So a "i think it might be a grown up decision" thought came into my head. I'm currently a pre-nursing student working on my pre reqs. I'm at a community college right now working for my ADN. However, my school's program is very competitive (3.8 recommended, I have a 3.7 program GPA, 2.8 cumulative -- I failed algebra + trig). I'll probably be transferring to Molloy University in Long Island once I get 20-30 credits or so (if anyone has any knowledge on Molloy's program, and/or any info on community college to a 4 year university transfer student experiences/perspectives please enlighten me :] ).
My "I think it might be a grown up decision" thought is the following:
If I'm going to be a future Nurse / healthcare provider when I'm older, shouldn't I have an AWD vehicle as a daily driver? I mean I already work in a hospital, I know nurses at my job receive hell when a snow storm happens. THey're not allowed to call out, some have to sleep at hospital so they can come into work the next day. If they do call out they receive zero pay, administration is up their butts. Not fun.
My current car, a 2013 hyundai elantra is great on gas for college/work. I'm thinking of trading it in though at the expense for higher costs in gas, for a 2005-2010 jeep grandcherokee. That way by the time I graduate my "work vehicle" is almost paid off.
TL;DR
As a dedicated pre-nursing student, should I keep my gas efficient car and lose trade-in value over the years for when I eventually get my "work vehicle" which would be an AWD daily (jeep grandcherokee specifically).
Or trade in my gas efficient vehicle now, not lose as much trade in value, for my future "work-vehicle"
Pffftt...gas mileage is overrated. There is a lot more to buying and owning a car than that.
Seriously, nobody wants to use a vehicle that gets 12-15 MPG as a daily driver, but almost no vehicles fall into that category. I see you like Jeep Grand Cherokees, so you are off to a good start. First, if I may, a bit of Jeep GC history with a personal perspective:
I have been owning and driving Grand Cherokees for almost twenty years. The first was a 1995 Laredo, then a 1996 Laredo, followed by a 1998 Laredo; all were fairly basically equipped with a 4.0-L six cylinder engine that was reliable as can be. Jeep dropped that engine because the cost of keeping up with upcoming EPA standards would be too high. the 1995 and 1998 were my wife's; I "inherited" them when she bought a new one. The 1996 was bought from a friend in showroom condition, but it had a few (easily fixed) problems. My next one was a 2002 Overland with the 4.7-L V-8 that got about the same gas mileage as the previous sixes... as much as 23 MPG on the road and ~17 locally. In 2005, we each bought a new Limited with the 5.7-L Hemi; nasty fast, great in the snow, and rode/handled great. It was capable of the same gas miles as the previous ones. In 2009, I bought a fully loaded Overland with the Hemi... one heck of a traveling vehicle and no serious problems. That Jeep could pull tree stumps if necessary It is now somewhere in Georgia - I traded it with just over 62,000 miles in mint condition (I'm funny that way; I take care of my vehicles). Keep in mind that Jeep still has the best 4WD systems out there, hands down.
My current Jeep is a 2014 Summit - hey, the dealer made me a deal I couldn't refuse. It has the 3.6-L "Pentastar" V-6 that is found in most Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/ Ram vehicles. What sold me on the vehicle (Summit with everything on it) was driving it. The eight-speed ZF (that's right, they got it from Germany) is "like buttah"... you cannot really feel it shift, and it does all the work that needs to be done. If you are descending a hill and start slowly or apply some braking, it downshifts to the appropriate gear and retains it until you feed some throttle. This Jeep has exceeded 27 MPG on the road, and does >20 in combined driving (lots of hills)
Chrysler was bought by FIAT (I know... Fix It Again, Tony ), whose CEO (Sergio Marchionne) is a genuine motorhead, similar to the late Soichiro Honda. Many of us thought the Jeep line would have been dropped, but Marchionne knows how great it is. Despite the rumors, no lines have been dropped, and the connections with Mercedes-Benz and German technology (i.e., the ZF gearbox) remain strong.
Drive a 2014 or later GC, and that 8-speed coupled with the V-6 will have you hooked. That engine is no slug, but rather it can really get down (and get back up again :) ). Maintenance is minimal, and I have been through some nasty upstate/central NY winters with it and had no problems.
