bkg
Explorer
$4k for head gaskets? You have a 6.0 powerstroke swapped in there or something? ?
Tired of Old Junk but no Interest in Newer 4x4s
- Thread starter Ozark_Prowler
- Start date
$4k for head gaskets? You have a 6.0 powerstroke swapped in there or something? ?
ThundahBeagle
Well-known member
That 3.5 liter engine, though...
My girlfriend had a Murano with the same motor. Go ahead and try to change the rear bank of spark plugs. You cant do that without taking the intake off. So, right there you open yourself up (pun intended) to damage and error, just to change plugs. And if they didnt have the exact right oil, they leak through the rings. Well, even if they did have the right Phil they tended to do that.
Donated it at something like 140 thousand miles because the car wasnt worth what it would cost a mechanic to set it right, and I didnt want to do it in the driveway
Todd780
OverCamper
Believe the Xterra was a 3.3L.
ThundahBeagle
Well-known member
Ah, the VG engine. The VQ is the 3.5. I see
Ozark_Prowler
Active member
Yeah the VG33 is a solid engine but it’s kind of a PITA to work on. You can easily spend the value of the car repairing those if you don’t wanna fix it yourself.
I still think the Xterra can be a solid budget platform though, if you find the rare one that hasn’t been flogged or neglected most of its life.
SheepnJeep
Active member
It has been said but I really recommend an XJ if you are thinking about another SUV. I have owned my Cherokee since 2005. It was my first car, and it had been totaled by our neighbors daughter so they passed it along to my family to repair. In fact it has been a little unlucky. A week after they brought it home it was badly rear ended. It was repaired and back on the road. The aforementioned daughter crash was into a pickup or something and it was totaled out. We replaced all of the front sheet metal etc and repainted the car at that time. My sister drove it to high school and then when I was old enough I started driving it. When I was in college I hit a deer at around 65 miles an hour and so it was wrecked again. Rebuilt again. I have driven it all over the country by this point. Lots of highway driving, lots of city driving, lots and lots of trail miles. Ignoring being crashed, I have installed coil packs, shocks, brakes and batteries of course, a radiator, and two alternators. That is all and I am not exaggerating. Practically never been parked inside. We tow with it pretty often. It has been exceptionally reliable and capable as you could ask for a vehicle. If the engine or transmission dies they can be easily replaced. There aren't really a lot of electronics to fail. If a tree fell on this car I would go out and buy another one without thinking twice.
If you wanted to get into a few mods, they are readily available. If you want to leave it stock, it is very capable. Excellent car and I could write a book about all of the great places it has taken me.
Too long and didn't read; My Jeep XJ has been wrecked badly 3 times, survived 3 highschool drivers and lots of abuse and lack of maintenance, and has only required a few hundred dollars in repairs over the course of 21 years on the road.
If you wanted to get into a few mods, they are readily available. If you want to leave it stock, it is very capable. Excellent car and I could write a book about all of the great places it has taken me.
Too long and didn't read; My Jeep XJ has been wrecked badly 3 times, survived 3 highschool drivers and lots of abuse and lack of maintenance, and has only required a few hundred dollars in repairs over the course of 21 years on the road.
ThundahBeagle
Well-known member
My boss has a second gen Xterra. We are both in IT but have been known to drive across country a bit. He keeps it in great condition. I'm sure they can be a good platform
Ozark_Prowler
Active member
Yea the second gen just had the SMOD issue and some timing chain failures I think. Other than that and raltoveky weak diffs, I think they’re pretty solid. In fact a 2013-14 Pro4X model would be up there on my list. I know they don’t have the same build quality as a LC, but they also aren’t as ancient and the engine is a lot stronger.
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
By not spend I assume you mean spend on payments then you are correct. Their salaries were not large. Engineers, accountants and teachers are the top 3 careers. One thing most had in common was they drive dependable used cars..
rruff
Explorer
By "good salary" I mean median or better. Probably a lot of business owners as well since it's easy to accumulate $1M in assets when you are self-employed (buildings, land, equipment). All the farmers where I grew up were millionaires! That's less than 100 acres of land, and you need a lot more than that to make a living at it.
And yes, you need to not spend everything you make... or more than you make. That's where most people fail. They get loans just to feed their consumer addictions. Nothing wrong with loans if they are for things that increase your productivity and income, or are otherwise intelligent leveraging.
$1M in net worth is simply not an elite category anymore. It doesn't mean you are rich, just "comfortably middle class in retirement"... usually.
And yes, you need to not spend everything you make... or more than you make. That's where most people fail. They get loans just to feed their consumer addictions. Nothing wrong with loans if they are for things that increase your productivity and income, or are otherwise intelligent leveraging.
$1M in net worth is simply not an elite category anymore. It doesn't mean you are rich, just "comfortably middle class in retirement"... usually.
4Run'nOnEmpty
Member
you don't have the budget for new, so it makes no sense to suggest anything new. assuming your old truck is paid off, it's literally earning you $1000/mo. You'd have to earn that to net the $700/mo pmt on a newer vehicle. so reinvest some of that into your old truck and start looking at it as cash cow, not a cash drain....
btw, toyotas are only expensive to fix if you're paying someone else to do it. learn how to fix stuff. watch timmy the toolman's videos on YT. it's not hard.
btw, toyotas are only expensive to fix if you're paying someone else to do it. learn how to fix stuff. watch timmy the toolman's videos on YT. it's not hard.