2wd? Update - figuring out the transaction

[naomi 343]

A former coworker of mine offered to sell me her 2016 Honda CR-V with 14K miles, $500 under her dealership's trade-in offer. She had some neat stuff added to it and it's the second to highest trim level. Only thing is it's 2wd. I don't absolutely have to have AWD but most of the cars I've considered have been at least 4wd. Big detractor or nah?

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Do you drive in snow?

[naomi 343]

No. But could I with chains?

[Strike 3,957]

3 minutes ago, naomi said:

A former coworker of mine offered to sell me her 2016 Honda CR-V with 14K miles, $500 under her dealership's offer. She had some neat stuff added to it and it's the second to highest trim level. Only thing is it's 2wd. I don't absolutely have to have AWD but most of the cars I've considered have been at least fwd. Big detractor or nah?

You live in Sacramento.  Unless you regularly go to Tahoe you're fine.

[Strike 3,957]

4 minutes ago, naomi said:

A former coworker of mine offered to sell me her 2016 Honda CR-V with 14K miles, $500 under her dealership's offer. She had some neat stuff added to it and it's the second to highest trim level. Only thing is it's 2wd. I don't absolutely have to have AWD but most of the cars I've considered have been at least fwd. Big detractor or nah?

Oh and isn't this car fwd?  Honda doesn't make a lot of rwd vehicles.  My S2000 may be the last one they made.

[Gladiators 1,904]

I’m sure it’s FWD, so even in snow, you’ll be fine. 

[frank 2,144]

8 minutes ago, naomi said:

A former coworker of mine offered to sell me her 2016 Honda CR-V with 14K miles, $500 under her dealership's offer. She had some neat stuff added to it and it's the second to highest trim level. Only thing is it's 2wd. I don't absolutely have to have AWD but most of the cars I've considered have been at least 4wd. Big detractor or nah?

At least 4wd?

[Bier Meister 1,513]

how often are you going to tahoe in the winter?  helpful, but not necessary.... i had a low rwd in worse conditions, but used snow tires.

[naomi 343]

I haven't gone to Tahoe while snow is a factor, but theoretically it would be nice to be able to go to a few different spots where snow is a factor. It would likely be a rare occasion though.

When I did the KBB valuation for the trim she has, I had to custom select that it is 2wd because 4wd is the default. But she sent me a dealer printout she has with all the specs and it says 2wd.

[Strike 3,957]

2 minutes ago, naomi said:

I haven't gone to Tahoe while snow is a factor, but theoretically it would be nice to be able to go to a few different spots where snow is a factor. It would likely be a rare occasion though.

When I did the KBB valuation for the trim she has, I had to custom select that it is 2wd because 4wd is the default. But she sent me a dealer printout she has with all the specs and it says 2wd.

2wd doesn't mean rear wheel drive.  It's front wheel drive.

[naomi 343]

15 minutes ago, frank said:

At least 4wd?

As opposed to AWD. 

[Strike 3,957]

1 minute ago, naomi said:

As opposed to AWD. 

Ugh

[naomi 343]

2 minutes ago, Strike said:

2wd doesn't mean rear wheel drive.  It's front wheel drive.

Ahhh. 

 

Just now, Strike said:

Ugh

Lol.

[Fireballer 2,379]

2 minutes ago, naomi said:

As opposed to AWD. 

Awd and 4wd not the same. I have an older 2wd (fwd) CRV that does reasonbly well in a few inches of snow.

[Cdub100 3,380]

I'm confused. She's offering to sell you her vehicle for $500 what she paid for it or she went to the dealer to sell it and she's willing to sell it to you for $500 under what the dealer offered

[naomi 343]

Just now, Fireballer said:

Awd and 4wd not the same. I have an older 2wd (fwd) CRV that does reasonbly well in a few inches of snow.

That's why "at least" 4wd, if not AWD, was on my radar prior. My brother kinda favors me getting AWD.

But I didn't really connect 2wd = Fwd.

