The older Toyota Highlanders seem to be a solid choice. We bought a 2013 back in 2016 and so far haven't had to do anything to it other than basic maintenance. Hoping to keep it around until it hits 250k or so.

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/highlander-years-to-avoid-how-to-find-the-best-model-years

4.0 I6 is bulletproof, good power. Loved mine in my XJ.

If you can't find exactly what you want buy a clean Jeep or a 1/2 ton pickup, and then keep your eye out for something else later. Both of those are by far the easiest to sell outright or trade in and get your money back out.

I wish I could find an xj thai isn't both clapped out and over$6k.
I couldn't any advertised within 4 hours of me. I've had 2 of them but moved to Durangos.
Because I can find decent ones for a reasonable price. Personally many people seem to like them but I refuse to constantly Toyota Nissan Hyundai honduh or Kia.

If you can't find a clean one for a price you're willing to pay, perhaps your price expectation is unreasonable. Those things are in demand. They bring $$.

Yeah they do. Crazy money. I've had a 01 and a 97 xj and they aren't made any more/ but they want as much or more now for them than what I paid for mine 17 and 14 years ago respectively.
That was the reason why I bought a Durango 10 years ago.
I just bought another Durango (same body style as my first) and had to pay more for a nice 03, 2 weeks ago than what I paid for my 01, 10 years ago. But not at the extent as the xj's now compared to them.
It doesn't help that I live dead smack in the middle of salt country. I did have to go 4 hours away to find a clean Durango, that wasn't far enough for a nice xj, this round.
I got my first Durango at 1/3 the money an xj was in 2013, this time I had to pay 1/2 of entry price of another xj for my 2nd Durango. From what I see a "nice" xj can't be touched below $6k, just like back in '13. I don't have that kind of money for a vehicle.

Topside, I PM ed you, I have this all OG 96 r50 in South Florida for 3200 3.3 V6 auto 4x4 Cold A/C everything works really clean inside and out 140,k no rust anywhere

^ oh hell yes!

FWIW - Been Googling problem areas for the vehicles that have interested me so far.
A probably odd range of the CX-5, late-model Cherokee, 2001 Grand Cherokee, Honda Pilot, Focus & Escape off the top of my head.
Certain years log more problems than adjacent years, some with catastrophic failures, but mostly electronic failures.
Lots of rebuilt/salvage titles on local FBM, and the Hondas are at Toyota money, but those 2 makes seem to have fewest problems.
Seems the mid-2010s stuff is more problematic than 2017-up, though that could be mileage-related.
Man, this is quite the time-suck !

I think modelmakerinc has the answer for you...

Like 19Swinger70 said. The earlier smaller 4Runners are right up your alley. I had a first gen 2nd as a backup vehicle. Great when I had my dog. (Still miss her). Great feature is the rear window goes down.

Since I have a farm, I found a Honda Ridgeline to suit me more. I need more hauling outside the passenger area. Diesel fuel cans, and other things that require a bed rather than a rear compartment. The bed also has a large trunk. Lots of neat features. 5,000 lb tow capacity. I suppose I will always have a Ridgeline.

It has done more farm stuff than some shiny never used as a truck 3/4 ton with expensive wheels.

Glad your ok. My choice for the Swiss army knife is the WJ Grand Cherokee. Only consider ones with the 4.0 best to avoid anything but the Selectrac transfer case. I'm on my third and with about 220 on the clock it's still a stone reliable super comfortable cruiser with room for (8) 18" tires, or a full 4 x 8 piece of foam insulation, or last night a new recliner in the rear (seats down of course). Had it on the trails and with a good set of tires and small lift (2") it hangs right with the Wranglers on 35's and 37's.

There is a reason the old Toyotas tend to bring the dollars....just think about what makes a used car a 'cheap' buy. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

As much as I'm a die-hard Mopar guy, I'm also a bit of a closet Nissan guy - especially trucks. I've built/owned several '80s & '90s Nissan trucks (720s and D21s). No Pathfinders, but they are mechanically the same. They are great vehicles!!

However, about 5 years ago I bought my first Jeep Cherokee (XJ). It's a 1999 and it's been amazing!!! Nothing fancy but enough creature comforts for me. I bought it as a winter beater but immediately fell in love with it and it's been my year-round daily ever since with over 200K on it. Rust is their biggest enemy, but that applies to ALL vehicles here in the Rust Belt

I'm sorry to hear about your Pathfinder getting wrecked. I'd be sick if someone wrecked my Cherokee. There are lots of others out there, but I know how great MINE is.

Ed B

Unfortunately the Toyotas of the eras suggested aren't comfortable for me, and the older Cherokees seem cruder than my Pathy.
Agreed, they're pretty darn bulletproof, but for me, my Pathy is/was a nicer/better vehicle.

Love my 99 xj.130000 .bought it new so far batteries brakes and tires

Is there any hope of repairing your Pathfinder?

Even if your insurance company wants to write it off, can't you accept a cash settlement and put that amount towards repairing it?

Mike, if I was still running bodyshops, it'd be getting repaired, by guys I could trust.
I don't have any contacts here in Boise like I did in Sandpoint.
By the same token, it has 226,000 miles on it, and even though it's in great shape, the good times won't last forever.

Anyway, so far the vehicles I've found locally that interest me:
2010 Tiguan, 2013 Jetta, a couple 2017 Cherokees, and an Accord or two, but Pilots also have a good rep.
Found a decent V6 Journey, but I'm leery of late-model Mopars.
I'd be OK with a Stratus/etc but haven't seen a nice one in my search.
A nice V-6 RAV-4 is so far kind of a stretch.
Trying to be all-in under $16K so there's $ for a racecar to replace my Duster...priorities...
Ultimately, a smallish SUV is the best all-around tool for my vehicular toolbox.

That generation of Grand Cherokee (WJ) aren't bad. I've acquired a few of them to put my kids in them during their school years. Ours range from 150-325k miles and all had some sort of problems that allowed me to purchase them for cheap, knowing I would need to perform repairs. I don't think I paid over $2k for any one of them. I've seen some in the $5-8k range that are lower mileage and look pretty nice. I wasn't willing to pay that much so have never l looked at these. All mine run good now. Haven't had any major issues with them that I wasn't aware of when we bought them.
Things to be aware of with these...
1) using coolant. Some of these have cracked heads and suck coolant some of the have head gaskets that loose ability to seal over time and will allow coolant to get sucked into cylinders.
2) damage in the drivers doors wire harness. in the simplest case, this prevents windows and door locks from working. In worst case it creates a mod buss error that will lead to a host of dash warning lights becoming active.
3) rear hatch locks and airbag sensing units in the column fail. Easy replacements for both.
4) I've had to replace wheel bearings and CV boots in all of them at some point or another. Could be indicative of early life lack of care. No issues with my replacements.

Yeah, it was the 4.7 horror stories that hurt my interest in that one.

Just stumbled across a near-mint '99 Sebring (Mitsubishi) V6 coupe for $6750 with the major services done; are those good ?
Mitsubishi used to have a good rep but that's not a car I know much about.