies.

Thanks Stumpy.
Was thinking about them, but not hearing good things about electronics in them.
My mechanic just told me a nightmare story .

I prefer to let the original owner take the brunt of depreciation.
That said, with this virus, new may actually pencil out pretty well vs a couple years old.
Used to be you could get a pretty good deal from Enterprise when they sell off, but you need to look closely for damage repairs.
For winter weather, my little FWD Breeze with snow tires gets through anything less than 5" of snow.
But you might prefer AWD or 4WD. In either case, winter tires really work better than all-season.
I don't need all the electronic stuff, but others like it, don't know your preference.
But I'd sure go online and look for problem areas with whatever you're looking at.

Well all I know is that my 2011 has 115k miles and no issues what so ever.

What type of vehicle are you looking for? Ideas can be endless.

We use an old 4X4 Yukon as our bad weather mobile. 4x4 in them has an auto mode which is great when you're driving on a mix of plowed and crap roads. Driving it after one of our big snowfalls that will bottom out a car is like driving a tank that will go thru anything without hesitation and being truck based you don't have to worry about ground clearance or any fragile parts getting torn off or bent up. I also have an AWD Charger I bought with winter in mind but when it comes down to it the suv always ends up being the go-to vehicle.

My Expedition is awesome. They usually run a cheap lease deal on the xlt trim. Limited is way better package though.

MDX.

Never buy a car you cannot pay cash for. Good winter car, buy a Tahoe or Sub, summer car, I always buy grandparents cars, Lincolns or Buicks. I favor Town cars for myself and lucrenes , Lacrosse or Impalas for the wife and kids. Cheap to maintain and run for ever.

Newest used 4runner you can pay cash for, last forever and best resale of any SUV.

I had a 2012 GC Laredo. 120k miles in it and the only problems I had was a radiator leak and it ate sway bar links, no electrical issues.

I also have a buddy with a 2018 GC Trailhawk he bought new. He's had it in for a few recalls and that's it. No electrical problems even though it's full of tech options.

Right now Jeep is hot. Just about anything with the Jeep name on it is holding its value.

Appreciate all the replies.
Size wise thinking standard SUV,. but want something comfortable and some power as well as reliable.

And the same here with a 2012 and 123k miles. About your mechanic telling you a nightmare story,that can hold true for just about any brand.

Agreed. They run forever and resale proves it

Of course I also strongly agree but it seems the OP is a "mopar or no car " guy so he's locked into unreliable poorly built domestic cars with no resale value

Gus

Subaru Outback
Nothing better in the snow, great gas mileage, safe.

Subaru outback with the v6. Comfortable very nice car.

Hah, not locked into only Mopars, and I guess if I say Mopars are not reliable and on the other own a modern day muscle mopar I contradict myself.
It's a lose lose situation for me , lol .

Regarding the nightmare stories from mechanic, that was just an example. I should clarify in general over the decades these guys have been working on every brand cars , Mopar products tend to have a lot .
Regardless, I don't rule them out as options, as I did go that route I would make sure I had some kind of comprehensive warranty, especially when it comes to electrical issues

I looked at a bunch of Toyotas on line , and while I agree with the 4Runner recommendation, I don't care for the looks of them, but thank you .

Will look into Subarus, but have had bad experience with them in the past, as well as some friends.

We picked up a used 2011 subaru outback. Great shape and everything works, but lots of miles. It was a 6 cylinder with the 5 speed automatic.

If you stay away from the ones with the CVT trannys you should be in good shape. They can also have head gasket issues if the coolant is not serviced regularly. Other than that, so far so good with ours...

Agreed with above. Are you sure your jeep (pictured) is a 2012?

The Cvt is now warranteed till 100k on most models.
They have made enhancements to it and its become mostly trouble free. Big problem in the 2010-2012 Outbacks was actually the torque convertor, not the tranny.
We have sold literally hundreds of them. Two torque convertor issues, and one tranny “ whine” issue fixed under warranty. Total. And the ones we sell aren't new ones. Typical 60k to 120kunits.
There is a reason they have an extremely high resale value, they have less warts than others do.
Newer ones no longer have head gasket issues. And 99% of the head gasket issues are seeping oil, not leaking coolant. Seen plenty to say that over years and years of dealing with them. Used to see coolant leaks back in 99-03 more, very rare much after that

Thanks for the detailed feedback on the Subarus, very helpful.
Definitely dealt with head gasket issues and tranny issues so want to avoid that !

I NEVER give quarter to anyone driving a Subaru, they are generally not interested in paying attention. They are assembled in Lafayette, Indiana so anyone who says that domestic cars are junk then I guess that applies to a Subaru also. Think before speaking about American assembled automobiles...

Fixed it,2010 sometimes I can't see the numbers !

What the heck are you talking about? 1) It is no secret they are assembled in Lafayette. There is a giant Indiana sticker in the drivers side window. 2) All my other cars are Chryslers. But when they discontinued the Magnum in 2008 anyone wanting an AWD station wagon had to go elsewhere.

Hopefully I'm paying enough attention for you...

