I’ve mentioned my buddy Andy here before. He’s a top propmaster on big Hollywood movies, and he needs a new SUV. His 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee has 141,000 miles on it, and his mechanic tells him that the computer is dead. The Jeep has started stalling unpredictably, and safety has become an issue. I’ve been pushing Andy to buy a new SUV for the past two years, and it appears that the time has finally come.

Now, I don’t think that Andy would dispute the fact that he may be the most frugal person in Hollywood. That’s not a criticism, just an observation. It may be one of the secrets of his success, actually. As a prop guy, he has to spend other people’s money. And he is as frugal with the studios’ money as he is with his own, which means more money onscreen, and less waste. If you need a propmaster for your film, hire Andy.

That same frugality and care can drive you crazy in a friend, however. Andy will finally buy a new SUV, but he will put himself (and me, by extension) through the wringer making sure that he’s getting absolutely the right vehicle for absolutely the lowest price. He appears to have narrowed down his search to a few vehicles, with the leading candidate being the 2011 Kia Sorento. He has driven the Jeep Patriot, the Subaru Forester, the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V and the Mazda CX-7 during his quest. He will probably drive more.

Here’s hoping that Andy makes his decision soon, and that he buys a new SUV before his Jeep stalls out in an intersection — and before he drives me crazy.

Photo © Jason Fogelson

Narrowing down the field originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 19:25:05.

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