That's good to hear!

[naomi 343]

2 minutes ago, Cdub100 said:

I'm confused. She's offering to sell you her vehicle for $500 what she paid for it or she went to the dealer to sell it and she's willing to sell it to you for $500 under what the dealer offered

The second thing  I can see how that's not clear.

[Strike 3,957]

3 minutes ago, naomi said:

That's why "at least" 4wd, if not AWD, was on my radar prior. My brother kinda favors me getting AWD.

But I didn't really connect 2wd = Fwd.

That's good to hear!

2wd can mean fwd or rwd.  Either way it's two wheel drive.  But in this case it's fwd based on the specific vehicle.

[Cdub100 3,380]

5 minutes ago, naomi said:

The second thing  I can see how that's not clear.

Oh okay sounds like a really good deal if you're getting it for less than the dealer is willing to pay. If you don't have to deal with snow 2wd is totally fine. Also it's Fwd so you're good.

[naomi 343]

Thanks. I'm kinda excited about it. And if it can handle a few inches of snow as is, that's awesome. A rare need but nice to know it's possible. And I'm hoping with chains it's enough to go over the Sierras when there's chain restrictions. Not a deal breaker if not though.

ETA: just googled on that note. Sounds like some argue 2wd + chains is actually better than 4wd + chains.

[Bier Meister 1,513]

if you are not going up very often, you'  be ok with chains.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,626]

If it's snowing stay home. 

[SUXBNME 1,324]

If you really want to know about it in depth, you know who to call. 
If you want to hear it on a message bored, then I suggest you listen to Strike. He knows his sh1t and stuff 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

5 hours ago, SUXBNME said:

If you really want to know about it in depth, you know who to call. 
If you want to hear it on a message bored, then I suggest you listen to Strike. He knows his sh1t and stuff 

I am sure she will call you if she is thinking about focking a cat.

[listen2me 23 1,541]

FWD is fine in snow.

Tires matter much more.

People think 4wd is magic.  Unless there is an incline involved or you are trying to plow through feet of snow it hardly matters. 

What is 4wd going to do on an open highway if you hit a patch of black ice? 

 

[MTSkiBum 1,594]

People are babies now days. When I worked in the Yellowstone club(just outside Big Sky) I drove a Sentra or a Camry and never once did I feel unsafe. You are just as safe on slick roads and shallow snow in a FWD car as in an AWD car.

The majority of the days in the wintertime I was driving on either fresh snow or packed snow.

 

Theoretically you would be less likely to get stuck in deep snow or sand in an AWD car, but even that claim is dubious because there is no locking differentials or anything else to prevent the tires from spinning on an AWD car.

AWD is a marketing scheme.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Who really drives in the snow?  Seriously.   

[Strike 3,957]

3 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

Who really drives in the snow?  Seriously.   

Snowed for 3 days here this week.  Temps were in the 8-15 range most of the week.  So however many people live in Denver drove in the snow quite a bit this week.

BTW, regarding AWD/4WD compared to FWD.  In conditions such as we've experienced this week I see boatloads of people having trouble getting their FWD cars moving at intersections.  Even after the snow has ended if the temps are that low the road is icy.  My 4runner has no issues in those conditions but fwd, while better than rwd, is no picnic.  That said, if you know how to drive in those conditions fwd will still get you from point a to point b.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

3 minutes ago, Strike said:

Snowed for 3 days here this week.  Temps were in the 8-15 range most of the week.  So however many people live in Denver drove in the snow quite a bit this week.

BTW, regarding AWD/4WD compared to FWD.  In conditions such as we've experienced this week I see boatloads of people having trouble getting their FWD cars moving at intersections.  Even after the snow has ended if the temps are that low the road is icy.  My 4runner has no issues in those conditions but fwd, while better than rwd, is no picnic.  That said, if you know how to drive in those conditions fwd will still get you from point a to point b.

