Help needed buying a new, or near new SUV

Joined
Jul 17, 2020
Messages
17
Hi I have been asked to help a family friend in the purchase of a new, or near new Honda CRV or Toyota RAV 4.
This is the first vehicle our friend will buy in over 20 years (she keeps them a long time) she has cash to buy such a vehicle and we are looking for ways to get the best deal.
Any tips or suggestions?

New is not out of the question, but it would be nice to save some depreciation, perhaps on a 3 year old. We have kicked tires at dealerships but they are pushing 'new' over used .

Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome!

Hondas and Toyotas don't depreciate much, so it might be better to buy new anyway :)

I know you said you have the cash, but those who don't should know that interest rates for new cars are lower than for used cars.
 
Nothing wrong with buying new especially if you keep it for the long haul. You also will know the history of the vehicle compared to a used one.

The Toyota RAV4 changed last year. It’s much bigger. The CRV has been getting bigger as well.

It will come down to what fits your friends needs and driving position. A vehicle might be top rated but if it is not comfortable or fitting to your driving posture then it’s not going to work out.
 
I only have ~8K on my 2020 RAV4 Hybrid but so far we are loving it. We are averaging 43.2 MPG (calculated by hand) and haven’t had any issues with it. Some folks have reported dead batteries after the vehicle sits for a few days but I’ve been able to leave mine for an 11 day and an 18 day stretch at the airport without issue.

One of the reasons why I went with the Toyota was how DIYable the vehicle looks. Even if your friend isn’t the DIY-type, she will be able to easily take the vehicle to a regular mechanic for most of her maintenance needs without issue and not have to pay dealership prices. Filters, drain and fill plugs, spark plugs, water pump, and suspension components are all very easy to access:
 
You timing is good; most car makers have seen their sales declines due to the COVID.
I have recently helped 2 friends get new CR-Vs. I suggest EX-L or EX-L AWD.
Hybrid is great if you can justify the price increase or you wanna go green.

Toyota sells a ton of RAV4s, there is a reason for it, you can't go wrong.
I have friends with the comparable Mazda, they love 'em.

Drive 'em all.
I would start with Costco buying program to get good prices.
You can also send emails to every dealer within 100 miles (or whatever) and let them fight it out.
I believe Honda has way too much inventory right now; you might do pretty well.

Good luck.

 
Hi I have been asked to help a family friend in the purchase of a new, or near new Honda CRV or Toyota RAV 4.
This is the first vehicle our friend will buy in over 20 years (she keeps them a long time) she has cash to buy such a vehicle and we are looking for ways to get the best deal.
Any tips or suggestions?

New is not out of the question, but it would be nice to save some depreciation, perhaps on a 3 year old. We have kicked tires at dealerships but they are pushing 'new' over used .

Thanks in advance.
They are interested in the most desired brands and most desired used vehicle out there, compact SUV. Email a bunch of dealers and see what transpires.
 
Those are both great candidates for a brand new purchase. I wouldn't consider used unless its like a credit union repo and being sold cheap. Its just not much of a discount in normal used values.
 
Buy a Ridgeline or crew cab Pickup. They last a long time, hold value well, whatever doesn't use a CVT.
 
I recently bought a new to me car. Cost new was $20K. I paid $8K. Car had 45K miles and oil changes every 3K documented.

It took me 2 months to find 'the right deal, and the right car'.


CR-V vs Rav4? Drive both then drive a 4 Runner.
 
If she’s gonna keep it 20 years get a new RAV4. Honda CVT’s seem fine but 20 years later? Meh. Not sure about that yet.
 
I recently bought a new to me car. Cost new was $20K. I paid $8K. Car had 45K miles and oil changes every 3K documented.

It took me 2 months to find 'the right deal, and the right car'.


CR-V vs Rav4? Drive both then drive a 4 Runner.
OK-I'll bite-what is it a salvage title or???????
 
TonyT. Where do you live? The reason I ask is that starting with 2017 Honda went to a smaller 1.5 Liter engine with a turbocharger and some owners (especially people who live where they get cold winters) have had problems with fuel getting into the oil. This problem is associated with owners who drive many short trips where the engine never gets hot enough to cause any fuel to boil off of the oil. And some owners in cold areas claim the smaller 1.5 Liter engine takes too long to get enough heat into the cabin of the vehicle in the winter. In 2015 Honda started using a CVT transmission on the CR-V and there was a problem with the rear-end of the vehicle vibrating while the vehicle was moving. Some say that there are three different speeds that this happens at (there are videos about it on YouTube). Also the 2015 year had a vibration problem with the engine at idle. There is a fix for that but Honda only wrote it up as a technical service builtin (it is not covered under warranty) but if you buy a Honda Certified Used one Honda requires the dealer to fix it before they sell it. It involves removing the radiator and installing rubber mounts to it.

