The great WWRW2 do dilemma

[Road Warrior2]

I'm on the fence with what would be the prudent thing to do. I am looking at buying the 2017 CX5, I have a few threads out there on price so far with the forum, I doubt that my prices I am getting will get much better. So here goes with a overview of my situation.

I currently own 2 vehicles. A 2003 Nissan Xterra with 125K on the clock. Mechanically solid currently but you never know with 125K. My biggest fear is that the heater core in the dash goes kaput and i have no heat. This car is my do everything winter beater. I work 1 hour into the great white north of W PA, at all hours of the day or night, might have to make that trip at the most 3 times a week, usually twice. Winter time can always be dicey, roads may be treacherous and little traffic. Going to work and not getting there due to car trouble, not an option. The X is reliable and a beast in snow, but...it ain't going to last forever.

Vehicle # 2, 2006 MX5 with 85K on the clock, never been in snow. Drive it from April to November and park it for the winter.

The upside to owning these 2 is that both are paid for and I am the only person that drives them. I have little to no debt, own my house outright, not married, no kids. Buying the CX5 is not a money thing. My thoughts are, is to try to sell both and get down to 1 vehicle, a CX5 and maybe later on get a 6 as a daily driver. I hate getting tied up in a vehicle payment, it is like death and taxes, both are inevitable and unavoidable. I usually buy with the intent of owning long term and have had great luck with Japanese flagged vehicles.

I guess the only question is buy now or buy later. The prices are not going to get much better. I am thinking buy now and not drive the CX5 this winter, drive the Xterra and consider trying to sell in the spring/summer/fall of next year. Also sell the MX5. I have owned a MX5 of some sort since 1991. I can not recall the last time I had the top down to drive it. Time to step away from it. Or not.

I am a commercial driver (tour buses) and do very little personal pleasure driving for myself to events and such. I do a ton of College sports trips, casino runs, scenic locations, east half of USA/Canada etc. But the commute home from work(1 hour on good roads) is so much nicer and decompressing in a nice vehicle, quiet or nice stereo, with no worry at all of break down.

The question I guess is, sooner or later?

 

[sonoran]

What makes you so concerned about your heater core? I mean I understand that consequence of that given the climate you're in, but that's not a part that's particularly prone to failure. Do you have signs that it's having issues?

I'm not really familiar with the Xterra, but I own a '91 pathfinder (with 258,000 miles on it, still going strong), which I think is the predecessor to the Xterra, this is a vehicle with a transfer case 4wd (does the Xterra have a frame or unibody), good clearance, and approach and departure angles designed for offroading, right? Does yours have a limited slip diff? The Xterra's probably going to do better in the snow than the AWD CX-5. For me, that might be as big an issue as a heater core with some miles on it (I'd rather get home with cold fingers and toes than get stuck in the snow).

If you don't like debt or car payments, I'd sell the MX5, keep the Xterra, then go take the Xterra to a good mechanic and tell them you want a complete once over with an eye toward preventive maintenance, and even maybe tell them you just want to replace the heater core.

If you want a new car more than you want to avoid debt, or if you feel your Xterra has too many miles to put that kind of money into it, then the CX-5 is a great choice! Much better gas mileage, better road driving manners, better interior, better safety features, etc.

 

[Road Warrior2]

The Xterra gets driven about 9K a year. The heater core, if it fails, means you are tearing out the dash board to get to it, big job. AFAIC, I could not drive it in winter for an hour, plus you lose the ability to defrost and keep the windshield clear, depending upon conditions.

The X has had a good deal of work done in the past 2 years. Timing belt swap done with front and rear main seals replaced, cam seals, water pump, all belts, cover seal, plugs, wires, all hoses and clamps, radiator, thermostat, oil pan and gasket, new wheels and tires, one brake line, starter(twice), battery, windshield with a repair of frame that was rusting that caused the windshield to crack to begin with. The radiator core support had also rusted thru and the radiator was resting on the frame.

Nissan had a brief history of using mild steel in places like the oil pan and radiator core support. To fix that oil pan, you have to drop the front axle as it humps over top of it. So when I said the Xterra is mechanically sound today, that is what I mean.

Snow? Where I work, the lake effect machine could turn on and dump a few feet over a few days, just depends how cold it is and what direction the wind is blowing. My travel in it? Complete crap shoot, could be bad the entire drive(ice storm) or pretty fluffy powder.

 

[Road Warrior2]

I tried selling the MX5 this past late summer early fall, i was asking too much for it. Now, going into winter, wrong time to be selling a convertible roller skate. It is good to be in a position to not NEED a car vs just wanting to sell one off.

Part of me wants to take the challenge to see how long I can keep the Xterra road worthy too.

 

[sonoran]

My daughter is starting her second year in college in Meadville PA (after having grown up in So. AZ), last year seemed to be pretty mild from what I understand but I'm sure she'll get a dose of deep freeze one of these years.

I can understand why you'd want a new car after reading the history of maintenance and repairs. Given the driving you do on some sketchy roads in deep snow, you might want to compare the Subaru Forrester to the CX-5 and see what you think.

Edit: changed "Outback" to "Forrester"

 

[Road Warrior2]

We do(my employer) all of the transportation for Allegheny.

I did look at Subaru. I can't get past a few "image issues" with the vehicle. I also get the impression that maintenance cost on the vehicle are high. I think the price on those will exceed CX5. I have owned a Mazda product a long time, foolish trust on my part?

We just got the long range forecast for winter. The Vet's horses began getting their winter coats in August. The Vet said that never happens. Will definitely be colder and worse than last year, we got off light last year.

 

[sonoran]

We do(my employer) all of the transportation for Allegheny.

Small World

 

[sonoran]

We do(my employer) all of the transportation for Allegheny.

I did look at Subaru. I can't get past a few "image issues" with the vehicle. I also get the impression that maintenance cost on the vehicle are high. I think the price on those will exceed CX5. I have owned a Mazda product a long time, foolish trust on my part

The CX-5 is one of the best looking CUV's on the market, so yeah I get that. Still you might want to drive the Forrester before you write it off completely. It's not as nice inside, and the CX-5 has better road manners, but the Forrester is probably the most capable CUV (other than the [unreliable] jeep) in rough road or low traction situations.

 

[dougal]

Honestly, I don't think I have ever had a heater fail. If the car is not reliable, and you want maximum winter performance, a Subaru is hard to beat.

 

[Road Warrior2]

The CX-5 is one of the best looking CUV's on the market, so yeah I get that. Still you might want to drive the Forrester before you write it off completely. It's not as nice inside, and the CX-5 has better road manners, but the Forrester is probably the most capable CUV (other than the [unreliable] jeep) in rough road or low traction situations.

I honestly think that from the side the CX5 looks strikingly like an Infinity.