The wife & I have been talking about a new car for a minute, I personally have been talking about one for 4 or so years but we finally pulled the trigger yesterday. Meet "Patty" 2011 Jeep Patriot Latitude - bright white/dark slate gray (yea, it's black) -14k miles -2.4L Auto -4WD (Freedom Drive I, not II) -remote start -heated front seats & mirrors -full info here - http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=82894527&listingRecNum=0&criteria=prMx=20000&sf1Dir=DESC&drvTrnId=27105&prMn=19000&alMdId=21766&mkId=20021&mlgMx=20000&stkTyp=U&mdId=21766&crSrtFlds=stkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-pseudoPrice-pseudoYear-pseudoMileage-drvTrnId&rd=10&zc=18103&rn=0&PMmt=1-1-0&stkTypId=28881&sf2Dir=ASC&sf1Nm=price&yrMn=2011&sf2Nm=miles&isDealerGrouping=false&yrMx=2011&alMkId=20021&rpp=50&feedSegId=28705&aff=national&listType=1 We get the balance of both the 3 yr/36k mi bumper-to-bumper & 5 yr/100k mi warranties. It was my first experience negotiating a car deal but I think we did alright. We got it for 18,999 (they were asking $19,999) and are trading in her '03 Accord EX V6 for $5k (they started at $4k). Payment is $305/mo. for 60 mos (started at $339/mo.). I think I could have done a little better and just realized I'm not sure what the interest rate is but I'm happy. It'll be the wife's car, the LX soldiers on with 131K and a baby seat in the back. I've heard back & forth about them so tell me what you think. "not real jeeps without fdii" "ugly," "cute" "anemic engine" We pick it up Friday
My sisters company car is a Compass which uses the same platform. Her 2011 is a considerable improvement over the older Compass she had. The CVT can be obnoxious at times but it's much better in the new one. It's not anemic (the 3.7 in the Liberty and old 3.8 ARE anemic) but it's no barn burner. Hers is FWD though which I guess makes sense for a fleet vehicle, but the confidence you get from an AWD vehicle is wonderful. I think the Patriot looks better than the Compass because it looks more like a real Jeep. Like a little kid dressing to look like his older siblings. And I'd argue that regardless of the Trail Rated badge, it's not a "real" Jeep with either AWD system (and Jeep can stop kidding themselves calling it 4WD). But you didn't buy it to be a rock crawler and it's a solid vehicle otherwise. I think you'll be happy with it. That would certainly explain why my sisters company uses them (she's an adjuster).
Our insurance dropped $72/year. I agree the Patriot looks better than the Compass, even after both got very nice updates for 2011. And you're right, as much as I'd like to lift it and whatever else, I'll never drive it off-road. Thanks for the comments everyone.
