Best Cars to Own (Action Sports Lifestyle)

ive got a 99 wrangler and would definitely recommend it. a two door is definitely more versatile for a surfer lifestyle than people think. the roll bars work perfectly as roof racks and the manual tranny gets me 20-25 miles to the gallon. nothing better than going to the beach with the top off

 

My first vehicle was an 85 CJ7. The clutch went quickly and the repair cost $1200. At that moment I became my own mechanic. I got tools and learned on the fly. Eventually I replaced that with a 74 Road Runner that I built into a beast. A few vehicles later I got a 79 CJ7, the clutch went and the repair cost only $250 since I did it myself.
My jeeps needed a bit more attention than my other vehicles but on the other hand, I would regularly test their 4x4 limits so sh*t is more likely to break.
I wish todays vehicles were as easy to work on.

 

wrangler is way to stubby inside for surfboards.
I have an xterra...4 door, good truck and reliable (more than Cherokees, etc) but it sucks on gas.
Toyota Tacoma is a great truck, but again not good on gas.

 

I've had a Cherokee, Outback, and a Tacoma. The Toyota and Subaru are at the top of the list, but finding a Tacoma 4x4 for 10K could be difficult. The Outback is a great ride and better on gas than the Tacoma. Finding a car to suit your lifestyle while getting good gas mileage probably won't happen unfortuntely. I did see that Subaru launched a new ride, some sort of crossover, that's basically a lifted Impreza and is outfitted at 21K. I'd buy another Tacoma or Outback for sure, great rides in my opinion.

 

xterra is an SUV not a truck.

 

real men drive station wagons!

 

i have a 2000 chevy tahoe and that gets the job done there is ton of room for all my boards and wetsuits skateboards ect. But someitmes can be a little too large and the 4x4 is good too

 

I have a 2006 Wrangler Rubicon, not as easy to work on as my '85 CJ7, but still manageable...definitely not in the 10K price range. I'm not a big Chrysler fan, but she's a beast. Usually fold the passenger seat up and throw my boards in, they stick out the back a little, but who cares!? And like somebody said before, with the top off, you can just strap the boards to the roll bar. I would rather have a 2 door with less space than the goofy 4 door version(defeats the purpose of a jeep, at least in my mind)...

 

alsooo ANYONE sould be veryyy careful in the next 6months buying cars.. there were aot of cars that got alot of water in them..some noticeable some not..just becaureful so you dont get a sandy discounted car

 

i have a 09 tacoma double cab extended bed trd sport 4x4...needless to say it fits everything and i beasted it through sandy

 

If I were you I would drop the 10,000 on a new car and take small loan on the balance. There are some great financing rates right now. I have two scions, an xa and an xd. The xa has 325,000 miles on it and its still going strong the xd is brand new. I know they aren't 4x4's but they are 4 doors, they get great gas mileage (35 - 40 mpg) and they are cheap. I bought the xa for $13,000 and the xd for $15,000 both new off the lot.

 

Oh yeah, I also have an FJ Cruiser and a Honda Element. The FJ is a great truck but is a gas guzzler. The Element is the best all around surf vehicle ever IMHO.

 

if your tight on $$ and need a truck scour craigslist nissan, or toyota - efff subarus (too many head gasket and trans probs) and stay away from anything daimler-chrysler (jeep). element or CRV is KILLER surf vehicle with good engine (k24) and great mpg for the power, but $$ for the hondas unless you can scoop one up. 1st gen scion Xa is another good choice. Its a good idea to find something with a timing chain but not mandatory.

stay the fawk away from jeep liberty, horrendous piles of garbage. my surf beater is a tacoma but it doesnt get great mpg (used to have a 4runner, same thing). i had a nasty old beat up civic i used for surfing but let a friend drive it and it got totaled - amazing how much room is in back of a civic with the seats folded down tho. you dont need awd or even a big truck to get lots of places, i rammed that civic all over. got stuck a couple times but i really was asking for it

edit: learning to be your own mechanic (even basic) is the best thing you could do, and not that hard to do. saves a ton of money and helps at crucial moments.

 

Love my 02 Honda Passport suv. Fits long board inside and has good roof rack. If u are looking for gas efficiency, I can Just fit 9 foot board inside Toyota 2008 Prius with seats folded down. My six foot board easily fits. It's not a cool car but it gets 55 mpg

 

i have an '08 grand cherokee & couldn't be happier w/ it...plenty of room for boards & other gear, don't care if the interior gets full of sand, mud, & other gunk, & it'll go anywhere. it's not the best on gas, sure, but it's better than some that others have listed & worse than others, too. some might call it a "yuppie jeep", but i have skill enough to do minor to moderate work on it myself, which keeps the maintenance costs down.

 

best car to own is a suzuki samurai

 

A 4wd yota mon

 

just throwing this out there but if you really want something in the truck area you could consider a diesel. i have a 01 f250 crew cab with a 7.3 in it and with my programmer on "economy" and when im not hammering on the gas pedal im gettin in the 19-21mpg range. its a tank in the snow and if you ever need to pull anything nothing beats it. plenty of room for boards in the bed. I realize it may not be practical for everyone but i used to tow a boat alot and it was the best option. Plus they hold their value and run forever!

like i sad just throwin that idea out there. good luck finding a new ride!

 

have to agree with Windswellssuck Stay away from a liberty. I have one and its a disaster

 

The '95-2002 F250's with the Powerstrokes are probably the best truck Ford EVER built. I hate Ford, but I would definitely get one of those if I were in the market.

Meatloaf: Sammies are awesome, only problem is you have to rebuild them from the ground up to make them that way. One of my buddies has one. 8" lift, Dodge power ram axles and a Cummins 3B diesel conversion riding on 36"ers. I think that beast gets around 30mpg around town.