So the answer is the few people who live in truly snowy areas.  And even then they don't drive in the snow all that much.  4WD is the most overrated option on a vehicle.  Nice to have less than 1% of the time. 

[IGotWorms 3,310]

11 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

Who really drives in the snow?  Seriously.   

Most folks who live in northern climates?

[Strike 3,957]

15 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

So the answer is the few people who live in truly snowy areas.  And even then they don't drive in the snow all that much.  4WD is the most overrated option on a vehicle.  Nice to have less than 1% of the time. 

There are a lot of "truly snowy areas".  And this was one storm.  Our winter is just getting going.  While I did so during my first stint in Denver in the 90's, I would not live here without at least a fwd vehicle but to be ready for any possible weather condition I prefer having a 4wd vehicle.

In Naomi's case she should be fine with fwd because it will be serviceable for the occasions she goes to places like Tahoe.  I used to go to big bear/crestline all the time when I was younger in my gf's Sentra and it did fine.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

7 minutes ago, Strike said:

There are a lot of "truly snowy areas".  And this was one storm.  Our winter is just getting going.  While I did so during my first stint in Denver in the 90's, I would not live here without at least a fwd vehicle but to be ready for any possible weather condition I prefer having a 4wd vehicle.

In Naomi's case she should be fine with fwd because it will be serviceable for the occasions she goes to places like Tahoe.  I used to go to big bear/crestline all the time when I was younger in my gf's Sentra and it did fine.

I am not down on 4WD, just saying that by the time you really need it, very few people will ever drive in those conditions.  FWD is good enough for almost any condition that the average person will actually drive in.

Places like Denver and Rochester are outliers, but even those places have sufficient plowing to make roads most passable for FWD. 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

29 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

I am not down on 4WD, just saying that by the time you really need it, very few people will ever drive in those conditions.  FWD is good enough for almost any condition that the average person will actually drive in.

Places like Denver and Rochester are outliers, but even those places have sufficient plowing to make roads most passable for FWD. 

I can tell the difference in my FWD and AWD vehicles in the winter.  Mainly when it snows, but it is very noticeable.  Not a requirement, but most people around here have at least one vehicle that is AWD.  

[Hardcore troubadour 12,626]

If it starts snowing don't go out until the roads have been plowed. If you are out when it starts snowing go home. 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

1 minute ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

If it starts snowing don't go out until the roads have been plowed. If you are out when it starts snowing go home. 

I run into it when it starts snowing when I am at work and I need to get home.  I drive much better when I have AWD.  There are also plenty of times when it is snowing and things still need to happen. In those cases, AWD is pretty important.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,626]

9 minutes ago, Patriotsfatboy1 said:

I run into it when it starts snowing when I am at work and I need to get home.  I drive much better when I have AWD.  There are also plenty of times when it is snowing and things still need to happen. In those cases, AWD is pretty important.

I'm glad asshat Cuomo banned non essential people from being on the roads during a snow emergency.  Citizens need to stay out of the way. Unless you're going to the hospital stay home.  

[listen2me 23 1,541]

1 hour ago, TimmySmith said:

Who really drives in the snow?  Seriously.   

People that live where is snows.

There is a fresh half foot on the ground each morning on the winter.  Drive to work in blizzards.  

 

 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

4 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

I'm glad asshat Cuomo banned non essential people from being on the roads during a snow emergency.  Citizens need to stay out of the way. Unless you're going to the hospital stay home.  

A snow emergency is rare.  There are too many asshats out on the roads when it is not necessary, which is a separate discussion.  I do think that many people drive in AWD vehicles thinking that they can drive the same way in the snow.  It is not the driving portion, it is the stopping portion that they ignore.  Darwinism.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,626]

Just now, listen2me 23 said:

People that live where is snows.

There is a fresh half foot on the ground each morning on the winter.  Drive to work in blizzards.  

 

 

Not in NY

[listen2me 23 1,541]

5 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Not in NY

No not NYC it doesnt really snow there.

Snow is a daily occurrence in western ny from december till march.