Since everyone flipped out on me for posting in tech Im making a thread here. I am an older senior in college and in need of some new wheels. I have $3,500 cash to spend and am open to suggestions. I live in a close to Canada northern climate where we get pounded with snow most of the year. I've tried to own FWD cars in this area and once the weather hits... Useless.

What I need/want:

-Something with solid off road capability

-decent on gas, the more mpg the better but I'm willing to sacrifice gas mileage for a better overall rig

-WILL NOT give me serious troubles or leave me stranded. I don't care about stupid quirks or short comings, what I can't deal with is oops you need an engine, transmission, transfer case etc.

-I understand that I'm not going to find perfection with this amount of cash, I am ok with minor stuff and regular maintenance

-I want to be able to count on it for years on basic maintenance and wearable stuff

-Something good looking and functional

I am ok with any brand, but I want a clean well maintained vehicle that I won't have to get lucky to find. What vehicles, year, make, mileage posess these attributes?

I've seen anything from Tahoes, Durangos, full size 4wd trucks etc all in this range. Mostly had 100-200k, I used to drive an 01 XJ w 91k but it's gone.

What should I look for and what should I make sure to inspect or have cleared before I buy?

How should I go about the purchase without losing out for being too slow or too quick and end up missing a vehicle problem?

How would you compare to an XJ if XJ isn't the recommendation

 

im pretty sure most people on this site would absolutely recommend an xj lol...... 3500 should buy you something solid. theres really no way to guarantee no mechanical issues will come about in the near future, but if you arent confident with your ability to inspect a vehicle before you buy it i would take it to a shop and ask them to do a ppi (pre purchace inspection). the 4 liter motors rarely have issues. just make sure the trans doesnt slip when you drive it.

 

Yessiree get a xj ,they are awsome in snow ,we get a lot of snow here too . And she drives like on a dry road no problems. And you can find a good one for the money u have

 

4 CYL XJ with a manual trans and 4wd? Sounds useful to me. For 3500 you really should be able to get a pretty nice XJ. The only problem i see is finding a 4 cyl XJ. its not usually that easy. Atleast for me.

Or if you can find a Turbo Diesel XJ. I know they have them in Canada. Maybe you'll get lucky?

 

Why, on earth would I want a 4cyl XJ?!

 

You will also want to.check for rusty floors and most definitely check.for over heating issues very,very common for our xj's

 

If U strike out trying to find and xJ in time checkout subaru. I have a coworker that has an older forester he got for $2500 and has had no issued other than normal maintenance. His has about 150k miles. His Subaru makes it through some crazy snow and icy conditions we get.

BUT of course exhaust all resources and try to find an XJ

 

Yeah ,true on the subaru ,they are good too

 

agreed subys r fantastic vehicles....but in deeper snow the more ground clearance the better

 

What about doing a 3" lift with some 31s ??? ; )

 

Very little compares to an xj. I would find the least rusty one you can and make sure the powertrain is decent. Xj's are unibodies and rust can be the hardest thing to fix. The rest of the mechanical stuff is easy by comparison. Anyways I would get a jeep. Jeeps are legendary. Lotsa oldtimers wax poetic to me about their jeeps but i have yet to hear " I had a tahoe once". And you're a senior in college. Chicks dig jeeps.

 

on a suby? im comparing the xj to a subaru.... the xj will have more ground clearance than the subarus in that price range.....and yea an xj with a 3 inch lift and 31's would be even better than stock for his purposes.

 

subaru. 96+ 4runner w/manual.. cleanest xj u can find..

 

I was referring to lifting the suby but was trying to be funny. I missed with that 1

 

I would recomend a 97-99 XJ newer body, less problems lol

I think he was saying lift the subi.... lol