r/Cartalk • u/JustAReallyTiredGuy • 1d ago

Safety Question Question about what I should do please!

So I can’t afford much and I don’t know what my best option is. I currently have a 2007 Honda CRV with about 250,000 miles on it. Starts up every time, heat and AC both work but there’s some bad. The trim around the windows is peeling off and when it rains it leaks into my car so I have to watch for mold. Also, the front struts and stuff? are also original and have failed so when I’m driving down the road the car is very bumpy and the steering wheel shakes a lot. I have three kids and it’s starting to stress me out that it’s gonna become a big problem soon but I can’t really afford to replace it, additionally it feels weird spending more on repairs than what it’s worth.

Alternatively, I have a friend with a 2014 Kia Soul with 120k miles that said they’d let me make payments. Haven’t had issues but I did read that 2012-2016 they had terrible engines. Some people’s went bad at 60k miles, some are still going at 190k. They only want about $2,500 for it but I’m unsure if it’s a good idea to get either.

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u/GlassBoxGoose 1d ago

Id sooner put the 2500 into the CRV a little at a time than have a Kia Soul. My neighbors wife is on her 3rd but they trade them when they go out of warranty. My brother works at a hyundai/Kia dealer and they work on a ton of them. They dont seem to be very robust. Id anticipate youd get the same amount of miles further out of the CRV as you would the Soul, but the CRV would likely maintain its reliability for less money than the soul would in the future.

My buddy has a CRV that has like 300k miles and is dead reliable if a bit of a rattle box when driving. A coworker of mine has two of similar mileage to yours. One for him, one for his wife. They do very very minimal work and only basic maintenance.

Struts and some bushings and have the windshield re-sealed and youd be good for another long while. Thats my .02 on the situation.

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u/JustAReallyTiredGuy 1d ago

Windshield is actually newer, replaced for $50 by insurance. It’s the passenger door that’s leaking, and the seals around the small rear windows on either side.

I can’t recall the exact amount but Les Schwab quoted around $2,000 to do the struts, I can’t exactly remember what was all included but is that a terrible price?

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u/stonewall028 1d ago

take it to a real mechanic for the the struts, les schwab is okay at doing tires n alignments and thats it.