Holy Xterra deals!

[Schattenjager]

I went with a buddy to the local Nissan stealership today to look at a 2006 4 door Tacoma TRD off road - it has 95K miles and they wont budge off the $22K asking price. It's really, really well taken care of and seemed like a solid deal, if not a great one.

Then I walked over to the new area while he was talking biz and I checked out the large number of 2012(!) Xterras sitting around. Sales guy walked up and told me an Auto 4WD S trim can be had for $7K off the window sticker - roughly $23K! Needless to say I grabbed my buddy and showed him what the same money could buy: brand new / factory warranty / easy financing.

He is a little leery of the Nissan products though. His wife had a Titan that blew three rear diffs - all under warranty, but dang, that is a problem. He also feels the Toyotas are better built / nicer materials and will wear better over time. I don't know about a Nissan over time, but Toyota does build a well screwed together rig. My two '97 Land Cruisers were immaculate without a squeak or sign of wear other than the seat.

Once he looked at the Xterra, I could see the wheels turning. Hell, mine were at that price point!

What advice would you folks offer him in this situation? Knowing him, the next rig will get an OME 3" lift, 33" Discoverers and an ARB bull bar. He is not extreme in his rig and is a very good driver.

Interested to read your thoughts.

 

[Slicky72]

Sounds like a no brainier to me. One has to wonder about his wife's driving style to grenade three diffs. The Nissan products are just as reliable as any Toyota. The Xterra is pretty spartan in the interior but if you are actually going to use it that is a plus.

 

[tacollie]

I was a Toyota snob until about 1.5 years ago when I started driving my girlfriends 06 Frontier. It has been a way better vehicle then my 05 Tacoma. I think Nissans are under rated and for the cost difference I would gladly take a Frontier or Xterra over a similar Toyota product. Tell him to drive one and go from there.

 

[Allof75]

Go for the Nissan. I would argue every bit as reliable and well built as a Toyota, but without the cost of the badge on the hood. Look how many hardbodies, pathies, Xterras, altimas, sentras, heck, pretty much everything are still running around and that's proof enough. My father had an Infiniti J30 which ran without a hitch for 130k miles when we sold it, my mom a Datsun pickup which couldn't be killed. Reliability and build is excellent. Xterras are a little spartan, but that just means less to go wrong!

The differential issue has been fixed, and if he can manage, I think he ought to swing for a PRO-4X, toss on better tires and a winch bumper and you've got yourself one nice Expo rig. :safari-rig:

 

[gorillamel]

If it makes any difference, I have a 2005 X with currently about 180,000mi on the odo and I wheel the crap out of it. Not easy wheeling- I'm talking Moab, rock crawling, smash body stuff. I still have my original stock axles/diffs. Oh, and I have the S model, so no locker for me either.

Example: Silver Crack @Moab on open diffs

 

[mrwizard]

I've been a 'Toyota snob' too...I like that phrase, it's a good description...until a few years back. Don't get me wrong, I love my Yotas, but man, the price is so over-inflated. Everything from the 80's til current are just plain overpriced. They're great, but they're not gold. Since then, I had a 2000 Maxima gifted to us and absolutely love it. My folks picked up a 2003 Frontier and a 2012 Rogue (they're the ones who gifted us the Maxima...bought it new, had all the service done at the dealership, my mum is the proverbial little old lady driver...when she handed me the keys, she also handed me a two inch notebook with every service record right down to oil changes). After borrowing the Frontier a bit and getting on a few camping trips with it, I'm sold. He had a Hardbody before that which also impressed me, but I was too stuck on Toyota to think twice about one. Now, Nissan's are just about all I'm looking at. They are seriously understated, underestimated, undervalued, and, best of all, underpriced. I'd look hard at one of those zero mile Xterra's before I picked up a 95k mile Toyota. It's a no brainer.

 

[mortonm]

This is exactly why I own an Xterra. When I went looking for trucks I started with the 3rd generation 4runner. As a kid my family had an 88' 92' and 96' 4runners.

As I looked at prices the Xterras were a few thousand cheaper for similar year and mileage.

Haven't looked back

 

[ryandavenport]

Another Xterra owner here. I have 150000 hard miles on my 2007 and it has performed exceptionally. I have only had to replace the fuel sending unit in it at 140000 miles and regular fluid changes. Your friend will love the truck and it will be reliable for him. Have him get on thenewx.org and look around some there. Lots of things you can do and still be under the Toyota price point.

 

[skibum315]

Heck, if he's willing to look used, and set on the lift/tires/bumper you're talking about ... he can probably do the whole shebang for the cost of entry on a 4Runner. Then the money he's saved can be put towards trips, or gas, or *gasp* kiddo's college fund.

