I currently have a lot of vehicles and I am down sizing. (I live in Central Pennsylvania)

1995 F150 centurion crew cab 4x4 = uses too much gas and will be sold soon

1999 civic coupe ex automatic = great daily driver in ruff condition body wise.

1991 Cherokee 5 speed 4x4= fun suv for the family and winter, also can tow 5,000 lbs which eliminates the need for the F150, also gets 19mpg consistently.

2002 windstar given to us from a family member, I put a lot of work into the manifold gaskets, tune up, front brakes, tires ect. My wife needs a daily to take the baby in so she will be beating around in this until it blows (It looks bad if I just sell it... looks like I took advantage of the family member) but since its a 3.8 automatic van with 120K I know the tranny won't last long with our mountains.

I am going to replace the windstar with a vehicle my wife can drive and take our daughter (2 months old currently) around in. With the snow and ice I would prefer a AWD, I really want a RTAWD civic but she hates them with a passion. She is okay with CRV's in SE trim though. What should I look for I have a budget of 5k but it has to be low mileage and super nice. I'd feel better with 130k 4k SE awd. Should I push the budget and look for a 2nd gen crv? I don't like their looks personally but if they are a lot better....

 

the first gens consistently go above 200k

Honestly aside from suspension related wear issues on a 14 year old car I feel like the only thing to really worry about on these cars is making sure the valves stay adjusted every 30k miles. There is a serious risk of them burning if you don't

Also you're looking for a SE which means you'll be looking for a later model that has more HP. 99-01 all have a 20hp advantage.

 

If you are going for a 1st gen, hold out for a 99-01 if you can. I have a 99 and a 98 and I much prefer driving the 99.
As far as miles/kms go. My 98 has 370xxxkm and the 99 has 307xxxkm. Neither show any signs of quitting any time soon.
Aside from wearable parts (suspension, bushings and brakes, doing a valve adjustment/timing belt etc) the b20 seems to go forever even if only somewhat maintained.
That all being said, if you can get over the uglyness of the 2nd gen, try and hold out. They will have more options, a better rear hatch assembly, timing chain vs belt and the more powerful k24a (which gets very similar gas mileage as the b20). I had a 2002 with 416xxxkms on it and I loved its power, heated mirrors, slightly better stereo but I could not get past the ugly ugly dash.
Either way you will be getting a suv that will be reliable, decent on gas and should go forever on the original engine/transmission.

 

Also look out for the cowl water leak, it's a simple fix but overlooked. Also make sure the timing belt has done. Good luck...