Keep in mind that the biggest and fanciest dealerships are not always the best ones. Up until the 2014, I bought and serviced through a Buick-GMC-Jeep dealer in Henrietta (south of Rochester), NY. They were the best in the business, and their sales/service numbers proved it. Under the federal government's takeover back in 2009, their Jeep franchise was given to a large substandard dealership up the road that carried all of Chrysler's lines. When we needed a warranty repair on my wife's Jeep (a 2009 Limited), they recommended a place in Geneva, NY which has done equally good work and is very reasonable. She traded her '09 for a 2014 in June of 2013; I did likewise three months later. Yeah, we love our Jeeps. :) The nice thing about both places was that they never, ever tried to "pull one over" on either of us. They don't believe that "women don't know anything about cars"; some of their best customers are women from near and far. Their building is a very basic gray with blue trim. Their showroom is their lot (or the service shop entrance in bad weather), so their costs are lower. These guys are cool.
Find an excellent dealer and drive the newest (2014 or 2015) Grand Cherokee; you will be pleasantly surprised. Also, bear in mind that a newer or new vehicle may cost less to buy and operate... a "cost vs. price" thing.
Pffftt...gas mileage is overrated. There is a lot more to buying and owning a car than that.
Seriously, nobody wants to use a vehicle that gets 12-15 MPG as a daily driver, but almost no vehicles fall into that category. I see you like Jeep Grand Cherokees, so you are off to a good start. First, if I may, a bit of Jeep GC history with a personal perspective:
I have been owning and driving Grand Cherokees for almost twenty years. The first was a 1995 Laredo, then a 1996 Laredo, followed by a 1998 Laredo; all were fairly basically equipped with a 4.0-L six cylinder engine that was reliable as can be. Jeep dropped that engine because the cost of keeping up with upcoming EPA standards would be too high. the 1995 and 1998 were my wife's; I "inherited" them when she bought a new one. The 1996 was bought from a friend in showroom condition, but it had a few (easily fixed) problems. My next one was a 2002 Overland with the 4.7-L V-8 that got about the same gas mileage as the previous sixes... as much as 23 MPG on the road and ~17 locally. In 2005, we each bought a new Limited with the 5.7-L Hemi; nasty fast, great in the snow, and rode/handled great. It was capable of the same gas miles as the previous ones. In 2009, I bought a fully loaded Overland with the Hemi... one heck of a traveling vehicle and no serious problems. That Jeep could pull tree stumps if necessary It is now somewhere in Georgia - I traded it with just over 62,000 miles in mint condition (I'm funny that way; I take care of my vehicles). Keep in mind that Jeep still has the best 4WD systems out there, hands down.
My current Jeep is a 2014 Summit - hey, the dealer made me a deal I couldn't refuse. It has the 3.6-L "Pentastar" V-6 that is found in most Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/ Ram vehicles. What sold me on the vehicle (Summit with everything on it) was driving it. The eight-speed ZF (that's right, they got it from Germany) is "like buttah"... you cannot really feel it shift, and it does all the work that needs to be done. If you are descending a hill and start slowly or apply some braking, it downshifts to the appropriate gear and retains it until you feed some throttle. This Jeep has exceeded 27 MPG on the road, and does >20 in combined driving (lots of hills)
Chrysler was bought by FIAT (I know... Fix It Again, Tony ), whose CEO (Sergio Marchionne) is a genuine motorhead, similar to the late Soichiro Honda. Many of us thought the Jeep line would have been dropped, but Marchionne knows how great it is. Despite the rumors, no lines have been dropped, and the connections with Mercedes-Benz and German technology (i.e., the ZF gearbox) remain strong.
Drive a 2014 or later GC, and that 8-speed coupled with the V-6 will have you hooked. That engine is no slug, but rather it can really get down (and get back up again :) ). Maintenance is minimal, and I have been through some nasty upstate/central NY winters with it and had no problems.
Keep in mind that the biggest and fanciest dealerships are not always the best ones. Up until the 2014, I bought and serviced through a Buick-GMC-Jeep dealer in Henrietta (south of Rochester), NY. They were the best in the business, and their sales/service numbers proved it. Under the federal government's takeover back in 2009, their Jeep franchise was given to a large substandard dealership up the road that carried all of Chrysler's lines. When we needed a warranty repair on my wife's Jeep (a 2009 Limited), they recommended a place in Geneva, NY which has done equally good work and is very reasonable. She traded her '09 for a 2014 in June of 2013; I did likewise three months later. Yeah, we love our Jeeps. :) The nice thing about both places was that they never, ever tried to "pull one over" on either of us. They don't believe that "women don't know anything about cars"; some of their best customers are women from near and far. Their building is a very basic gray with blue trim. Their showroom is their lot (or the service shop entrance in bad weather), so their costs are lower. These guys are cool.
Find an excellent dealer and drive the newest (2014 or 2015) Grand Cherokee; you will be pleasantly surprised. Also, bear in mind that a newer or new vehicle may cost less to buy and operate... a "cost vs. price" thing.
wow very insightful story. thanks for sharing. i always thought the hemi only came with the SRT models.
