1st Gen Nissan Pathfinder as used Vehicle

[randedge]

I'm daydreaming of a beater that isn't.

What I mean by this is that sometimes, I dream of having a tough, durable used vehicle that although I may have acquired for cheap, still looks alright and has a lot of room. Primary candidate are some used fourbys like the 4runner and Pathfinder. Or pickups like the Pre-Tacoma Toyota Pickups and Nissan's Hardbody.

Toyotas have always had a good reputation and I have had good experience with their cars. The thing is that they're so pricey in the used car market. You can find cheap ones, but they're usually very high mileage. I guess that proves that A.) owners do love them and B.) they can go on and on.

Nissans on the other hand tend to be cheaper and, in the case of the Pathfinder, a lot more plentiful. Consequently, more of them are of lower mileage. The question then is this: Do Nissans, particularly their 4x4's just make poorer used vehicle purchase? Or is Toyota's inflated resale value merely what it has going for it?

Thanks.



(also posted in beyond)

[Masked Bandit]

I've owned two mileage Nissan trucks and one Pathfinder and there is a reason I kept buying Nissan. The quality was easily as good as the Toyota but for much less money. Yes, you will get less on resale but you will also pay less to purchase. You have to be careful of the odometer on the Nissans up to and including 1995. They gauge cluster was famous for packing in so there are lots out there with replacement clusters. If you get a dishonest seller it may look there are fewer kms on the machine than there really are. If the switch was done at a proper shop there should be a sticker inside the driver's door showing the date and odometer reading when the switch was made.

I actually miss my 1995 Pathfinder. It was a fantastic truck, a bit underpowered but great bang for the buck and realiability.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Those pathfinders have 2 serious problems, that is frame rot and their transmissions (auto or 5 speed)

If you can find one that doesnt have those problems then I would not worry about the small things beyond that.

[5000Audi]

stick with toyota... much better and more reliable..

nissans rust outt

[picmerollin]

^^ haha and toyota's are known for not rusting :rolleyes:

I am a nissan fanboy, but not without reason.

I had a 97 pathy that i rolled in untill it hit 350,000km's and it still fetched $3500 on kijiji when I unpgraded.

then I found myself needing a winter beast so I picked up a 95 pathy with 200,000 kms'. It is a little rusty on the fenders but this one has never let me down either and I picked it up for $1500. This is the style you seem to be most interested in (wd21). Frame is not too bad, and the automatic worked well. All I did after this was get some 15x8 rock crawler rims, tranny cooler and some nokian a/t tires, new shocks (2 beer install) and this truck was the best winter hauler!! , banff/jasper and golden all winter long- loaded up with boards and a mini bbq.

things to look for
1) frame rot, look in the rear wheel wells- this is where they rot out if it is an eastern vehicle or really old.
2) if its an auto, see how it shifts and the color of the fluid- if this is acceptable slap on a $70 tranny cooler (basically the factory uses the bottom row of the radiator as a trans cooler- this is prone to clogging and is not efficient) just bypass the stock cooler and the trans will shift like butter and last a very long time. I picked up the trans cooler @ bumper2bumper and it took 15 mins to install.

other than that I would treat it the same as any other cheap/old used car.

Parts are cheap and plentiful, but they get cherry picked real quick when one hits the wrecker.

I have just recently sold my 350z and picked up a xterra so my 95 is up for sale, I already have a deal pending and I think it is as good as done since the guy who offered to purchase contracts with my work and he has seen the truck daily so he knows what he offered on pretty well.

the main thing with these trucks besides the rust factor is maintenance, if the t-belt and water pump are done in the proper intervals you can expect years of trouble free driving.

I love toyota's also, but I do not think they are *always* worth the extra premium you have to pay for a used one. When I gave nissan a try with the 97 I have not looked back and will most likely always have a nissan truck to pull winter/extra duty.

I have learned alot about these trucks from the nissan pathfinder off road association ...check it out. http://npora.ipbhost.com/