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mv945
03-22-2010, 04:26 PM
Hi, I don't post here a lot but thought I'd toss this out here...

Wifes current car is an '08 Honda Odyssey on a 3 year lease. We are slightly upside down on it right now but who isn't.
The situation we are in is that in the fall we are going to start putting a lot of miles on this vehicle driving over a mountain pass (daughter will be going to college in Eastern WA). Too many mile for the current lease. We want to accomplish 3 things:
1) Get out of the lease so we don't have to worry about mileage as much
2) Get an AWD vehicle
3) Reduce monthly payment

To achieve these goals we are looking for a used (like 2003 - 2005) SAV. It needs to be reliable.

We currently have a deal tentatively put together for a 2003 Acura MDX that we have not pulled the trigger on yet. The numbers have worked out fairly well for this car and it will accomplish the 3 goals. The biggest fear I have on this one is that there appears to be a major widespread problem with the transmissions in these vehicles (basically all Honda V6 5-speed automatic trannies from 2001 - 2005) and that is sending up a red flag.

The other option we are looking at is a '03 - '05 X5. The wife likes the styling a little better on these. We are going to look at an '05 this evening. The price is a little higher but if we can negotiate it a little closer to the MDX we may do that. I haven't seen as big of a red flag on anything with the X5 except for some window regulators and CV joint issues.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions?

FC
03-22-2010, 04:36 PM
It seems you want to cut your costs, in which case, I would fear owning an X5 that is that old. I also had hear that they weren't all that reliable. :dunno:

How about a Highlander or a Pilot? What about a Subaru?

Rob
03-22-2010, 04:43 PM
I have never talked with anyone that owned an X5 that didn't love it. I don't understand them personally, but they must have done something very right.

But BMW maintenance is more expensive than Honda maintenance, as a general rule. It's something to consider.

SCA
03-22-2010, 04:59 PM
I have had plenty of seat time in the E53 and the E70. While I prefer the exterior/interior design of the E70, I prefer the ride/handling qualities of the E53. The 2003 3.0 that I drove for nearly a year was flawless. Regular maintenance was all the was needed.

ff
03-22-2010, 08:11 PM
2003+ 4Runner.

FC
03-23-2010, 08:24 AM
2003+ 4Runner.

That was going to be my suggestion as well, but from the choices it seemed only crossovers were being considered.

SARAFIL
03-23-2010, 04:11 PM
That was going to be my suggestion as well, but from the choices it seemed only crossovers were being considered.

Ok, so 2003+ Highlander? Its basically a Camry on steroids.

FC
03-23-2010, 05:03 PM
Ok, so 2003+ Highlander? Its basically a Camry on steroids.

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showpost.php?p=261396&postcount=2

mv945
03-24-2010, 02:54 PM
Wife wanted a little luxury as long as we could still reduce payments, that is why we were looking at MDX/X5. Want to keep the wife happy :-)
We ended up getting the 2005 X5. It was at a Honda dealer so that helped with turning in the leased Odyssey. Its got CWP, Premium package, auto tranny, 77000 miles. Dealer put ~$1400 into it to fix some minor mechanical issues (control arm, 2 new tires, alignment, wiper blades). We also negotiated a 2 year/24000 mile extended warranty that the dealer ended up throwing in. It runs and drives great, it is Sterling Gray/Black.
Most importantly the wife loves it and is thrilled that she is not driving a minivan anymore.

Rob
03-24-2010, 10:05 PM
congrats. I am sure you will love it.