I have a 2015 subaru forester....its kind of boring to drive .... but it is unbelievable in the snow, I'm in central MA and I live in the woods, I was able to drive thru 2 ft of snow uphill to get out of my driveway to get to work one day. I do have snow tires which is the most important thing regardless of whatever vehicle you have......I would stay away from jeeps just because of fuel economy, I've averaged around 32mpg in warmer weather with the subaru but like any vehicle it drops with the cold and when it was below zero, I'd average 20-25mpg, their symmetrical AWD system is also the best one of all crossovers (even though its an older one), most other crossovers have a haldex system that keeps the vehicle in FWD until the wheels slip and then AWD kicks in, subaru has all wheels powered all the time.
Specializes in Adult and Pediatric Vascular Access, Paramedic.
I have a 2015 subaru forester....its kind of boring to drive .... but it is unbelievable in the snow, I'm in central MA and I live in the woods, I was able to drive thru 2 ft of snow uphill to get out of my driveway to get to work one day. I do have snow tires which is the most important thing regardless of whatever vehicle you have......I would stay away from jeeps just because of fuel economy, I've averaged around 32mpg in warmer weather with the subaru but like any vehicle it drops with the cold and when it was below zero, I'd average 20-25mpg, their symmetrical AWD system is also the best one of all crossovers (even though its an older one), most other crossovers have a haldex system that keeps the vehicle in FWD until the wheels slip and then AWD kicks in, subaru has all wheels powered all the time.
Do you have issues with excessive oil consumption??
Specializes in Adult and Pediatric Vascular Access, Paramedic.
Actually not true. There were a small number that had this problem and they have figured it out. I have a Forester and it does NOT burn oil.
That is true only about 10% had the oil issue, but with that being said when you buy one you have no way of knowing whether you are getting one of those 10%! Not worth the risk in my opinion.
They may have figured it out, but that was only after they got sued TWICE with class action law suits, before that they seemingly ignored the problem and even put it in the owner's manuals that it was normal!
I am hoping Honda doesn't wait until we sue them to fix the obvious vibration issues in my new vehicle, with thousands of them effected.
That is true only about 10% had the oil issue, but with that being said when you buy one you have no way of knowing whether you are getting one of those 10%! Not worth the risk in my opinion.
They may have figured it out, but that was only after they got sued TWICE with class action law suits, before that they seemingly ignored the problem and even put it in the owner's manuals that it was normal!
I am hoping Honda doesn't wait until we sue them to fix the obvious vibration issues in my new vehicle, with thousands of them effected.
Annie
The problem was with some of the 2014's. They discovered the problem (bad rings), they fixed the problem. No car is perfect. There are always going to be some that have issues. The majority of Forester owners have absolutely no oil burning issues. You're making it sound like these are POS vehicles and they aren't. Subarus always burn a little more oil than other cars. It's because of the orientation of the engine. This is not a design flaw just a consequence. Which is why it's in the manual to check it more frequently. I have owned 3 Foresters and have had zero problems with them. Every one I know who has owned Subarus (and it's a lot since I'm a skier) have had zero problems with them.
Honda makes good cars but recently have embarassed themselves when it was determined that their AWD isn't really AWD at all because the transmission overheats when the rear wheels spin which disables the AWD. And yes, it took a lawsuit for them to admit it. Frankly, I think having a virtually non-functional AWD system on EVERY vehicle is much worse than the few vehicles that burned a little oil. All car manufacturers are the same. It's a bottom line focus not a customer focus. I'm getting the feeling you got your info from a Honda salesman.
Driving a 2002 Chevy Tracker 142,000 and still going strong! Hoping to keep it for 4 more years, Around town I get ~20 MPG, on the highway ~26-28. Change the oil religiously and can go anywhere!
Yup it makes sense logically. And I'm going to keep the elantra I have now, my parents have an SUV for those type of days I can borrow. Side note, I only said 2005 because of the WK model which ran from 05-2010. I was daydreaming of a 2009/2010. But just gonna bust my ass in school and worry about it when I need to. THanks for all the replies people!
And this was a VERY grown up decision!!!!! Good job youngling!
Today's Front Wheel Drive vehicles work just as well as the AWD. I have a 2014 Chevy Traverse and I live in Indiana. They do not treat or plow the roads in a timely manner. They just have no idea how to take care of the roads. I live in a rural, large county and the entire county only has 7 plows. Guess who's division never gets plowed. Mine. It's terrible. But my car has done awesome in the snow and ice. I have never missed a class or clinical. My son had a judo tournament in Wisconsin in January of 14. I had just got my car and there seriously was a terrible snow storm in Milwaukee and it was an ice storm once you hit Indiana. Cars off the road everywhere and my car just went straight through no issues. It's also great on gas. Much better than my old Trailblazers. My car was a little pricey but worth every penny. I saved by not getting the AWD. The car guy told me there was no real difference drive wise. And he was right. Never have had an issue.
