or car accessories... Just stop. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Why? Because I would be the person who would suggest a 28lb lighter tire set vs another tire... Right now I'm thinking about my neighbor getting a Mazda CX-5 sport automatic. Right now she has a Chevy Venture that..... is a bit long in the tooth. Yes it starts and goes, but it barely stops, and the maintenance is .... well it's getting expensive for someone who can't really spend a lot on it to begin with. Considering that the Mazda CX-5 would cost in the low $30k range for 5 year cost to own but that's with a much longer average life out of a new car rather than putting a design from 1996 on life support. The only add on that I would ask be put on the car from the dealer besides the normal stuff (All weather floor mats, a cargo cover, and fog lamps) would probably be a large (11" by 8"?) transmission cooler and a smaller oil cooler. Why? Well if you go on forums, you can see a good amount of people complain that a Mazda transmission isn't the most robust thing in the world once the fluid gets hotter than normal, and then you begin to have transmission problems all over the place. Well seeing as how this is a school teacher budget that can't really have anything over $20k, then a certified preowned vehicle is probably the best way to go, however, there's nothing really out there that has the fuel mileage of the CX-5 with the safety and ease of maintenance. Maybe an older Toyota RAV-4 or a Honda CR-V, but the negligible amount of depreciation with those models makes those about the same price as the CX-5 for the price of new. Even a 2010 CPO CR-V around here is more than the cost of a CX-5, and forget a 2012 model. Those are north of $26k around here and I can't see her buying that. Now if it were me, I could see buying a sport with the stick and asking the people to put the tan cloth seats, along with a secondary transmission cooler of course. I mean yes mine would more than likely be a stick, however, I like longevity as well as involvement. What are your thoughts guys? Repair the Venture, or look at a Mazda CX-5 2.0?