I’m in the market for a 10-15k vehicle. I’m a Toyota fan, but unfortunately you simply cannot get a truck or SUV with less than 200k miles for that amount. If one is listed, it either has frame rust, it’s 10k over value or someone buys it within an hour with no inspection which I can’t do.
That said, what are some SUV year/make/mode that rival Toyota reliability?
How big do you need to go? Tahoe/Yukon or Surburban/Yukon XL would be a pretty solid choice, but the main failure points (in my experience) is frame rust and transmissions. The rust can be reasonably prevented, and the transmissions can be rebuilt with upgraded internals for around $1200 if you remove/install yourself. Some get lucky though, my dad had two seperate 2003 Yukon XLs and he put over 350k on each with no major repairs. I was in the same boat as you a while ago and ended up buying a 4.2L 2007 Trailblazer. One rebuilt transmission later and I gotta say, I really like it! Way more than I thought I would. Comfortable ride, handles well, mileage isn’t terrible, and I can still pull my 20’ camper around. That being said, none of these choices are going to top a Toyota as far as reliability, so the real question is, do you want to spend more now or later?