N_C

Just pulled a new 2007 Jeep Compass off the lot today. Traded in my 1998 Cherokee that has over 166,000 miles & needs $2,000 in repairs for it. Dividing the payments for the new one by the cost of repairs for the old one it wasn't a hard decision to make considering it is 5 months worth.

The Compass is considered a cross over vehicle. It will fit mine my wife's & my dogs needs for a vehicle. We are trying a lease vs. a purchase.

CrosseyedCrickt

"bicycle carrier"
heh, I like that!
a crossover eh? back where I come from we call them "station wagons"

Did you get a rack for it or is there enough room to put your 'bent in there?
Just to brag a little bit, but I most likely made parts for that thing. My company had the contract to do alot of the sheet metal work for those.
How's the gas milage on those?
CrosseyedCrickt <-- The only carfree guy by choice in the auto industry.

spinnaker

What??? Must be that new math they are teaching in school. An eight year old vehicle is really not that old. Face it you just wanted a new "bike carrier". Good for you, if you can afford it.

CrosseyedCrickt

If you drive like my wife, then an 8 year old vehicle is unheard of!

N_C

Try a 9 yr old vehicle for the old one. Maybe you should try harder at math. I took the lease payments divided it into $2,100, it is actually more, I rounded it down & it came to 4.89, almost 5 monthly payments. Not only that the Compass has a 4 cylinder motor, huge gas savings, compared to the 4.0 L 6 on the old one. The Compass has 172 HP, the old one was 195, I think.

Oh & BTW it would cost less then $2,100 to buy a new motor not the including bolt on items, then there is the cost of having a shop install it for me.

N_C

For the bike I have a tray style carrier that I used on the Cherokee. All I need to add to the Compass is a receiver hitch. It is cheaper after market, there is a good place in town that will do it. Gas milage is 23 mpg for city & 26 for hwy.

CrosseyedCrickt

but you're leasing, right?
do they deduct the cost of the hitch when you return the vehicle or do you just write it off?
or do you take it off?

N_C

I can take the hitch off or leave it on. There is no deduction for it & it may actually increas the value. At the end of the lease I can either purchase the Compass or trade it in & either lease or purchase a new vehicle.

RonH

My wife and I looked at the Compass (as a bike carrier) a few weeks ago. (We also looked at the Liberty). The cargo area wasn't as roomy as we'd hoped, so after a short discussion we decided a small (possibly used) pickup would suffice (and be a lot cheaper). Just put a rack in the bed for mounting the bikes and we're all set to go.

wahoonc

I usually buy all of my "bike carriers" used and let someone like NC take the depreciation hit We are considering a new van for our retail business. The current front runner is one of the Freighliner/Sprinter vans in a Passenger/Cargo configuration. 22mpg OTR on biodiesel and enough room in the back for a whole fleet of bicycles! with stand up head room! BTW our newest vehicle chronologically is a 2003 with about 150k on it, the newest by purchase date is a 1996 with a current 79k on it, that one cost less than a third of a new one.

Aaron

apclassic9

[QUOTE=N_C]Traded in my 1998 Cherokee that has over 166,000 miles & needs $2,000 in repairs for it. /QUOTE]

Wow! You don't drive much, do you? My 2000 Outback has 251,400 miles on it.

N_C

[QUOTE=apclassic9]We would have considered an Outback, if there were a Subaru dealer in our town, their isn't & I would rather keep the money in the city I live in. The dealership is family owned, not coporate owned.

N_C

For a first vehicle, we only have one right now, we always buy or in this case, lease brand new. I will never buy or lease a first vehicle that is used. If we ever need to get a second vehicle it will be a used one.

DieselDan

[QUOTE=apclassic9]That's all? I'm up to 295,000 miles in my 1995 Odyssey. Granted I have 5 more years on it and a bottom end rebuild at 200,000 and new valve stems at 235,000. No squeaks or rattles and the seats are still tight. The seats aren't even torn or ripped. As for carrying bikes, I can easily put my Cannondale in with the front wheel off, but that gets secured with a third row seatbelt.

N_C

[QUOTE=DieselDan]That I would have to see. A bike secured in with a seat belt. I knew we love & want to protect our bikes, but isn't that going a little far? Cool idea, saves you from having to use some other kind of strap or bungee, I also imagine it helps prevent it from becoming a projectile in the event of an accident or sudden stop.

N_C

The safety feature I like most about my new Compass is the side curtain airbags.