Mom's Car Advice - Jeep Patriot

[Nick1994]

Looking for some advice here. Both my mom and grandmother are looking for different cars. My mom's Buick Rendezvous has been on borrowed time for a couple years now, it's time for it to go.
My grandmother has a 2012 Jeep Patriot 2.0L CVT w/59k miles which she doesn't like, she wants a Grand Caravan. The Jeep's trade in value is probably $6,000. It also needs a set of tires.

I've been looking for a car for my mom, she doesn't really care what she drives, just wants me to pick it out and do all the searching. I've been looking at Toyota Matrix's and Pontiac Vibe's. They all have about 100,000 more miles than the Jeep Patriot. I was thinking that maybe she can drive the Patriot, since the mileage is much lower.

Do you guys think the Patriot would be a good car for her? I know CVT's aren't that great, but with low miles and 1 year of warranty left it might be a good deal. I can change the fluid on it too. At least we'd know the previous history on this car since my grandmother bought it new.

 

[Rolla07]

If no problems with it, why not? Toyota resale values are high. The 1ZZ's are easy to work on but again..unknown history..

 

[Kuato]

Makes sense to take Grandmother's Patriot for your Mom. Since your Mom doesn't care...probably will be less expensive than the Matrixes and Vibes you are looking at....especially with 100k difference in miles!!

From a brief read online, courtesy of Google, it seems that if the trans has been reliable so far it should continue to be fine. Failure rate is less than 1%.






Oh, and: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4009698/1

 

[SatinSilver]

I'd say keep the Patriot for your mom. Seems like a good deal for 6k. New Caravans are good deals for 19k or so. Your Grandma might be able to do a "pass thru" transaction on it. Where the dealer takes the Patriot in on trade and agrees to sell it to your mom for $6k. Then your Grandma pays less in sales tax on the new Caravan. Maybe even include the Buick in on the trade for another 1k off but the dealer can keep it. So your Grandma will pay around $13k for the new van after tax, title and registration.

 

[Donald]

I cannot speak for vehicles with a CVT other than a 2015 Forester. Ours you drive normally and really do not realize it's a CVT.

Your grandmother needs a reliable vehicle. Does she need 4x4?

Each should get the newest Camry with least miles they can afford.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I cannot speak for vehicles with a CVT other than a 2015 Forester. Ours you drive normally and really do not realize it's a CVT.

Your grandmother needs a reliable vehicle. Does she need 4x4?

Each should get the newest Camry with least miles they can afford.


The Patriot is 4x2, so she doesn't need 4x4. She likes higher riding vehicles and misses her old Grand Caravan so she'd like another.

 

[NHGUY]

Get the Grand Caravan,before you cant anymore.She'll thrill over the near 300 hp Pentastar V6.

 

[doitmyself]

The Patriot went through a pretty thorough refresh after 2011. Chrysler bought out the rights to the GEMA engine and made a few very minor improvement to an already solid engine. The 2.0 is pretty gutless, but has a stellar reliability record. It is simple and very unrefined. A bit "buzzy" tied to the JATCO CVT.

From what I have read, the CVT is not executed well in the Patiot compared to other CVT vehicles. The 6 speed auto is excellent. Its very subjective, so if you think it drives o.k., then that's all that matters. My guess is that CVT reliability is mediocre and similar to many auto trannies of any type. FCA has an agreement to only replace them, not rebuild them. Like all forums, its tough to gauge repair frequency since most people don't report successful use. A few report operation well past 150k at their forum.

The front suspension problems of the early bankruptcy era versions are supposedly gone. More time is needed. The driving position and sight lines are not as good as my 2004 Caravan, especially for short people. The Pat's hood seems big and "out there". High belt line. Window pillars in the way, even with the boxy design (I haven't been in many modern cars to compare).

Its an entry level econo box vehicle and all that implies. Very easy to work on.

Good luck with your decision. Do some numbers $$ crunching. I would lay out all the facts so that you are not the one blamed, whatever route you choose. There are no guarantees with anything. My friend's RAV4 had the water pump go out very early. Another has had numerous Subaru engine problems. The list goes on.

 

[supton]

Has your mom driven the Patriot? I mean, if she drives it once around town and says "no" then that's one decision made.

Also, I know people hate on CVT's but has the Jeep one been problematic? Hated, perhaps--but proven to be an issue? If your mom could not care less about driving experience, the CVT may be fine--as long as it's capable of eeking out the miles.

 

[krismoriah72]

Grandmother is putting 20K miles on a vehicle every year...so obviously she gets around pretty good. I was going to question why she wanted a grand caravan..but there is no sense in it..grandmothers deserve to have what they want...so with keeping with the tone your mothers vehicle should be no different.

You are valuing the patriot at $6K which if you can get it from grandmother at that price would be a great deal.

So if no feelings are hurt..buy the patriot for $6K and list it for sale at $9000 while your mother is driving it..if it sells then you are $3K ahead on your quest for moms next car.

 

[Nick1994]

The Patriot isn't pretty. My grandmother has backed into more things than I can count. It's got some scrapes and dents and a broken tail light. That's why the trade in value is so low.

My mom has driven the Patriot, doesn't really care either way about it, doesn't love it but doesn't hate it.

 

[Andrew1972]

Let her drive the Patriot and see if she likes it. Even if she bites now decides one year latter not for me very little energy into this transaction and it won't depreciate much either since it already sank like a rock.

Resale is cruddy because its nothing special and also massive fleet sales of it. My mother in law picks up undesirable to general market cars on the cheap(50kish/4yrs old) like her past Ford Windstar and Saturn Vue 4 cylinder and has decent service putting little money into them except wear items/few repairs and changing oil. She performs no PM and they seem to last till 150k and she dumps them for $1000 after about 5-6 years. Not a bad deal.

 

[krismoriah72]

There is a guy on the jeep patriot forum that is over 200K miles on his and says he hasnt done much to it except for general manintenance..so if it were my mom i would go for the 6K plus the cost of the tail light and probably a good detail job and call it a day until mom is sick of it.

If grandma wont do the $6K deal i would let her trade it in or list it for sale.

If that all falls through you were on the right track with the vibe/matrix idea but also consider the corolla as it has the same engine. I was looking for a matrix a couple of years ago and fell in love with the Honda Fit..i test drove both and the Honda just Fit me better.

 

[JTK]

Earlier in 2015 I did some research and spoke with some folks who owned them and it seems like 2012+ Patriots are pretty decent vehicles in terms of reliability, CVT or conventional AT. I think there's a lot to be said for a chassis that's not been changed up every two years like the norm seems to be these days. I test drove a new 2015 back then and like it. I like my 2016 Forester better, but if the price was right on the Patriot, I'd drive one.