The 2016 Year is a good year for a Honda CR-V. It has a normally aspirated (no turbo-charger) 2.4 Liter 4 cylinder engine. There still is the possibility of a slight engine vibration when it goes into a very low fuel conserving idle if there is not much load at all on the engine such as when the headlights are off, and the AC is not being used. If it does that and it bothers you , just turn on the headlights, or the AC. There is also a slight chance of the rear-end of it vibrating at around 40 MPH when under slight acceleration. But that is very rare, and even if it does that it is not as bad as the 2015 year.

One way to find a good used vehicle is to only look seriously at vehicles that have a car-fax report that shows that the oil was changed every time it should have been.

The fuel in the oil problem may have been fixed by 2020. However if you live in a hot southern area the 2017 and 2018 years should not be a problem.

There were several people who posted that the battery goes dead when the vehicle sits over-night on 2019 models, so avoid them.

I found a used 2016 Honda CR-V with a clean car-fax report (no accidents) and showing regular oil and filter changes, at a Honda dealer and bought it last February. It is a very good and reliable vehicle.

The CVT (continuous variable transmission) fluid on Honda vehicles (2015 and newer on the CR-V) should be drained and filled every 30 K miles, or every 25 K miles if it has severe use ( a lot of stop and go driving like in a city a lot, and or a lot of hills, and or towing). The CVT trany does not have a filter to change. The front wheel drive (no AWD) takes 4 quarts to do this, the AWD takes 5 quarts to do this. It is very easy to do, and there are YouTube videos on how to do it. The rear end fluid should be drained and filled every 15 K miles. It is very easy to do. You will need 2 quarts of the special Honda Duel Pump II fluid to do it, and a low cost pump that fits the 1 quart bottle, that you can find on e-bay. There are YouTube videos on how to use it. It is easy to do. The engine oil and filter are very easy to do on Honda's. Any time you change any fluid on one of these vehicles use new crush washers. The crush-washers are much cheaper to buy in multi-packs. And always use a torque-wrench to tighten to the proper speck. These vehicles are made of aluminum to keep the weight down to get better gas mileage and aluminum threads can easily be stripped if you over-tighten the drain bolts. You can buy good low cost torque wrenches at NAPA.

If you buy a Certified Used Honda, the dealer will give you a warranty with it. They will also try to sell you an extended warranty. The extended warranty is really not all that much additional coverage once you consider what you already have with the Certified Used Honda warranty. And for the little additional coverage on the non-powertrain that the extended Honda warranty that the dealer will try to sell you and the high price it cost, it is NOT a good deal. One thing to consider is that there were a lot of Honda CR-V's made each year, and used parts from auto-salvage yards will be available for a very long time.

If you are going to go used with a Honda CR-V 2016 is probably the year you want, especially if you plan to keep it a very long time. Because it does no have a turbo-charger, which can be an expensive repair item when the miles get high on a vehicle. For a woman you probably want find one with a power rear tail gate (opens and closes with the touch of a button). A Honda remote start is another nice option ( it cost the original owner $600.00 for that add on option). Honda remote start systems have a long range for the remote, and the vehicle send back information about it running back to the remote and the remote displays it for you.

So where do you live? Or more important if you are buying a 2017, or 2018 Honda CR-V, how cold does it get in the winter where you are, and will the driver be making a lot of short trips, without the engine getting the oil up to full operating temperate? If it is driven once in a while (like once a week) for a long enough time to get the oil hot enough to boil off any fuel that has gotten into the oil, then it will be OK. There are YouTube and Honda CR-V forum post on this problem. Look them up.

There are YouTube videos comparing the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4. Check them out. I like the smooth power and quiet ride of the Honda CR-V. The Toyota RAV4 is more of a teenager racer type of vehicle. Check out the YouTube comparison videos.

Do not buy a 2015 Honda CR-V because of the vibration problems.

Do not buy a 2017 Honda CR-V because of the fuel in the oil problem.

Do not buy a 2019 Honda CR-V because of the battery being drained of power over-night problem.

The 2016 2.4 Liter engine in the 2016 Honda CR-V is a very reliable engine that will last a very long time if you do the regular maintenance on it. And the 2016 Honda CR-V is very easy to work on.
 
Thanks guys.

We live on Vancouver Island (mild climate) but the vehicle will see short trips.
 
In general if you drive a lot of miles every year (like 15 K miles or more) then a hybrid is a good idea because it will save you money. And the more miles you drive a year above that amount the more you will save with a hybrid. But if you drive less than 15 K miles a year then a hybrid is not a good investment, because the savings with better gas millage will not pay for the extra cost of the hybrid system, and many years later when the main drive battery goes bad and requires an expensive replacement the cost of replacing it will be more than the savings it will provide because the savings is related to the number of miles you drive an the improvement in MPG's and if the number of miles you drive is low the savings is not enough to pay for the extra cost of the main battery replacement.
 
Back
Top