My S’s old Rav4 is dying and I’m helping him look for a replacement used car. I am looking for a certified pre-owned so that he will have a warranty. My preference would be another Rav4 or Honda CRV but I’m not finding any in his price range.
There are a couple of Nissan Rogues in our price range that I’m going to go look at. I am just less familiar with it. Anyone have any experience with the Rogue or Nissans in general in terms of reliability? Also, the CPO program? I like that Honda and Toyota include a bumper to bumper warranty in addition to the power train warranty. Nissan and Subaru do not have that.
I’m also going to look at a Subaru Impreza that is in his price range that has very low miles.
It has to be big enough to fit a cello. AWD would be nice as he lives in a very snowy region.
There are lots of Honda civics in our price range but then we give up awd. We have one and we bought snow tires for it and that has been fine so that is a possibility. For the civic we have to go with a higher trim model to get the split folding back seats that would allow the cello to fit in the trunk. Corolla is an option too but they seem to be more scarce in our area and a lot of the used ones for sale have been rental cars which doesn’t appeal to me.
Toyota Prius is a possibility too as there are some in our price range, not sure how good they are in the snow.
Thanks in advance for any info!
I drove a NissanRouge for a few months last year while one of our cars was going through an overly lengthy visit to the body shop. I liked it fine but can’t comment on long term reliability. My chief complaint with it was with the driver’s visibility so definitely test it and make sure you are comfortable with that.
Can’t comment on driving in the snow because it was springtime.
The older generation Prius is terrible in the snow. The newest generation is better. Snow tires are a necessity.
If you can find an Impreza I’d get that over a Nissan because of the superior AWD system. The 2.0L engine typical in the Impreza doesn’t have the head gasket and oil consumption issues typical in pre-2013 2.5L Subaru engines. I’d look for a used Crosstrek, which is an Impreza with more ground clearance. You might be able to find a Legacy, they were not that popular and don’t have the resale value of the Outbacks.
Another reliable option is a Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix (a Corolla wagon/hatch). Many of those were sold with AWD.
Agreed…everyone with a Prius we know…has a Subaru as a second car…because their Prius is awful in the snow.
We have friends who LOVED their Rogue. But do test drive it for visibility.
What is your price range? I feel like we can’t really make suggestions without knowing that!
Thanks! Unfortunately the Impreza that I was hoping to go look at today has been sold. No others available in our price range currently, I’ll keep looking. I have not seen any crosstreks in our area that fall in our price range. Not even any available at all currently. Same with the Toyota Matrix- I think they are cars people buy and hold onto. I would also look at a Honda HRV but I can’t find any used.
I thought the Matrix was no longer being made.
I would like to stay under $16K, we have a little flexibilty but I don’t want to go much over that.
Of the 2 Rogues that are available one is listed at $15K the other $16K. I would want to bargain the price down so once we pay the tax and fees we are still around $16K.
The CRVs and Rav4s that are CPO seem to start at 18K and up.
That was my impression from what I had heard about the Prius.
The Vibe is also no longer being made.
The Matrix is no longer being made, but used models still do turn up. Happykid loves hers (bought used) and plans to drive it into the ground.
We looked at CRVs, HRVs, RAV4s, Crosstreks, Foresters, and Rogues for Little Tutu. Price constraint was under $20K. Here is my non-expert buying experience (we bought the base model Rogue):
HRVs are fairly new. The only used one we found was a dealer courtesy car that sold before we even got to the lot. I liked the new one and it is larger than you think it would be, but not the price I wanted to pay (because it was new).
CRVs are great. RAV4s are great. Hondas and Toyotas both tend to be keep their resale value, which means finding a used one in my price range with low mileage was difficult. As someone who has owned both Hondas and Toyotas, I never did get anything out of those “bumper-to-bumper” warranties when something went wrong. Somehow, my experiences were never covered.
Subarus were similar to the CRV and RAV4 in that they are hard to find and not really what I wanted to pay. However, I don’t live in an area with a lot of snow. I’ve heard that Subarus are made for snow.
