*Note: This is an old post that I wrote on 7/10/2022, but never published. Here it is, almost two years later!
The mission: Buy a used car from the past 4 years or so, in the price range of $19,000 to $24,000. That would fit in our budget and be quite an upgrade from the 2008 Pontiac G6 I had been driving for the past several years. The G6 was a generous gift from my mom, but it was starting to show its age. It leaked oil, power steering, and brake fluid. One of the driver seat posts had broken. It was approaching 200,000 miles, and even though it had been an excellent work commuter, it was starting to make us nervous about its capability to make it long distances. I kept the fluids up, made sure to check them before leaving the house on longer drives.
The G6 died on the highway last weekend on a return trip from mom's cabin in Elliott County. Penny was in her carseat, and slept through the whole scary situation! Luckily, we were close to home, just outside of Lexington on I-75. Ashleigh made it to us in just a few minutes, and our insurance covered a tow to a mechanic.
A rebuilt engine could cost between $600 and $1,000. Not bad, but we felt it was time for something newer. So, the lazy car search that had been occurring became our top priority.
I had decided that a small SUV might be the best thing. Penny’s stuff would fit in it more comfortably, and maybe we could use it for road trips, to offset the mileage that we had been putting on Ashleigh's 2016 Chevy Equinox LS.
Fairy quickly, I was overwhelmed with options!
Among the contenders were:
2019 Jeep Renegade
2018 Toyota RAV4
2017 Buick Encore
2018 Chevy Trax
2017 Mitsubishi Outlander
2017 Nissan Rogue S
2018 Chevy Equinox LT
And so, I threw myself into the world of automobile journalism. It’s a deep hole to swim in. Near the shallows, there are auto bloggers and YouTubers, some of whom had good comments and thoughtful reviews. Toward the deeper end, JD Power, Edmunds, Car and Driver. Edmunds in particular had these reviews where someone would drive a car for a year and write about their experiences. This in particular was interesting to me.
My heart wanted the Jeep Renegade. My brain wanted either the RAV4 or the Equinox. Actually, the little Buick was fun to drive and had a lot of nice features. But ultimately, interior space for a car seat and passenger were the most important considerations, after vehicle safety and projected longevity. That basically eliminated everything except for the Equinox and the RAV4. But the RAV4 had more miles, was $4,000 more and a little over budget.
I did the sensible thing. I didn’t buy the Renegade. I went with the Equinox. We’ve driven the 2016 model for years, and it has been a great car. Why not add one to the fleet? The car seat fits and the passenger doesn’t have to squeeze in. It gets decent mileage for an SUV. And, maybe when Penny is a little older, maybe I can trade it in toward a Jeep.
But for now, we are a Chevy family.
