car for towing

Mr.Mark wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
Chevy Equinox. You can get a 3 year old Equinox for the price of a 10 year old CR-V or Jeep. A car with 30,000 miles instead of 150,000. CR-Vs are over priced.

I've owned two new Jeeps (new '96 and a new '99)... not pretty. They are better now I'm sure.

The reason why CR-V's are what you call 'overpriced' is because they are very durable and don't break as often as other makes. Demand keeps the price up.

We've had two CR-V's, a 2007 and a 2013. I would have bought another Honda if they were towable. Very little trouble out of the two that we owned except regular maintenance. The '07 needed a new blower motor at 5 yrs. of ownership

Drove the '07 69,000 miles plus towing it an additional 56,000 miles. The 2013 we drove it 39,000 miles plus towing it another 50,000 miles. They just keep ticking.

There are a lot of good cars out there. Buy and drive what YOU like.

My sister is a nurse and drove a lot for her job. She bought a used 2002 Honda CR-V in 2005 with 100,000 miles. She drove it up to 230,000 miles and then she bought a used 2014 CR-V with only 3,200 miles from a older person's estate (great find!).

My sister is NOT a car person, literally, will just drive it and get regular service. Very few washes and clean-ups.

Safe travels,
MM.

Oh yeah,if I could have found one in my price range that wasn't all beat up, I would have gotten it. The trouble with buying cars like Hondas and Toyatas (popular with people who are "not car people") is that they don't get much care beside an occasional trip to the dealer for an oil change. No one seems to have pride in cars anymore. You just use them up and trade them in. It's my opinion that they are popular because they can be ignored. Not the kind of used car I want, especially for the price that these cars demand. A well cared for car coming off a 3 year lease is fine with me.

donn0128 wrote:
Sizuki Sidekick or Samuari are cheap, reliable, easy to work on, and flat towable.

I hate to say it but these are not really cheap if in good condition. We have a Tracker and it is reliable and easy to work on. Hard to get parts for it though. Tows good behind our Itasca "C".

Dave

We tow a 2010 Chevy Cobalt with automatic transmission four down. With this car you only need to remove one fuse and you are ready to tow. I added a switch inline with this fuse so now I just flip a switch and it’s ready to tow. We have towed this car for 15000 miles so far and no problems yet.

Also, these cars are reasonably priced.

Bill

Ford Fiesta with auto or manual. With automatic you have to cut ignition on put in neutral and wait for display to say transmission ready. Then cut ignition off and remove negative cable from battery. You can put a disconnect on but make sure it on the negative terminal and not downstream. On the manual you just put it in neutral and go. I know that on the 2016 and 2017 the steering wheel does not lock so it is very tow friendly.

Jplante4 said:

Oh yeah,if I could have found one in my price range that wasn't all beat up, I would have gotten it. The trouble with buying cars like Hondas and Toyatas (popular with people who are "not car people") is that they don't get much care beside an occasional trip to the dealer for an oil change. No one seems to have pride in cars anymore. You just use them up and trade them in. It's my opinion that they are popular because they can be ignored. Not the kind of used car I want, especially for the price that these cars demand. A well cared for car coming off a 3 year lease is fine with me.

............

I'm not disagreeing with you, I do find value in something that has a good track record like a Honda or other GM or Ford product. Our coaches are complicated enough, I found it relaxing jumping in the Honda without a care in the world. It's nice pulling a smaller car as you don't have to worry about parking spaces being too tight.

When I was looking for a new toad (my brother and his wife bought my Honda), I wanted something about the same size as the Honda. The Lincoln MKC is not towable (Ford Escape sister), the next model up, the MKX (Ford Edge sister) is towable four down. So, I went from 3,400 lbs, to 4,200 lbs, and the MKX is a nice SUV with a lot of safety features.

Now, a lot of cars fit Honda's reliability too as many cars are much better than in past years. The lease returns you are talking about are a good value, even for a Honda.

Most of us can't work on our cars, just too many electronics now and you can't even see the motor in some with all of the covers on top of the engine. I don't have the tools or space to work on a car which are much more sophisticated than my '72 Dodge Charger I had in high school (bought used). I had changed the brakes and starter in that car with the guidance of my older brother....those 'repair' days are gone now. LOL!

Carry on!
MM.

Check with some of the rental car dealers to see if they have any vehicles they are selling because of hail damage. I picked up a Chevrolet HHR several years ago that had MINOR hail damage from Enterprise Rental. From 10 feet you could not see the hail damage. In any case, the price, out the door, for this $26,000 vehicle, with less than 10,000 miles, was about $8200, which included the remaining factory warranty. It now has over 60,000 miles, PLUS the miles that I have towed it and it is still performing fine. If I get an occasional ding from being towed, I don't worry about it. :B

Here is a good example of a Grand Vitara in your area.
Grand Vitara

The Ford Edge while heavy in comparison to a Sidekick or Vitara is towable four down and with an automatic.

Suzi's are not easy to work on, they are small and there is ten pounds of stuff in every five pound capacity space. Good news is they are uber reliable.

We currently have four vehicles, the Winnie, the Sidekick for towing and two DD's an explorer and a F-150(beater truck) The Explorer has 265K miles and needs to be replaced. DW seems to like the Edge and it will replace the Explorer and the Suzi, with a net savings on insurance.

For ten or twelve weeks of towing the reduction in RV fuel economy towing the Edge is negligible over towing the Suzi. For us the swap is simple, a nice new Edge, replaces the Explorer that is worn out and the Suzi which is a GAS HOG and not very sophisticated.

2012-2016 Honda CRV. Reliable and if you get the AWD model you will have rear wheel drive when front wheels slip. I have a 2012 and works great for me.

Saturn vues are good