Recommend A Second Vehicle

[lancerplayer]

I'm looking for a used secondary vehicle that will be more of a "beater" or "mule" to be used year round, but more heavily used in the winter months in Northeast Ohio.

It will be used for towing and hauling dirt bikes/ATV's, used around construction sites, used for camping trips, and interstate road trips.

What are some vehicles that meet the following criteria:

- Proven reliable
- Widely available parts
- Cheap parts
- Easy to service (majority of repairs can be done via DIY)
- Perform well in the snow and non-extreme off road conditions
- Can take abuse

I'm leaning more towards a truck and/or SUV for my application, however I'm not sure which would suit me better.

The top end of the budget for this type of vehicle is 10K and I would like to stay on the lower spectrum of that.

I'm sure there are vehicles that you know of right off the top of your head that would work well for my needs. I'm still doing research, so I ask the experts for some recommendations on where I should start looking.

I appreciate the input

 

[Hokiefyd]

Given those requirements, I like as new (or as nice) of a Jeep Cherokee as you can find. The only possible hesitation is your desire to use the vehicle for road trips. A Cherokee would not be ideal, but certainly capable.

 

[RamFan]

2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Edit: ^great minds think alike. GC is better oriented for comfort, if you don't care about that then I second the Cherokee suggestion.

 

[glock19]

Around here for that much money you can get a pretty low miles (~50K) late 2000's F150 that would be good for most of that stuff.

 

[danthaman1980]

First few that come to mind:

V8: Any 1/2 ton GM pickup. Very easy to work on, and the engines are solid. Parts are cheap and easy to find.

V6: Late model Nissan Frontier 4.0L. Timing chain instead of timing belt.

I-4: Any Ford Ranger pickup. Parts are cheap and easy to find.

IMHO, full-size Dodges and Ford are reliable but a little tougher to work on, and full-size Nissans and Toyotas are a little more expensive to fix. Midsize Toyotas are a mystery to me, midsize dodges are hit and miss, midsize GMs are not as common so parts aren't as widely available.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Given those requirements, I like as new (or as nice) of a Jeep Cherokee as you can find. The only possible hesitation is your desire to use the vehicle for road trips. A Cherokee would not be ideal, but certainly capable.


I have a Jeep GC and its fine for road trips. Is a Jeep Cherokee that much worse?

 

[OneEyeJack]

The local suspension and alignment shop here marks a lot of money working on Jeep Grand Cherokees. Looking at this thread they said F-150. You have to be careful about advice you receive. The guy that does all their differential and a lot of their truck front end work drives a 74 F-150 and just keeps fixing it. It avoids California smog and is cheap and easy to fix and parts are easy to find. By the way he purchased it new. Imagine that. He likes his truck so much that he's thinking about washing it this year. Nothing is too good for his favorite vehicle.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Given those requirements, I like as new (or as nice) of a Jeep Cherokee as you can find. The only possible hesitation is your desire to use the vehicle for road trips. A Cherokee would not be ideal, but certainly capable.


I have a Jeep GC and its fine for road trips. Is a Jeep Cherokee that much worse?


Very much so.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I have a Jeep GC and its fine for road trips. Is a Jeep Cherokee that much worse?


Yes. A Grand Cherokee is much better suited to that task. The Cherokee
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Given those requirements, I like as new (or as nice) of a Jeep Cherokee as you can find. The only possible hesitation is your desire to use the vehicle for road trips. A Cherokee would not be ideal, but certainly capable.


I have a Jeep GC and its fine for road trips. Is a Jeep Cherokee that much worse?


A Grand Cherokee will be a better road tripper than a Cherokee. I wouldn't consider either of them "ideal" for a road trip vehicle. For that, you really need a longer wheelbase and more interior room. Grand Cherokees are nice, but I wouldn't consider the interior packaging to be all that efficient (meaning the amount of space you get on the inside compared with how big it is on the outside).

None of them are bad vehicles. Our family has owned two Cherokees, two Grand Cherokees (a ZJ and a WK), a Liberty, and two Wranglers. We're very familiar with the Jeep brand.

Believe it or not, the 2012 Wrangler (4-door) is the most comfortable out of the bunch for road-tripping.

 

[gofast182]

A previous generation Subaru Legacy wagon or sedan fits your description/needs perfectly!

 

[JethroBodine]

Go on autotrader and you should be able to get a 2000-2004 Silverado 4x4 with under 100k miles for $10k. The will be asking more but beat them down. If you will consider a 2WD then drop another $2k off the price.

 

[PF52]

All these posts and no one has recommended a Crown Victoria yet?

The forum's automated "Panther" widget must be broken.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: css9450
All these posts and no one has recommended a Crown Victoria yet?

The forum's automated "Panther" widget must be broken.
Hmmm-a 4WD Panther?? Gotta find me one of those! Although I bet a lot of the ex-PI ones have been "offroaded"!

 

[01rangerxl]

I don't know of a 4WD truck that doesn't meet those criteria.

Given that you are in OH, I would just look for the one with the least amount of rust.

As for pickup vs SUV, that depends on how it is mostly used. For mostly highway trips, I'd prefer an SUV. If you're going to haul around a single ATV or dirt bike a lot, I'd get a pickup so that it can be loaded in the bed without having to tow a trailer around.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
As for pickup vs SUV, that depends on how it is mostly used. For mostly highway trips, I'd prefer an SUV. If you're going to haul around a single ATV or dirt bike a lot, I'd get a pickup so that it can be loaded in the bed without having to tow a trailer around.


You could get a pickup with a topper. Best of both worlds.

 

[mjk]

Early to mid 2000 Tahoe. Towing capability, room for hauling stuff, should meet winter needs. Comfortable ride. 5.3 is a great motor.

Originally Posted By: lancerplayer
I'm looking for a used secondary vehicle that will be more of a "beater" or "mule" to be used year round, but more heavily used in the winter months in Northeast Ohio.

It will be used for towing and hauling dirt bikes/ATV's, used around construction sites, used for camping trips, and interstate road trips.

What are some vehicles that meet the following criteria:

- Proven reliable
- Widely available parts
- Cheap parts
- Easy to service (majority of repairs can be done via DIY)
- Perform well in the snow and non-extreme off road conditions
- Can take abuse

I'm leaning more towards a truck and/or SUV for my application, however I'm not sure which would suit me better.

The top end of the budget for this type of vehicle is 10K and I would like to stay on the lower spectrum of that.

I'm sure there are vehicles that you know of right off the top of your head that would work well for my needs. I'm still doing research, so I ask the experts for some recommendations on where I should start looking.

I appreciate the input