quote:

Originally posted by 12GA:
Test drove all of these vehicles today and found the Toyota Highlander the best of the bunch. What website should I look at to determine what’s a fair price?

From my shopping I did on this just a couple months ago, 13% off MSRP minus any rebates you're eligible for was about the best I came across and bought at. This was better than the 10% off MSRP dealers were offering just 1-1.5 years prior.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Toyota generally does not come nearly as far off their MSRPs as many others do.
The in laws just got a Limited that stickered for 44k they paid 43k out the door. That was the best they could find locally at least.

If you are so inclined a couple year old CPO will save you a bit of money and actually give you a better warranty than factory.
They are a bit more willing to wiggle on prices on those.

Our Higlander and Sienna both were CPOs.
We bought the 2012 Highlander in 2013 with 25k miles. I paid 28k out the door and the sticker was 42,588. I think they were asking 32 plus taxes and license. They also had 11 other used Highlanders at the time and the 2014 (model change) had just come out so that may have played well to the deal we got. Carmax was asking 34k plus tax at the same time.
CPO warranty adds 12 months/12k miles bumper to bumper and 7 year 100k Powertrain (new has no powertrain warranty past 3 year/36k bumper to bumper).

Also sorry to hear about the old Explorer I had a 2003 that was awesome sold it a year ago to my best buddy and still going strong.

The 2017+ Highlander holds its value significantly more than the <2016 from what I've seen.

CPO 2017+ were not far off from new and sometimes cost even more than new. The 2017 was redesigned with a 3.5 liter motor mated to an 8 speed auto. Result was more HP, torque and mileage. The front grille was also changed to look more Lexus like, IMO. Also came standard with more basic safety features. I believe another addition were more USB ports.

Even though it's the same generation, I believe the 2012 and 2017+ Highlanders are very different vehicles.

We bought a VW Atlas. SE WITH Technology v6 .

We have had it 6 months and love it.

Dodge Durango

I aboslutely love my 2017 Honda Pilot AWD EX-L RES. It's pretty much fully loaded and I paid $36k out the door. Very roomy and a usable 3rd row that I've sat adults in. I also average about 22-25mpg mixed driving and 28-30mpg highway.

I had a 2015 Highlander which was OK, but I hated the torque steer it exhibited when turning and accelerating briskly.

Looked to buy a Pilot and came away disappointed that Honda didn't even offer a cross traffic alert on the 2018.

Settled on an Acura MDX for just a little more money. Bigger in the cargo area than the Highlander, quieter and drives and rides more like a sports car, much moe fun to drive. And it gets better mileage that the Highlander was getting on the hwy

Comes in FWD and AWD.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

Depending upon ones scenerio I can certainly argue their utility.
We had our for a year and it was miserable.

What did you not like about it, and why do you prefer the Highlander? By the numbers, the Sienna has more room inside, but I've never owned one.

I voted other:

Ford Flex?

With All Wheel Drive

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
I had a 2015 Highlander which was OK, but I hated the torque steer it exhibited when turning and accelerating briskly.

Looked to buy a Pilot and came away disappointed that Honda didn't even offer a cross traffic alert on the 2018.

Settled on an Acura MDX for just a little more money. Bigger in the cargo area than the Highlander, quieter and drives and rides more like a sports car, much moe fun to drive. And it gets better mileage that the Highlander was getting on the hwy

Comes in FWD and AWD.

My daughter and son in law love their MDX!

Does it have to be an SUV? I just had a great experience with a Chrysler Pacifica. Loved the way the rear seats folded totally flat. Had both great acceleration and mileage and the moonroof was panaramic. Impressed that I wasn’t fatigued after 14 hours in the left seat.

Another vote for the VW Atlas. Get the 4motion V6. It also has a roomier 3rd row than all those you listed. Plus 6 years 72,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

Depending upon ones scenerio I can certainly argue their utility.
We had our for a year and it was miserable.

What did you not like about it, and why do you prefer the Highlander? By the numbers, the Sienna has more room inside, but I've never owned one.

For us it was all about poor configuration.

We have 3 under 5 so 3 full size car seats or harnessed boosters for years to come. I figured minivan was the way to go and bought when we had 2 with the 3rd on the way. 2 car seats was doable.
I am also only referring to the Sienna. There is only one latch connection in the 3rd row and it in the middle of 2 seating positions. So to have 1 carseat safely hooked in the rear you loose 1 seat.
If you have 2 seats in the center row it is VERY difficult to get to the 3rd row and buckle the child in. Then of course there is the fight on who sits in the back seat. If you were lucky enough for someone to ride back there. I ended up putting 2 seats in the back and using seat belts and ratchet straps to securely fasten the 2 seats in. Then I removed one of the center row buckets so one could access the rear to buckle the kids in.
Then when you were on trips there was no way to reach the kids in the 3rd row when they dropped their book, drink, snack, whatever. The center seat was not fit for even a child to sit in the middle row.
The thing drove like an absolute abomination. Terrible handling, very awkward to back into spaces, and park. Heavy nose dives in turns which we do a lot of back country roads here.
Even with the upgraded heated leather and navigation package the seats were not comfortable for any length of time.
Our 2016 Expedition without all the fancy ride suspension upgrades rides way better than the Sienna.

We had a 2010 Pilot that was nothing more than a money pit. Honda jacked us around so many times on things that should have been under the CPO it became a losing battle. The only time they did fix something that should have been covered was when I proved they didn’t complete a recall item before selling it to us.

When it started showing signs of a previous problem, we got rid of it and bought a CPO 2015 Sienna SE with 20k miles. Went with the same dealership and salesman we got our RAV4 from. Promptly took it on a 2k mile trip and it was excellent. Perhaps because we have the SE with slightly different suspension tuning, it drives different from other vans we’ve had.

We did test drive Highlanders and liked them, but the back row and the cargo area was smaller than the Pilot...and our kids aren’t getting any smaller. In the end we went with the Sienna from a room standpoint.

Good luck with your purchase!

Thanks for all the great advice fellas. Visited a couple more Toyota dealerships today and we’re close to pulling the trigger on a AWD Highlander XLE. We’ve got a couple quotes that come close to what we’re willing to pay for a 2018 model and are meeting with another dealership tomorrow.

I get what folks are saying about the 3rd row seating space but Mrs 12GA and I are empty nesters now and the 3rd row will probably only be used once every three months when it’s our turn to drive two other couples on date night. That and when we take Annabel, our St Bernard to the dog park

quote:

Originally posted by 12GA:
Annabel, our St Bernard

I hope some day you post photos of your St Bernard. My kids love dogs, and I think they would love to see a St. Bernard.

Thank you very much for posting the photo of Annabel!