My 2013 Nissan Rogue was my first car back in 2015. It was bought by my family so I could commute to college and later on my job. Over the course of five years and 50 thousand miles (72k total), I have never had any major issues with the car. Sometimes the car does weird things like the transmission hitching or making whining noises when accelerating. Oddly enough I have learned that simply letting go of the gas pedal and letting the car coast for a hundred feet or so seems to remedy the issue. It never happens consistently but I have gotten very used to it. I have read online that this model year is the worst for all Rogues especially for the transmission. Recently I've noticed the noises I hear are louder and a bit more impactful. This has compelled me to want to sell the car before it becomes a money pit. 

I have a Carvana offer of $7,700 for my Rogue and I could comfortably take some money from my savings to total my budget to $9k preferably less. I am also recently unemployed but I have enough saved up to sustain me for a while as I look for a new job towards 2021.

I've been doing my research about what used car I would want to buy if I sold the rogue and I've sort of become entranced with Lexus cars from the 2000's. I test drove a 2007 es350 today and while I loved the car from the outside, the driving experience was just not what I wanted. I didn't have enough headroom (I'm 6' tall), I thought the steering was too light, I was slipping around in my seat, and I had to slam on the brakes to fully stop the car at a light. I thought the visibility was great and so was the engine, but I was disappointed with the car being just out of my ideal range for comfort in relation to my height. I'm used to my Rogue's brakes that I rarely need to bottom out and I think I like having rear wheel drive more than front (only after testing the 2007 es350). My goal is to own a car with a solid feeling that's quality built, and that I cant really feel that it fits me. The more research I do, the more I look towards Lexus (maybe the newer models more than the 2000's?).

So in summary I'm really overwhelmed and while I think it would be wise to sell my Rogue, I think it also could be wise to ride it out with my Rogue and save the money for a newer car like a Lexus (2014 Lexus IS 250 really interests me). Really hoping that someone will suggest a car and it will turn out to be a match made in heaven.