Or you could live within 1 mile of where you work. That way walking is an option no matter what the weather. Public transportation is the way to go in bad weather unless you enjoy the headache of commuting in the snow. 4 wheel drive is expensive to maintain and repair and no better than front wheel drive in the snow.
There is a lot more to buying and owning a car than that.
Overland1, RN
465 Posts
Pffftt...gas mileage is overrated.
There is a lot more to buying and owning a car than that.
Seriously, nobody wants to use a vehicle that gets 12-15 MPG as a daily driver, but almost no vehicles fall into that category. I see you like Jeep Grand Cherokees, so you are off to a good start. First, if I may, a bit of Jeep GC history with a personal perspective:
I have been owning and driving Grand Cherokees for almost twenty years. The first was a 1995 Laredo, then a 1996 Laredo, followed by a 1998 Laredo; all were fairly basically equipped with a 4.0-L six cylinder engine that was reliable as can be. Jeep dropped that engine because the cost of keeping up with upcoming EPA standards would be too high. the 1995 and 1998 were my wife's; I "inherited" them when she bought a new one. The 1996 was bought from a friend in showroom condition, but it had a few (easily fixed) problems. My next one was a 2002 Overland with the 4.7-L V-8 that got about the same gas mileage as the previous sixes... as much as 23 MPG on the road and ~17 locally. In 2005, we each bought a new Limited with the 5.7-L Hemi; nasty fast, great in the snow, and rode/handled great. It was capable of the same gas miles as the previous ones. In 2009, I bought a fully loaded Overland with the Hemi... one heck of a traveling vehicle and no serious problems. That Jeep could pull tree stumps if necessary It is now somewhere in Georgia - I traded it with just over 62,000 miles in mint condition (I'm funny that way; I take care of my vehicles). Keep in mind that Jeep still has the best 4WD systems out there, hands down.
My current Jeep is a 2014 Summit - hey, the dealer made me a deal I couldn't refuse. It has the 3.6-L "Pentastar" V-6 that is found in most Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/ Ram vehicles. What sold me on the vehicle (Summit with everything on it) was driving it. The eight-speed ZF (that's right, they got it from Germany) is "like buttah"... you cannot really feel it shift, and it does all the work that needs to be done. If you are descending a hill and start slowly or apply some braking, it downshifts to the appropriate gear and retains it until you feed some throttle. This Jeep has exceeded 27 MPG on the road, and does >20 in combined driving (lots of hills)
Chrysler was bought by FIAT (I know... Fix It Again, Tony
), whose CEO (Sergio Marchionne) is a genuine motorhead, similar to the late Soichiro Honda. Many of us thought the Jeep line would have been dropped, but Marchionne knows how great it is. Despite the rumors, no lines have been dropped, and the connections with Mercedes-Benz and German technology (i.e., the ZF gearbox) remain strong.
Drive a 2014 or later GC, and that 8-speed coupled with the V-6 will have you hooked. That engine is no slug, but rather it can really get down (and get back up again :) ). Maintenance is minimal, and I have been through some nasty upstate/central NY winters with it and had no problems.
Keep in mind that the biggest and fanciest dealerships are not always the best ones. Up until the 2014, I bought and serviced through a Buick-GMC-Jeep dealer in Henrietta (south of Rochester), NY. They were the best in the business, and their sales/service numbers proved it. Under the federal government's takeover back in 2009, their Jeep franchise was given to a large substandard dealership up the road that carried all of Chrysler's lines. When we needed a warranty repair on my wife's Jeep (a 2009 Limited), they recommended a place in Geneva, NY which has done equally good work and is very reasonable. She traded her '09 for a 2014 in June of 2013; I did likewise three months later. Yeah, we love our Jeeps. :) The nice thing about both places was that they never, ever tried to "pull one over" on either of us. They don't believe that "women don't know anything about cars"; some of their best customers are women from near and far. Their building is a very basic gray with blue trim. Their showroom is their lot (or the service shop entrance in bad weather), so their costs are lower. These guys are cool.
Find an excellent dealer and drive the newest (2014 or 2015) Grand Cherokee; you will be pleasantly surprised. Also, bear in mind that a newer or new vehicle may cost less to buy and operate... a "cost vs. price" thing.