I have lived Subaru's daily for the last 12 years. I am way more familiar with them than probably anyone on this forum.
Camry and Accord are made in US as well. Are they bad cars too? For the record Outback i believe is the only Subaru not made in Japan still. And interestingly, Outback is probably its best car
My dad retired from GM, i ran a GM store for 15 years. I am very open minded about different brands
I have raced and owned Mopar muscle car era cars since 1971.
You should be smart enough to know not all cars are created equally, no matter where they are made.
I own a Hemi Ram, love it.
But as far as safe, reliable, good winter cars, Subaru’s are hard to beat.
They have among, if not the highest resale value of anything on the market. There is a reason for that, they are good cars.
Don't let whatever bias you seem to have,place everyone in a basket you seem to have for them.

My bias is with anyone who says that their favorite brand of foreign car is SOOOOO much better than everything else, no matter where it is "assembled". I lost a career to the thieving Japanese and will always be bitter about it. You "auto technicians" think you know everything about automobiles, you just know about the mechanicals and electronics hopefully, other things to consider also. I don't really care much about "its all about my family", screw the United States...

You have never met a more Conservative guy than me. Thank all the globalists who sold oursouls down the road to China, Mexico and who knows where. Guys like the Clintons, Bush’s, Obama’s of the world. Glad Trump is bring plants back here.
Dont question my patriotism pal, i did 6 years active duty.
Be thankful Americans are building these “ foreign” cars you hate so much. You probably should study parts content on where various auto makers source parts from.
Might/ will surprise you.
I am not an “ auto technician” i am a dealer. I own my business.

Read this....

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/3-american-cars-that-are-barely-made-in-america/

The problem with Subaru's is they are like just about every other import they're expensive when they break. They're like a cult car- some owners love them and think they're the best cars in the world. Others don't think they're anything special and move on. To me it doesn't matter how good or bad they are or where they are built, I've always hated the way they look. They were ugly in the 80s and they aren't any better now.

I pay service bills every week. They arent anymore expensive to fix than anything else. What you said is completely untrue.
For one thing, Subaru’s are all AWD, and they get driven in bad weather and off road a lot. When you take that into consideration, along with the very high resale value, the cost of ownership shines.
Again, high resale values mean good, reliable car.
Regards looks, hey, its subjective. I kinda agree... lol
None of them look like my 69 GTS.

To the OP-- I've owned several variants of the jeep cherokee. I had a 2012 Overland that was plagued with problems ( yes, electrical, lots of documented cases- shutting off while driving) and almost forced me out of the Grand Cherokee market until I got an SRT. They are great driving and very comfortable especially on those longer hauls. Lots of room and with good tires, it will raise your poor weather driving confidence if you lack in that area. As for subarus, I had one for a brief period of time as a company vehicle ( 2016 outback), I was religious about its upkeep, and put 32000 miles on it- in 8 months. It already had 91000 miles on it. They are surprisingly agile and capable, the little 4 cylinders will not only please you with good gas mileage, but in naturally aspirated form, they have some guts to 'em. They are not expensive to maintain at all, quite the opposite. I would steer clear of gm products. Ford products just seem so sterile and cheap to me( my opinion based on my experiences, yes I do have a Ford for a company vehicle as is the rest of the fleet) but they've proven reliable with scheduled maintenance also.

Thanks for the feedback Jim, appreciate it.

Regarding Subarus, yeah they just don't do it for me.
What year is the SRT? How many miles you have on it now? Any issues?

Honda.... cant beat the reliability.. I bought an AWD HRV four years ago so I wouldn't have to drive my HQC in the salt and snow its been great even thru 6 inches of snow.. we have had a CRV and a Pilot both were great ! My wife is on her third Acura RDX AWD also a very good SUV but a little expensive

Hi Joe, how are ya??

Not sure what you are into, but we replaced one of our minivans with a 50,000 mile 2013 Volkswagen CC 3.6 VR6 AWD sedan.
It's fast, big, cheap, solid and comfy. A full size sedan, fits all 5 of us, with ample trunk space and the AWD comes in handy around these parts.

If you decide to look for one, be aware that most of the CC's are the small 4-banger 2.0Ti engine..
I was told those engines aren't that good compared to the big 3.6 VR6.

The only weakness we've experienced is the low profile tires get pinched and can blow out on potholes... and you know how many potholes we get in Upstate.

Cheers,
- Art

2014, 109k. "Induction service performed" a fancy way of saying they replaced the lifters under warranty. About 1k miles ago, started getting a generic code p1414. Its an mds issue. I thought I had it narrowed down to the usual culprit, the solenoid, but about 300 miles after I replaced it, the code and the reduction in driveability returned. Since I only put 4k miles a year on my car now, I simply circumvented the problem by switching over to sport mode everytime I get in to drive it. Gonna be very honest, i did NOT buy this vehicle for its miles per gallon, got it for the smiles per gallon. Auto mode on these make it a real bore to drive anyway. I will forewarn you- if you want to play, you have to pay. When repairs and regular maintenance are due, the name holds true
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket

Otherwise, I love this. Hopefully 1 day soon move on to a trackhawk and mod the pi$$ out of it.

