**Now that I have the cash money to buy just about any vehicle I want, there aren’t any that I want....**
I don’t have the money for most new rides. My guidelines are reliability and repairability.
My two S10/Blazers fit those guidelines. I like being ABLE to do my own repairs, not saying that I like repairs. And those rigs have been easy to fix when something breaks.
Rode in my b-i-l’s new grand cherokee last year. It may get 7 mpg more than the blazers, but, the back seat wasn’t any more roomy or comfortable than the old Blazers’.
The wife’s 07 highlander has been very reliable, though not as easy under the hood to repair as the blazers. It has 321k and finally had to be towed recently (original fuel pump fail, but not a difficult fix).
As those rigs will reach a point of retirement I watch for ones that are similar, and well cared for by the previous owner(s).
The 01 Blazer (2wd, but all the other options), still looks nice inside and out, and has been the champ of all our rigs: bought 17 years ago w/94k miles, for $5,200, it still has its original drive train, (now at 313k).
One thing about cars, suvs, and pickups of the past ten or so years, that makes me roll my eyes, is the covering of the top of the engines with cosmetic plastic panels. But, I guess all the wires, sensors, and plumbing on modern engines look like a complicated mess to buyers in the showroom.
“One thing about cars, suvs, and pickups of the past ten or so years, that makes me roll my eyes, is the covering of the top of the engines with cosmetic plastic panels. “
I hate that, but it was to influence and entice the female buyers........