Overlooked SUVs

[Ferrulewax]

Regardless of personal preferences one may have….The 100 series Land Cruiser or LX470 has proven to be the most reliable vehicle made particularly with age and mileage. Even without an OCD maintenance personality, they wear really well. And a good copy can be had for close to $8k even in the current inflated market.

I have no idea where your market is, but take me there. A 100 series with less than 200k is between 20-30k here. I have a 19k insurance check from totaling my 2004 GX w/ 100k and can’t find a decent GX or cruiser to replace it.

 

[rodney482]

My 09 Mariner 4x4
I use the heck out of it
26 mpgs

 

[Sapcut]

I have no idea where you market is, but take me there. A 100 series with less than 200k is between 20-30k here. I have a 19k insurance check from totaling my 2004 GX w/ 100k and can’t find a decent GX or cruiser to replace it.

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SOLD - Austin, TX: 1999 UJZ100

Price: $10,000 obo Milage: 292,000 VIN: JT3HT05J0X0041142 Location: Austin, TX Phone: 210-267-7476 For sale is my 1999 Toyota land cruiser with 292,000 miles. Mechanically, this is the finest Land Cruiser you’ll find. All maintenance was done on time and was thoroughly documented. I have a...

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Quite a few more around $15k. Low mileage Land Cruisers and LX470s are overrated. The significant increase in price rarely equates to a better vehicle within this species. Actually low mileage can have more issues from sitting too much and not running. In the last few years I’ve purchased several of these for less than $6000.

 

[Seth]

My brother has a pair of 2004 Sequoias. One is lifted and quite capable off road, whether in the desert sand, or nasty NW NM BLM roads during coyote season. The other is his family’s daily driver.

 

[Yoder]

I've noticed Nissan Pathfinders are cheaper than a lot of other vehicles for some reason.

 

[Dos Perros]

Keeping in mind the cost constraint (else, I'd recommend the GX460/470 or a Land Cruiser) I think a Nissan Pathfinder would be on my list. My buddy beat the shit out of his and we had a lot of fun in it.

ETA: if you look at the data, from the time period you'd be looking (early 2000's), Nissan was pretty impressive on initial factory defects. That is to say vehicles coming off the line had very few defects compared to other brands. That doesn't necessarily speak to long term longevity, but worth considering nonetheless. Odds are lower of a latent defect popping up and stranding you.

 

[Elkfitness]

I think the 2nd gen xterras are good as well. I had a pro4x for a few years and love it. Sold it to go back to a truck, but I had it all over Colorado and out to Moab. My parents have a 1st gen that is still kicking. As mentioned above the pro4x has the lockers.


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[bigeyedfish]

If you can find a running, driving Land Cruiser or LX470 in your price range, buy it. You can't lose money. They don't exist at that price around me.

I had a first gen XTerra. It was great off road and very reliable for me. Motor was neither powerful nor efficient.

First gen Expedition is a good suggestion, but they have a few issues. If you are comfortable working on your own vehicles, don't be afraid of the spark plug issues. It is a simple fix, but you don't really get a second chance if you screw it up.

We looked for a first gen Sequoia but couldn't find one in our price range locally.

We ended up buying a 2002 Suburban. Tahoe would be similar. They're cheap and reliable. Every shop in the country can work on them, and parts are available and cheap. I would avoid the 2007+ models, so you don't get any of the cylinder deactivation bullshit.

 

[loganwayne]

Id also recommend a 98-2004 pathfinder, They had the same powerplant and transmission as the frontiers and hardbodies. i bet the heck out of my frontier, didnt always do maintenance on time... or at all, ran it almost completely out of oil once. and sold it a couple months ago with 350,000 miles on it and only reason i did that is i didnt need 3 vehicles for myself. if my wife could drive a manual it would have stayed.

 

[Ferrulewax]

If you can find a running, driving Land Cruiser or LX470 in your price range, buy it. You can't lose money. They don't exist at that price around me.

I had a first gen XTerra. It was great off road and very reliable for me. Motor was neither powerful nor efficient.

