Another vote for Jeep Cherokee. As much as it pains me to admit it, my '96 has been better from a reliability stand point that anything else I've owned. Including my 3 Miatas. 
$5k buys a nice Cherokee, and they are done depreciating. Go for the mid-late 90's XJs. Avoid the late 80's models -- too much French engineering.
So...what does he want for the Miata?
Don49 wrote: It's worth looking at Hyundai Santafe's. Sold ours at 225k with very few issues ever, basically just normal maintenance. It was a 2005 with the 3.5 V6.
For the record, that was the absolute WORST version of Sante Fe you could get.
Appleseed wrote: So...what does he want for the Miata?
It's an automatic. 
BLAAAAGGHHH!
volvoclearinghouse wrote:Appleseed wrote: So...what does he want for the Miata?It's an automatic.
Easily fixed.
Interesting twist...my wife has a 2000 GMC Jimmy, 2 door 4x4, that we've been thinking about selling since we bought the Suburban. Her brother likes the Jimmy- it's basically what he's looking for, and only having 2 doors isn't an issue for him as he's single (and younger). My wife is the second owner of the Jimmy and it's been meticulously maintained, first by her father (engineer) and then by me (engineer). It's got about 165,000 miles on it, which is about 100,000 fewer than B-I-L's decrepit Blazer. We talked about having him take the Jimmy, and he said that would be perfect for what he wants. He could even keep the Miata for commuting and convertibling.
The only wrinkle is that the Jimmy is with us, in Maryland, and he's in Phoenix...
Road trip!
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