By process of elimination, we bought the Rogue. It’s large enough for Little Tutu to haul her belongings to college. It’s got a ton of safety features (which is great because there is a bit of a blind spot). And, the new ones were discounted to the point where it wasn’t a stretch to buy a new one vs. a used one. We paid under $20K for it and negotiated that dealer paid sales tax. I’ve driven it a few times and admit that I like it enough that I considered trading my car in for a Murano. (Fortunately, common sense kicked in as I don’t need a new car.)
NOTE: There is a Rogue and a Rogue Sport. The Sport is smaller and more expensive that the Rogue.
I test drove a Rogue Sport last year and liked it a lot. But I ended up getting a Subaru Crosstrek instead because of better gas mileage. I also test drove an Impreza. It felt really cramped to me.
Matrix and Vibe are no longer sold new, but the Corolla iM (previously Scion iM) approximates that market position. No AWD in the iM, though, so winter tires would be desired for the snow season.
I drove a Rogue as a rental in California and liked it (and I’m a Honda/Toyota person!). Can’t speak to long-term use, or snow, though.
Don’t forget that AWD is not just for snow but for all wet conditions - so even helpful in warm weather downpours. I have a lot of comfort knowing my kids have AWD or 4WD - and I don’t have to worry about them taking the step to put on winter tires!!!
S just purchased a “gently used” car. He wanted an SUV of moderate size, AWD or 4WD and nice options, lower miles. He ended up with a very nice Hyundai Tuscon. It is about the size of a Rogue. His budget was closer to 20K out the door but he has low miles (20K) and his car is LOADED with options. A very nice car on a teacher’s budget. 
Winter tires will help you turn and stop in the snow (whether or not you gave AWD).
I have a lot of comfort knowing my kids have AWD or 4WD - and I don’t have to worry about them taking the step to put on winter tires!!!<<<<<<<<<<
I am not sure what you mean, but AWD cars need snow tires as much as any cars. AWD or 4 wd with crap tires are the worst in the snow belt because drivers are over confident eejits that fail to comprehend physics.
We recently were car shopping and considered the Rogue, but I did some research on it and it didn’t compare favorably to other vehicles in the same category. It ended up being out of our price range anyway as we were looking for new.
Which leads to my next piece of input similar to post #8. We initially were looking for a new car, but then decided to look for a CPO because of our budget. We changed our preferred vehicle from a SUV to a sedan and went to the Toyota dealer to buy a CPO Corolla. We were almost ready to purchase one, and then I asked the salesman (I asked, he didn’t offer) what would be the price comparison for the CPO 2015 and a new 2017. Brand new ended up being almost the same price (within a few hundred dollars) as the CPO. So H and I walked out with a new Corolla that day for $16K.
I think the resale value is so high on some makes (Toyota and Honda) that the used ones with low mileage don’t get much of a discount and then when you add the CPO requirement, the new ones start looking like a better option. I don’t know if you’d get a better deal with a Nissan CPO.
BTW, we are constantly amazed at how much storage room is in a Corolla. The trunk is very roomy and we fit almost all of our daughter’s college stuff in it when she went to school this year (Along with luggage for three people to stay overnight). If we hadn’t taken our other daughter along, we would have been able to fit everything. We took her one remaining bin of winter stuff up on a later visit. I don’t think you could fit a cello in the trunk but probably could fit it in the back seat?
The Corolla comes in a hatchback, too, which might be a better option with the cello.
I have a Rogue that I bought new in October of 2016. I love it! I also looked at the Honda CRV, Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage, and Subaru Crosstrek when I was shopping, and I liked the Rogue so much more than the others. I felt that I got more for my $$ with it, as the more basic models offered so much more standard than some of the other brands (especially compared to Honda…their basic CRV looked like it was from the 80s or 90s because it seemed so bare bones and dated).
AWD or 4WD do not negate the need for winter tires!!
We have had AWD or 4WD for 35+ years and while we are not driving in the mountains (none in Ohio/Michigan) we have not needed to change out tires - we do purchase better than your basic tire, a high performance all season tire. FWIW.