Vote: go with Heart or Brain ?

[97tbird]

Which would you buy :

a 2003 more exciting and loaded but complex to maintain SUV with 116k miles for $5000 with unknown mechanical history from an independent used car dealer. Condition is exterior a bit beat up but interior nice. Has real 4WD with Low range and auto mode. This is the one the Heart wants.

Or;
Buy a 2005 less exciting but also less complex to maintain car with only 32k miles for $6000 with all maintenance done by same dealer since new and one owner and well known mechanical history ? Also sold by same dealer. Condition: mint, like new inside and out. Small 3 month 3000 mile warranty included. Has intelligent (auto) AWD with no low rage. This is the one the Brain wants.

 

[Ws6]

Consult the wallet for your answer.

Eta: since the cx5 wasnt around back then, I dunno what to tell ya.

 

[CharBaby]

Depends on the vehicle. Sometimes we buy vehicles(regardless of brand) based on condition and maintenance history(Brain).

I mean, are you comparing a Jeep w/116K miles & a Toyota w/32K miles? What?

 

[Mr Nice]

Buy the 2005

 

[Nukeman7]

Unless you have money to burn and plan to get rid of the 2003 at a loss in a year, better stick with the 2005 SUV. Especially if the 2003 has "Rover" (i.e., "dog") in its last name!

 

[Sayjac]

Based on your description, the 05 makes the most sense, so likely that's the one I'd buy.

I'm a little unclear on one thing, is the 05 vehicle being sold by the same used car dealer as the 03? I ask because the description makes it seem like it's being sold by a new car dealer? They always keep the "creamers" on thier lots rather than run them to the sale/auction, where the usedy guys often get their cars. If so, another plus for the 05.

How come no maintenance record for the first? No Carfax? If the first was owned by a bitog type diy guy, might not have much of a history. Chance of that though, unlikely I'd think.

Bottom line, 32k miles plus maintenance records for a grand more, contrasted to 116k miles, two years older and no maintenance history......05 FTW.

 

[Fawteen]

None of the above.

 

[97tbird]

The 03 is a Pathfinder. Rough outside. Clean inside.
Sold by independent used car dealer. Apparently 4 owners but seller not 100% sure. Experion shows only registration history with a "lien incident" but no details and it doesn't show maintenance history like a carfax. It Was provided by dealer. guess I can pay $40 and get a carfax.

05 is a Mercury Mariner.
Sold by a Ford dealership. Same dealership where the vehicle was bought by first and only owner. Carfax shows full maintenance history

Wallet is ok with either.

 

[Sayjac]

Don't waste your money on a Carfax for the 03 four owner vehicle. Given the additional information on top of the initial information, one owner, new car dealer, the "brain" choice is a no brainer.

 

[riff1006]

Had on '01 Pathfinder that had to have Premium gas. If that's the case on the '03, is that a factor?

 

[Kira]

"You're going to want a Ford".

 

[javacontour]

You don't indicate the use case for the vehicle.

I'm more of a brain guy these days, and it seems to lean to the 2005 Mercury SUV.

Heck, 32k miles seems to be an old person's car so I'd make sure it's not leaking etc. That's like less than 3k miles/year. It should be pristine. By mileage, it would still be under the 36k warranty is probably had. Of course it has expired by time, but just saying.

If the paint is good and it's not rusting in the rear wheel wells (like my daughter's 05 is, but with over 170k miles) I'd snag it up.

It's probably a more comfortable drive around town. If it's going to be a mall crawler for the vast majority of its life, I'd go with that over the much harsher Nissan.

But if you are going to use it for towing and/or hunting and fishing and taking something out and about as the use case, the Nissan begins to make more sense.

 

[97tbird]

I want the car to be a bit more outdoor capable than the current 03 Elantra we have as a beater.
Like use on snow days and getting to trail heads on a gravel road but not hardcore off road.
Not expecting to tow a lot. But the v6 Mariner can tow a decent amount. I think it's 3,500 pounds? Idk if it has a hitch mounted or not. (How much will it cost to get one mounted?)
The Nissan did have one on it.

 

[javacontour]

If you are using / replacing the Elantra, then the Escape/Mariner will add some ground clearance, AWD (Intelligent) and more room. It will certainly tow more than the Elantra, so it seems to be the pick.

Plus, it shares some DNA with your Mazda6. If you like the Mazda6, you are likely to be at home in the Mariner. Same family of engines and transaxles.

Or at least same family of engines, Mazda may have gone on their own with transaxles by then.

Originally Posted by 97tbird
I want the car to be a bit more outdoor capable than the current 03 Elantra we have as a beater.
Like use on snow days and getting to trail heads on a gravel road but not hardcore off road.
Not expecting to tow a lot. But the v6 Mariner can tow a decent amount. I think it's 3,500 pounds? Idk if it has a hitch mounted or not. (How much will it cost to get one mounted?)
The Nissan did have one on it.