I'd strongly consider looking for a manual, but that's due in part to a strong personal preference towards rowing my own ... but also, the Xterra/Frontier is one of the last smaller bodied, true body-on-frame vehicles out there (that's not a sports car) for which a manual is still available. With the demise of the FJ Cruiser that I've seen reported a few places, the only other option in that realm will soon be a Wrangler. Add to that, the fact that manuals ship with the D44 variant rear end (Nissan calls it the m226), and don't have to worry about the 'SMOD' problems the way that earlier ATs do (though again, easy fixes here ... the suggestion to peruse www.thenewx.org is solid).

If I were looking now, and planning to build a bit, I'd take the time look for a low miles (say <40-50k miles) S model with a manual trans ... actually, that's only if I were looking to replace my current '08 Offroad model (which has a manual). If I were going to buy another project, right now, it'd be a stripped down (possibly even wrecked, depending on damage) 2wd V8 Pathfinder ... but that's another thread entirely.

 

[drbandkgb]

Im not sure where you all are at but here is a killer Xterra for sale in CO... Guy just traded it in..
Full rack bumpers and snorkel
http://www.fortcollinsdcj.com/used/...llins-co-c98fb4380a0a0065015696b773cfeab2.htm

www.xterranation.org'

Here is the build of it.... http://www.xterranation.org/showthread.php?2671-MadMike-s-Brick

 

[Mojavejohn]

Man, I wish that I could say that I've had as good of luck as you guys.
I bought my son an '01 Frontier a little over a year ago. It's a 4X, xtra-cab, man. trans. with the 3.3 V6 in her. We bought her with 108xxx on the OD. (This replaced a '94 hardbody that was totaled). I, like you, saw how outrageous the prices are for a used Toy., and believed that a Nissan was every bit as good. Well 6G's later, I was wrong! Fuel system, ignition, exhaust and the list could go on. So, maybe I'm just unlucky, you never know how a used vehicle was treated, but that's my experience. I plan on keeping her now, she still looks good and now runs strong, so hopefully she'll hold up. We have 117,000 on her now. Two of my buddies at work had Titans and a Maxima and swear that they'll never buy another Nissan again (all three purchased new). I wish I'd of spent a little more dough up front and saved a lot down the road. Get the Toyota!

 

[nasko]

There is absolutely no guarantee that a Toyota with 95K miles won't need the work you mentioned. When buying a used car/truck there is a great deal of luck involved. I bought a 2005 Xterra with 127K kms. The only issue that I have seen is that the alternator is located rather low, so if you get stuck in mud/water it might get damaged. The throttle body is electronic so if water gets into it, it gets damaged as well. I would assume that this applies to all trucks that are stuck in over a meter of water and mud. I love my Xterra, I bought it for less than half of what I would have paid for a 4runner and has manual transmission. Cheers, my 2c.

 

[drbandkgb]

Ever car maker produces a few turds... Something about how the stars align up lol
I have owned 5 Nissans
07 Maxima - great car fun to drive but we did a have CVT issue.. Nissan replace at no charge
06 Frontier - Tornado killed it
01 Xterra - Fun build
00 Xterra - 230k still my toy
09 Xterra - Family cruiser mild build up

We have owned GM cars/trucks that have all had issues.. But I wont blame the whole company for the turd Cobalt we owned..

Like it was posted up above.. Some times when you buy used, You just never know how it was treated before..
And for the Titan, I havent read about any major issues since maybe the 06s.. That was a brand new truck with a company that
has never built that size vehicle before.. It was bound to have a few issues.. Still Nissan did a great job coming out of the box with a big V8
that at the time had more HP than anyone else..

I like Toyota stuff.. But lets not act like they havent had any issues.. Frame rot is a pretty large issue..
Seems like I remember s braking issue too..

Over all each maker will have a bug or two in the line up...

You take the good, you take the bad, The facts of life

 

[tacollie]

I know a lot of people who have had plenty of issues with Toyotas. My 05 Tacoma was a horrible excuse of a vehicle. I still think Toyota makes good vehicles and I feel the same about Nissan. I do think Toyotas get more credit than they should sometimes and I think Nissans get under rated.

 

[Schattenjager]

He went with the Nissan Xterra for a warranty and the 'newness of it.

I drove the 2013 Xterra and it is obvious why they are undervalued: in my opinion they are largely under built. Of course the motor was peppy and the tranny shifted fine. I'm sure the drive train will outlive the rest of the car. The interior's almost as bad as GM for cheapness. No thought to design. Some call it Spartan, I call it poorly executed. The materials are super cheap too. The tactile experience is a let down: cheap plastics, HUGE gaps with irregular seams, buttons that press as far into the dash / door panel as the move in their functional travel. The seat design and shape was poor and the cloth used to cover them, again, was cheap. Of course I get that all this adds up to a low price on a brand new bumper crop of mechanical options and a capable rig that will go a long time. I'm just not sure I would want it too.

Perhaps I should drive a GT-R and see if I feel that same about that one...