Learn me CR-Vs and quick!

I meant to make this yesterday but I got busy.

We're looking at a 2006 Honda CR-V, 71000 miles, good condition, $16,200 firm. They offered us $13,875 for our trade in (2010 Suzuki SX4 with 12k miles). Which ends up being $6274 net value, so we'd finance $8537 through them at %3.99 for 36 months (I'm also fishing for some financial advice here).

That car is good shape, drives straight, doesn't make any weird noises or have any funny smells. The only thing that has me worried is it has two accidents on the Carfax, both minor rear impacts that only caused body damage. I'm a little wary, but it seems to be fine. No weird body gaps or anything like that. So help! I gotta call them back today with an answer.

I'm no expert on these, BUT....

Look at the first letter in the VIN #, try to avoid any CR-V where the VIN begins with "S". Those are made in Great Britain.

Incredibly, the CR-V over it's 3 generations has been built in several different countries. I think you can find Japanese built (obviously), British built, Mexican built, Canadian built, and there may be U.S. built. Unfortunately, because Honda sourced different years of CR-V from more than 1 plant at a time someone can't say avoid the ones built in 20XX.

P.S. while we all run down Consumer Retorts, according to their Used Car Buyer's Guide, you are slightly better off buying a nearly identical '05 versus an '06. The "Drive System" (whatever that is/means) gets a HUGE black mark in '06. Of the last 10 years of CR-Vs, the only other HUGE BLACK MARK is in the '03 model year, for the A/C.

What's wrong with the SX4?

I'm confused on the math. 16,200-13,875=2,325

RealMiniDriver wrote: I'm confused on the math. 16,200-13,875=2,325

Still owe on the SX4 i think.

Great cars. My wife has an '04 AWD and we have had zero problems with it. Just took it on a 4800 mile trip and never got tired. It's pretty much Honda's most reliable vehicle. I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as the accidents were repaired correctly. The price is a little on the high side (in my area), but not too bad. You really should be able to get a certified pre-owned for close to that price.

From talking to other CRV owners the problem was in the 4wd. Even that is a bit overblown. My dad has our 06 CRV with the 4wd and neither he nor I ever had a problem with the vehicle and he is at 270k. My wife has the new 11 CRV but it is 2wd. Even more important that panel gaps I would look underneath the back end and make sure all that looks good. The only maintenance that I do beyond motor oil, filters, washer fluid, and wash is to drain the transmission every 15k. 3 qt comes out and I put 3 qt back in. Honda does a 4x drain/fill at 60 k but I just spread it out over time. Our CRVs have been unexciting, reliable, and functional but that is all my wife wants out of a vehicle.

On a different note I (obviously) dont know your credit score but my credit union's rates on cars are at 2.99% at this time. So it might be worth your time to call around for the best rate.

Is the British version really worse? We had a Civic SI made in the UK and it was in the shop one time in 4 years (for the same creaky clutch master cyl. problem my Japanese Accord has).

My standard answer in the car buying threads - Pentagon Federal Credit Union - 2.49% for up to 60 months at the moment. I'm not a shill for them, just a very happy customer. penfed.org - if you open the account today and apply you could probably have a loan check in hand by the end of the week...

integraguy wrote: I'm no expert on these, BUT.... Look at the first letter in the VIN #, try to avoid any CR-V where the VIN begins with "S". Those are made in Great Britain.

VIN starts with a J, which I'm gonna guess means Japan.

The SX4 is too small. With the baby seat in, my wifes knees are touching the dashboard (and she isn't tall). The stroller takes up the entire trunk, and it doesn't get very good MPG for it's size (mid 20's at best). I made a mistake with the SX4 and I should have waited until we had the baby seat to make sure it fit. And yeah, we still owe $7600 on it, and I know it doesn't make a lot financial sense to trade it in so quickly but we need a larger car and I think the CR-V will suit our needs for years to come.

We have an '03 CRV that my wife drives. In fact I brought up getting a new one and she almost hit me. She loves this thing. It has 90k miles on it now, and the only failure ever was a rear power door lock, fixed under warranty. This is absolutely the most reliable car I've ever had, and it's also very functional with large cargo area. She averages about 25mpg out of it on a daily basis, and it is the AWD version. Oh, and there is no timing belt to change so you can skip that cost in maintenance.

By contrast, our son has a 2010 Ford smallish SUV, not sure of the name, and it has had more issues in the first year of ownership by far than the Honda has had ever. I've had to pick him up at the Ford dealer at least 3 times in the past few months for warranty work. The CRV however keeps on going. We tried to talk him into a CRV, but he didn't want to spend the extra 1k. In the end, the Ford will cost him a lot more than that before ownership is over.

To say we recommend one is an understatement. Of all the cars I have owned, it is by far the easiest one to recommend to friends and family members.

Well we passed on this one. The accidents just put me off too much. I'll still on the hunt for a CR-V though.