 

[97tbird]

The Mazda is actually a 2014 All Japanese after they divorced Ford. Skyactiv 2.5L Nothing in common

BUT I used to own a 97 Third with the 4.6L and I feel familiar with Fords and although it's a different engine I feel like I can learn to do stuff on it and it feels simpler.
The Nissan I like it but a bit scared of it even if it was new. It feels intimidating mechanically and not a very common vehicle so repairs can be expensive.
The Ford 3.0 is ... everywhere.

 

[atikovi]

They are 16 or 14 year old SUV's that will need regular service to keep them on the road. And don't let low mileage put stars in your eyes. Lack of use will cause seals and gaskets to dry up and shrink. As soon as you start driving that thing regularly, it's going to start leaking all it's fluids, oil, transmission fluid, PS fluid, coolant, etc. You could spend thousands resealing just the engine.

Originally Posted by 97tbird
This is the one the Heart wants.

Or;
Buy a 2005 less exciting...


And is this what people buying cars these days are thinking? An old SUV is what the Heart wants? Neither one is exciting to me. Maybe a droptop Mustang V8 or a hot Porsche, not an ordinary soccer mom SUV.

 

[supton]

The Mariner sounds better but I'm not sure what problem areas it might have. The Pathfinder should be inherently better at grunt work; I think it's body on frame. And I'm thinking it's also actually a simple vehicle with a traditional part time 4 wheel drive system.

On the Pathfinder, if it's an automatic I'd think about proactively replacing the radiator. I don't know if this model has the problem of mixing ATF and coolant but Toyota sure did around this time, and Ridgelines have been known to do the same thing.

Personally I'm finding that I really don't like part time 4WD as parking my truck requires lock to lock steering in my driveway--it leads to driveline binding. With snow tires I can usually make it up my driveway in snow, but if it's bad enough I have to put in 4WD and then I seem to have to gun it every 3 feet to make it move. Perfectly fine in low traction situations and/or going straight, but not something I use all the time. Also as an RWD vehicle it can be very tail happy if I don't drive with care in snow--which I should be, but it's way easier to get sideways than any FWD I've driven.

YMMV. I'm thinking the Mariner is a better / safer bet.

Have you crawled under both to look for rust and hidden damage?

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by atikovi
And is this what people buying cars these days are thinking? An old SUV is what the Heart wants? Neither one is exciting to me. Maybe a droptop Mustang V8 or a hot Porsche, not an ordinary soccer mom SUV.

To each their own, but my days of lusting over a hot car are in the past--maybe if I win the lotto that would change. After years of driving FWD compacts it's nice to have something that will simply drive through six inches of snow without drama, and make it up inclines without drama, and tow my trailers without drama. Boring FWD makes the most sense for a daily driver (for me), but a big burly vehicle for the weekend is something I "enjoy".

I could see myself going to something like a GMT400 platform next time. Something simple that even a caveman like me could work on. Nothing against mechanics but I do like fixing my own rides: but having to buy scanners and specialty tools... doesn't ring my bell.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by atikovi
And is this what people buying cars these days are thinking? An old SUV is what the Heart wants? Neither one is exciting to me. Maybe a droptop Mustang V8 or a hot Porsche, not an ordinary soccer mom SUV.


So he's going to drive the Mustang or hot Porsche to the trailhead? Given his intended use the Nissan is more capable and the Merc at 1/3 the miles and 2 years newer is more logical. Hard think of a Pathfinder as more manly but compared against a Mariner his thinking is pretty spot on. I'd take low miles/clean/known history every time. The Mariner will be a much better daily driver around town which will likely be 95% of it's use.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by atikovi
And is this what people buying cars these days are thinking? An old SUV is what the Heart wants? Neither one is exciting to me. Maybe a droptop Mustang V8 or a hot Porsche, not an ordinary soccer mom SUV.

To each their own, but my days of lusting over a hot car are in the past--maybe if I win the lotto that would change. After years of driving FWD compacts it's nice to have something that will simply drive through six inches of snow without drama, and make it up inclines without drama, and tow my trailers without drama. Boring FWD makes the most sense for a daily driver (for me), but a big burly vehicle for the weekend is something I "enjoy".

I could see myself going to something like a GMT400 platform next time. Something simple that even a caveman like me could work on. Nothing against mechanics but I do like fixing my own rides: but having to buy scanners and specialty tools... doesn't ring my bell.

Agreed. I've had my fun with plenty of sporty cars. Now I want low maintenance, quiet cabin, drama free driving.