Help Us Help Our Daughter - Rav 4, CR-V, CX-5/50, or Other?
Our oldest daughter is going through a divorce, has two kids, and working three jobs. We're not rich, but have been helping her by paying her mortgage so she can stay in her house and the kids can continue going to their schools. (Her husband has done her really dirty)
She's driving an older model CR-V with almost 200k miles on it. Unfortunately, it's been mostly in the shop the past couple of months for one thing or another. The other morning I drove it back to the shop with it having the same problem, and it felt like a rolling death trap (maybe a bit overdramatic). Besides the issue it was going back to the shop for, there's a pronounced clunking from the left front, mainly when braking and going over bumps, and the shocks are completely worn (front left may very well be shock-related). Counting this car, her past two have been CR-Vs. The first was ours and we gave it to her at 100k and it held together for over 250k miles before she bought this one used. It's on its last leg at 200k without throwing a bunch more money at it.
We want to buy her a new, reliable car. I like the idea of a naturally aspirated engine and conventional transmission, which the CX-5 and Rav 4 offer, but the CR-Vs have served her good for a long time. I just don't like the smaller turbo and CVT tranny. Due to cost to buy, we want to go no higher than a mid-trim model.
Comparing models on Edmunds, the CR-V and Rav 4 has a slightly lower 5-year, cost-per-mile average than the CX-5, but I think part of that is the CX-5 has a higher depreciation.
Anyway... If you were trying to help a loved one with a new vehicle that was going to be reliable, relatively low cost to own, and carrying your grandkids, what would you buy?
I'm open to other model suggestions. Thank you.
