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Help me find the right model SUV for my $5k


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Gosh it could have been a lemon but my ex's mom bought one with 30k miles on it that had a clean carfax.:rolleyes: I ended up spending the next two years in their garage dating their busted ass Rodeo constantly fixing it instead of going on dates.:spin:

 

It was over a decade ago and I was doing B-series transplants on Honda civics at the time and the Rodeo was my personal nightmare. Maybe it was thrashed by the original owner. Maybe it was a "sunday job"... Maybe the idea of buying one TEN YEARS LATER fills me with a dread for your potential troubles.

 

Again, maybe we had a lemon. Wonder what consumer reports said about it.

CR shows terrible relaiability for the 01 and 02 Rodeos (last years with data.)

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Nope. Got caught up in other stuff this weekend and never got out to see it. Will go next weekend though for sure. Give what the dealership is asking for that Xterra, I think there's a very good chance it will still be there. :) But if not, something else will probably pop up.
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Nope. Got caught up in other stuff this weekend and never got out to see it. Will go next weekend though for sure. Give what the dealership is asking for that Xterra, I think there's a very good chance it will still be there. :) But if not, something else will probably pop up.

 

 

Let me know if you get the Xterra...... I have some crush washers (for oil drain bolt ) left over that I will give you....no good to me and stupid spendy from the dealer !!!.......but I'm keep'n the killer 1st aid kit..:lol:

 

I'll look around and see if I have anything else.....I miss my X.:cool:

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Why was the Durango producing sludge? From what I have read, the oil pick-up tube had an increddibly small hole, which plugged extremely easy and lead to engine failure. Just curious what led to sludging in the first place. Wasn't it poor maintenance?
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Thanks for the input, everyone. I bought an Xterra, year 2000, with 82k on it, for about $6,700. It's a couple grand more than I had in mind at first, but the more I looked at $5k vehicles, the more I started to worry about all the miles they had on them. So this seemed like a good compromise.

 

When we were negotiating, the dealer gave me a printout with the book value of the car with its options and mileage, and a two package was listed, which bumped it up by a couple hundred bucks. Which I noticed after I got home was not actually installed. D'oh. So I've asked the dealer if that was just an honest mistake that they'd like to set right, or... Well, you know.

 

I'm not sure what the two package is supposed to include, but if they'll just get me the hitch receiver I'll be satisfied - I just want to hang my bike rack off it, I don't expect to tow anything. We'll see.

 

I'll get some pics this weekend.

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Not worth it. Save your money for when something actually breaks, you will be glad you did.

This is great advice...the best actually.

 

Most success I've seen from SUV owners:

 

Buy a Jeep Cherokee for ~$2,500. When something breaks (or preemptively make repairs) upgrade to better than new. After market, OEM, parts are somewhat cheap if you know where to go. If you do the work yourself...you can make your money go far.

 

toyotas are POS. Motors run, but the rust out crazy. So do the Nissan but less so. I've actually bought some skid plates from owners of those vehicles (because they rusted out and trying to sell the few parts that didnt' rust) Can't argue with a Skid plate for $5...although I will have to modify it...but what is some simple welding.

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After reading a couple's adventure in a Land Cruiser around the world for two years, I have a newfound respect for those cars.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/have-never-had-adventure-150221.html

Apparently their expectancy in Congo before they are toast is 30-40K miles? NGO has contracts, they once considered Mitsubishi, after 4K miles they dropped them :lol:

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After reading a couple's adventure in a Land Cruiser around the world for two years, I have a newfound respect for those cars.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/have-never-had-adventure-150221.html

Apparently their expectancy in Congo before they are toast is 30-40K miles? NGO has contracts, they once considered Mitsubishi, after 4K miles they dropped them :lol:

The LCs that NGOs order are a ton better than the pedestrian American versions. Use to follow a company that advertised in a NGO publication call InterAction, which my father use to print. I did find it funny though that the plain white wrapper versions are more expensive...I guess it's the mechanical upgrades.

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XE. Manual trans. Thinking about putting in an LSD, looking into my options... I'm not going to mod it much, but the occasional one-wheel-drive might have to be fixed. :)

 

Is it the KA24DE motor or the VG33E? If its the VG33E our Nissan's share a common engine.

 

 

 

I'm not sure if its the same axle but the Pathfinders came with LSDs. You might be able to find one in the junkyard and swap it, but I'm not sure if the ratios are the same. I think the Xterra uses the Frontier rear axle, but I could be wrong.

 

Check out www.4x4Parts.com for LSDs and other aftermarket stuff.

https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/drive-train-limited-slip-differentials-c-165_303.html

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3.3L, I think its VG33E but not sure. There were Xterras with LSD so I figure I'll either get an OEM LSD or a locking diff from ARB. There's a rumor of a third option in a couple months, too.

 

And I've spent an unhealthy amount of time browsing 4x4parts.com already. :)

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