I purchased my 1997 Honda CRV "as is" from a used dealership in 2011 after my Toyota was totaled. I should have known it was not well-taken care of when I purchased it by looking at the worn tires and broken side mirror. But, a friend of mine owned a similar Honda CRV and I really liked how that one ran. So, I was quite hopeful that this one would be just as good. After pouring thousands of dollars into repairs to keep it going, the engine block finally cracked in 2015 and I gleefully traded it in for a much better vehicle.

I love the CRV. I got this car used so it had a couple dings, but aside from that, it runs like a champ. The engine is a strong V4, enough for towing a light trailer but also fuel efficient enough to be a daily driver. I generally get about 22 mpg in the city and 30 or more on the highway. The CRV handles well, I've taken it off-road and the handling was fine. In terms of maintenance, it's been about average. I've got about 60k miles on the vehicle now and it's still going strong. The tires are fine, but I can definitely feel the road. I think the suspension could be a little more robust, but overall it's a comfortable ride. The visibility is a little hard. The windows for the driver sometimes block views going around curves, which can be annoying, but it's not a deal breaker. The seats are heated and the internal control panel is simple to understand and navigate. The dashboard has some odd settings in terms of which controls impact what systems, but it only takes a day to get used to it. Lastly, the Bluetooth and sound system are pretty good. The only negative is that the microphone in the car is older and sounds a little hallow to people so I find it's easier to pickup calls than use the onboard Bluetooth.