Car Recommendations?

[Imagebuffet]

I have a 2004 Honda Civic LX with 62k miles on it. I still owe about $8k, which will be paid off within the next 2 years. It's a good car, but I need something different. I need to get out from under my monthly car payments; I need something that can haul large pieces of cargo (like a desk or a garden tiller); I would like something that can safely travel on unpaved, rough, forest roads. I still need good gas mileage and reliability. What are my options?

If nothing else, I'd like to refinance my car. I'm paying 6% interest on it. I think I could do better.

[groovyone]

Many places are closer to 4% so, so you could save there.

[janikphoto]

Is a 2004 civic worth $8k right now? It would suck, if you were upside down in your current car.

[venchka]

You're kidding, right? What you describe is multiple vehicles.

Look into something like a Toyota Tacoma 4wd. With about 100+k miles on it. Problem is they satisfy all but the fuel economy stipulation.

The small Ford Ranger 4wd trucks as an alternative.

Sell your car yourself. No dealer will give you anything for it in trade.

Wait until your Civic is paid for. Keep it. Buy a beater truck for the times when the Civic won't do what you need to do.

[texxter]

Consider a preowned small Toyota truck, not necessarily the 4x4, but the regular one. I have taken a small 2WD Toyota pickup to Mexico, crossed rivers with it, taken it on rocky roads, and these suckers are tough. Mileage is decent with the 4 cyl engine.

[venchka]

ps: Your Civic will go anywhere that a highway pickup will go. Forest service roads aren't that rough. If they are rough enough to need a real off-road vehicle, a highway pickup won't cut it.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by venchka

ps: Your Civic will go anywhere that a highway pickup will go. Forest service roads aren't that rough. If they are rough enough to need a real off-road vehicle, a highway pickup won't cut it.

Except for those times when the civic bottoms out but a pickup wouldnt.


Subarururu has a bunch of cars that take off road decently and have good cargo areas.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by venchka

ps: Your Civic will go anywhere that a highway pickup will go...

Yeah, but it won't carry a desk inside, like he originally stated.

[revjvegas]

Too bad we can't get the Hilux here in the states.



If there are any Top Gear fans out there, you know you cannot destroy this car.

[dmcantrell]

Originally Posted by venchka

Sell your car yourself. No dealer will give you anything for it in trade.

I've had very good luck using Carmax to sell used cars. I've done it three times and each time I got exactly what it was "worth". I could have eeked out a few more dollars in a private sale, but the time and effort that would have gone into that made that course of action undesirable. Carmax took about an hour to evaluate the car, then made me a written offer on the spot. There was no haggling, no phone calls to wishy-washy potential buyers, no advertising costs, etc. It was all very cut-and-dried.

[groovyone]

A friend and forum member is looking to sell his 4x4 Ford Ranger that has been well cared for. I can have him post details if interested.

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by revjvegas

Too bad we can't get the Hilux here in the states.
If there are any Top Gear fans out there, you know you cannot destroy this car.

Give it to a teen age boy.

[toverman]

I have a 2005 Subaru Outback and really like it. Gets fairly good mileage, can do some mild off-roading, has all-wheel drive, etc. The cargo area isn't tall, though, and the back window slants pretty severely. A Forester might be a better bet, although all Subies are pretty small on the inside. Properly equipped, it could tow a small trailer when you want to haul something that's won't fit inside.

But your Civic can also do that. I can't imagine you getting a good deal with a trade-in if you owe $8,000 on it, though. Even in these tough times, the old math still applies. Unless you could sell it for more than you owe, it doesn't make sense to upgrade yet.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

Except for those times when the civic bottoms out but a pickup wouldnt.


Subarururu has a bunch of cars that take off road decently and have good cargo areas.

One more time: Forest Service roads aren't that rough. Graded gravel. No fun. Not car killing. The car/wannabe off road truck killing roads are clearly marked as such. The Civic doesn't qualify for bulky load hauling & the truck doesn't qulify for decent gas mileage. Ergo, you need both.

Or a nice little trailer and a hitch for the Civic. A 500 pound trailer and a 500 pound load should be ok for the Civic.

One more time:

Pay it off.

From Kelly Blue Book: Honda Civic LX

Condition Value


Excellent
$8,290

Good
$7,740

Fair
$7,065

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

What do you call good gas mileage? Really anything that can go offroad to an extent will get at most 20mpg on the highway prettymuch.

So as stated above don't sell the civic and buy USED- heard that the Dodge full size pickups from a couple years back have good reliable engines (from two different mechanics that bought used oilfield trucks-they were company bosses trucks trucks that were in the field but not primary field trucks-might find many of those in the Midland Market-these were 1 ton and larger diesels) Or try an older Jeep grand Cherokee-decent hauling room-just stay away from the 8 cylinder (lousy mileage)-4 wheel drive-good clearance-parts readily available. Right now I'm not sure if I would go with a Toyota until they get the history out with how long they have had problems (looks like it could go back to the mid 90's).