Opinion please.

[Bouncer]

So my spouse is ready to part with her 04 pacifica and is wanting a 4x4, however she is very picky on what she drives. She wants a JKU, but they are out of budget. 3rd row seating is a must for her(she is willing to sacrifice this for a JKU), as is a sunroof. I should mention also that she does not want GM 4X4. In my area I have came down to 2 options and am hung up on which path to take. First is a 2008 Commander Overland edition with the 5.7 Hemi and all the bells and whistles. The down side is that it has 188K and the dealership is asking $7,000, which is all that we have and then some to buy it (we don't finance vehicles). The good is that my wife loves everything about it. On the other hand what I am leaning more towards is a one owner Seqouia SR5. It has the 4.7 and obviously 4X4. It has 205K, but who cares its a Toyota! The reason why I am gravitating towards the Sequoia is that it is an individual selling not a dealership, and the are asking $3,600. The Sequoia, however is about a 2 hour drive and across state lines to go look, test drive, and buy it. What are some opinions out there between them. Neither are offroad legends or have a large aftermarket support. but both meet the wifes requirements.

 

[Mike W]

Have them looked at by someone who knows those vehicles if you can. Buying used in that vintage just requires a bit more care to not get burned. Kind of hard to give good advise from this end of it. Let us know what you go with.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Need to test drive both to see what she likes, first gen sequoias are nice , very roomy , decent mpg ( even with lift and tires I could squeeze 18mpg out of mine ) very quiet interior and if you go for the last couple years of the first gen it has a 5 speed auto and the vvti 4.7 .

 

[Ripley1046]

Personally I would jump at the Toyota over the Jeep. That said, I'm not a fan of anything Chrysler, so take that bias for what it's worth. The Toyota may have more miles, but probably has a longer lifespan in terms of mileage. I would say it has more percentage of life left than the Jeep. I much prefer buying from individuals for higher mileage or older cars. Get the VIN, and as many pics as you can. Look up any common issues, ask if they have been fixed, and look up the cost of fixing them yourself (if you're so inclined) or having a shop take care of it. Make sure you know what the issues to look for on that model/year are before you drive. I just drove 2.5 hours to pick up a 2002 Rav4 about 2 weeks ago because it was an individual that was straight with me when I asked about the car, and didn't try to "sell" me on it. I know a fair amount about cars as I work on them as a hobby, but I always try to play dumb and see if they are being honest. Really, half of the test drive is judging whether you trust the person selling it in my opinion.

 

[Ripley1046]

The MyCarfax app is free, and you can punch in the VIN and say "it's my car" to get the info, then delete it if you don't buy. Sometimes there is a lot of service history, sometimes there isn't but it doesn't hurt to run it.

 

[Bouncer]

Well its been over a month and today I signed a purchase order for her new suv. Its not a Toyota or a Jeep... We found her an 06 Infinity QX56. Its got 142K on it, but is a one owner with all documents and maintenance and insanely clean. The PO ordered it at the dealership and had it built to his spec and delivered. It still has the MSRP sticker and all dealership paperwork with it. in the hatch it has a factory first aid kit in a leather pouch that has never been opened, the cargo net is still in its plastic wrapper, and it even has a leather swag kit with keychains still in plastic wrap. All of the seats look like no one has ever sat in them and not a single stain in the carpet. This thing looks to have been babied from day one. The wife fell in love with it from the craigslist pictures, and told me we were getting it on the test drive. My bank of 10 years hit me with an interest rate of 9.5%... Went through the car lot and the credit union they use and got 4.25%... I will be switching financial institutions. Anyway while being 4X4 I don't see this thing going on too many adventures, but I feel that for under 10K we got a Heck of a deal. (Ohh and if anyone is interested I have a cheap pacifica for sale).

 

[Ripley1046]

Nice looking truck!