I guess I'm more used to driving stuff that's cheap to repair because I know several Subaru die hards and when I hear what repairs cost them I can almost feel my wallet pucker up.
When I need a bad weather or off road vehicle I go straight for our Yukon keys. If I had to buy a car and knew that I would really be pushing the limits on what I was putting it thru then a subaru would be my choice over something else because they've been at it for so long I would expect it to hold up better.

Not sure why there is a stigma to the cost to repair makes like Honda or Toyota. I own both. Both are INCREDIBLY reliable (272K on my current driver). Cheap to fix if anything ever does go wrong with them. I do have to admit though, we bought a brand new Honda CRV last winter (wife's old one got totaled from some moron). I really, really do not like all of the current technology on them. Just way to much junk and its all stuff that will be the failure items in the future. I will keep driving the old, reliable super simple ones because I can still fix them without having to own a ton of complicated scanners and interface devices.

Hey Art, hope all is well.
Ever since the emissions scam with VW I've boycotted them. Never owned one, likely never will, but appreciate the feedback.

Thanks for the honest feedback Jim, will take it into consideration

Have had a few Hondas as drivers and for the wife. She still drives a 16 CRV and loves it. Have had no issues, but it's just not my style , and would like a little more power and sacrifice some MPG.

I had a Cherokee Trailhawk this week as a loaner car. I liked the looks of it but man did it suck to drive. Having the climate control system a weird hybrid of half linked into the infotainment system and half manual buttons was irritating. Maybe I'm just too used to driving stick where when you push the pedal the vehicle responds but the lag time on the transmission in that Jeep was the same as the beater 2006 F150 shop truck I use at work. I'm used to driving a 4cyl crossover SUV and the trailhawk with the v6 felt equally gutless.

I don't get the Subaru love. I've had a couple. Mediocre reliability and longevity. Poor fuel mileage for the size of vehicle. Their main redeeming feature was I could buy ones in need of a mechanical or body repair and fix and flip for a good profit to the people who pay outrageous prices for those vehicles.

Honda and Toyota are great for resale value. If you're buying new or almost new I would go that way just because their longevity and reliability is so good and resale is so good. Not to mention if your car ever gets written off like mine did you actually get something for it versus something else that resale value drops like a stone. But because the resale value is so high on them I have a hard time buying them used. After my Honda was written off I bought a Kia with those funds and I have been largely satisfied with however the longevity is definitely not what the Honda was. I'm seeing wear on suspension components that would have taken a Honda another 60-80k miles to get to that point. I drive a lot of rough roads so front and rear suspensions are usually where I first start to see problems. In addition to interiors turning into rattle traps which is happening with the Kia but never happened with the Hondas.

IMO all the options now suck. I'm restoring an older Jeep that I plan to rust proof the hell out of and drive because I'm feeling done with all the newer junk.

When I first drove my wife's Cherokee 3.6 I was not impressed on it's take off from a stop. Until I found the A button which stops the engine from shutting off at a stop. Major response time difference.

.
Had a 2015 sport with the 4 popper- unbeatable in snow, otherwise I absolutely hated this car. A few years later hopped Into a v6 version- huge difference. Good mileage and great power. Huge complaint- the 9 speed trans. Not a good combo for either engine in my opinion.

Stick to an SUV with a big engine and a reliable proven trans

Happy with my GC hemi.

My wife and daughter have 19 Cherokee Trailhawks..... pretty amazing off road capabilities.

Has anyone said Ram?! Great in the winter. You feel secure. The 1500's drive as nice as most luxury cars and can handle rough roads too. And didnt the Limited win some luxury "car" award? I could never go back to an SUV and don't even understand why they make cars. With the price of gas who worries about mileage anymore. I'll trade mileage for safety. PS 2500's ride like dump trucks. AVOID Unless you need it for business and trailer pulling.

I need a new vehicle and will probably get something loaded and whatever model is below the Ram Limited. Looks like a Laramie. I just priced one for you and I. Damn thing costs as much as my FIRST HOUSE!!!! V8, towing package, 12" screen, leather, sun roof, radar, basically all the options. Oh and 4 wheel air suspension.

that truck IS priced more than i paid for my house 10 years ago.

and the $800+ a month estimated is higher than my mortgage payment with taxes and insurance included.

Ha, thanks for the suggestion TA , but still have my 96 Ram , don't feel another truck is warranted .
Besides, I would have to live in it at that price, lol .;)

Thanks for the feedback DT, appreciate your experience with multiple car makes .

I'd like a truck but prices have just gone absolutely off the deep end. Big trucks and SUVs seem to be the only vehicles the big 3 can make a profit on, so they are milking those cows as much as they can.

The problem is that with the prices on new trucks so high, it's driving used prices up as well to points where they just don't make sense in some cases, either.

Tend to agree with you Jim, was definitely thinking no less than V6 .

i have said for a million years, [well, it SEEMS that long ] i won't pay more for a vehicle than we paid for this house. [built in 1872]
i guess that's why my "truck" is a 1999 caravan, and her car is a 1994 chrysler concorde.