First gen Expedition is a good suggestion, but they have a few issues. If you are comfortable working on your own vehicles, don't be afraid of the spark plug issues. It is a simple fix, but you don't really get a second chance if you screw it up.

We looked for a first gen Sequoia but couldn't find one in our price range locally.

We ended up buying a 2002 Suburban. Tahoe would be similar. They're cheap and reliable. Every shop in the country can work on them, and parts are available and cheap. I would avoid the 2007+ models, so you don't get any of the cylinder deactivation bullshit.

We had a 2004ish tahoe that we sold with 250kish miles. Solid vehicle. Dash cluster is a common problem as well

 

[Kimber7man]

2005 Toyota Sequoia with the 4.7 liter V8. Rock solid, smaller than the current version which is nice for hunting.

 

[grfox92]

I wanted to bump this thread to the top.

I'm looking for an SUV with 3rd row seat. As a die hard Ford guy, I still have no interest in messing with a mid 2000s Expedition.

I'm buying with cash so looking under $10k

Seqiouas are stupid expensive. 275k mile clean trucks are going for $8-10k. I dont see many for sale with more miles which leads me to believe that might not be the move.

Plenty of low mileage Nissan Armadas for reasonable prices. Pretty sure they have the same drivetrain as the Titans which have a great reputation and longevity. Any chronic problems with the Armadas that should steer me away from them?

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[IdahoElk]

I'd save a little more and get into a 4th gen 4Runner(03-09) with a V8, I've seen a few out by me lately for $12k with under 150k miles.

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[IdahoElk]

I wanted to bump this thread to the top.

I'm looking for an SUV with 3rd row seat. As a die hard Ford guy, I still have no interest in messing with a mid 2000s Expedition.

I'm buying with cash so looking under $10k

Seqiouas are stupid expensive. 275k mile clean trucks are going for $8-10k. I dont see many for sale with more miles which leads me to believe that might not be the move.

Plenty of low mileage Nissan Armadas for reasonable prices. Pretty sure they have the same drivetrain as the Titans which have a great reputation and longevity. Any chronic problems with the Armadas that should steer me away from them?

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Ford Excursion? bad gas millage but they're tanks.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I wanted to bump this thread to the top.

I'm looking for an SUV with 3rd row seat. As a die hard Ford guy, I still have no interest in messing with a mid 2000s Expedition.

I'm buying with cash so looking under $10k

Seqiouas are stupid expensive. 275k mile clean trucks are going for $8-10k. I dont see many for sale with more miles which leads me to believe that might not be the move.

Plenty of low mileage Nissan Armadas for reasonable prices. Pretty sure they have the same drivetrain as the Titans which have a great reputation and longevity. Any chronic problems with the Armadas that should steer me away from them?

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3rd row SUV for under 10K? Just give up and buy yourself a van.

 

[grfox92]

Ford Excursion? bad gas millage but they're tanks.

We had an excursion favorite truck we've ever owned and I'll buy another one if I can find one in the right price range. But finding a clean one is virtually impossible

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[grfox92]

3rd row SUV for under 10K? Just give up and buy yourself a van.

Never gonna happen..... Need to just bridge the gap until we get our house Built. No car payments and no expensive vehicles right now.

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[IdahoElk]

We had an excursion favorite truck we've ever owned and I'll buy another one if I can find one in the right price range. But finding a clean one is virtually impossible

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What's your price range?

 

[grfox92]

What's your price range?

$10k or under. We aren't ready to buy tomorrow just want to get some vehicles narrowed down. We have about 8 months before we need a 3rd row if you catch my drift.

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[CoffeeGoat]

Armadas/QX56/QX80s are well reviewed over at expedition portal but they're not nearly as popular as land cruisers. Lower popularity means cheaper, but less aftermarket and less support. I looked pretty hard at getting one, but the lack of a flat rear floor pushed me away from them.

They are very similar to the Titan underneath, and titans are pretty nice, but not popular. I'm leaning towards a land cruiser purely because I'm tired of having something less common and having to fight with it. If you're looking to save a bunch of money, I'd look hard at an Armada.