I have an opportunity to acquire (for a reasonable price) a 2007 Xterra w/151K miles. Yes, it’s old. Yes, it’s high mileage. But, it is single-owner, garaged, maintained according to schedule.
What’s the general consensus on, “at 151K it is waiting for catastrophic event” versus “regularly maintained by single owner has good odds.”
Or is it just a crapshoot?
Does the owner have full documentation on the maintenance?
@Donutman
What Make Is An Xterra?
Does it have a timing belt?
Do you mind revealing what the reasonable price is?
CSA
I’m not familiar with the xterra, but most engines will go past 250,000 miles if maintained properly.
Paying for a mechanic to assess the vehicle may be worth the while.
The only thing I would be sure of is weather the timing belt has been changed as to the manufacturers recommendation…if it is a belt and not a chain.
As long as this and the other maintenance items have been done regularly , I would consider the purchase.
If it does have a timing belt and not a chain, this should be changed ASAP.
If it was not changed, this could be a bargaining chip for you to get a lower price. It will cost about $1000 for this item.
Yosemite
Private party Edmunds price is around $6,000 - what do they want?
(It’s a Nissan SUV)
Owner is asking 6,500; Edmunds has it at 7,200. Owner claims to have all records, i have not been out to drive/see it yet, but for now I will “assume” that if he claims to have the service records, then he will be able to produce them when I ask for them.
Any 9 year old vehicle with 150K is a crap shoot. Definitely have a mechanic you trust inspect it (~$100 or so) if you think it’s in good shape once you get a look at it.
I had a 2005 bought new and its identical to the 07. It has a timing chain and they use plastic guides and the plastic guides on mine wore out before 20k. I wasn’t very happy with mine I ended up having a lot of problems with mine. I got rid of mine at 40k. I never had a vehicle that drank so much gas, you could literally watch the gauge move.
It really does not matter what kind of experience someone has had with a used vehicle of any brand at that age and mileage. It only matters what the vehicles condition is now and if you want it. The thing could run for a long time or have catastrophic failure on the way home.
I hope that the OP will correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall that the Xterra’s engine is supercharged (or perhaps turbocharged). Many owners of vehicles with “boosted” engines have a tendency to use that “boost” a lot–to the extent that the engine can be far more “aged” than its odometer mileage would suggest.
Does this vehicle have a supercharged or turbocharged engine?
If so, its engine could be far more worn-out than a normally-aspirated engine would be at the same mileage interval.
This has the 4.0 V6, no turbo. Seems to get 16-17 mpg or so on average, on Fuelly web site.
No experience w/that make/model, but a 9 year old used car with 150 k miles on can be something worth considering. If you like the vehicle’s other features I mean. I like that this vehicle has 150 K on the clock, since that means it has been driven a lot, and probably a lot on the freeway. That’s easy miles.
Before writing any checks
try to determine how the car has been used. If a lot of stop and go city driving, look for another.
try to determine if all of the suggested maintenance has been done, and done on schedule. If not, post what’s not been done here.
have your own mechanic double check it for you, at your mechanic’s shop.
The XTerra is just a less comfortable version of the previous generation Pathfinders. They share the same engine. XTerra can also be had with a manual.
As with any vehicle this old and that many miles…maintenance is key. How well it was maintained is going to tell how long you can expect it to last. The engine is very solid design…so is the transmission. The pathfinders and XTerra’s have been proven to be very very reliable. My Pathfinder went well past 400k miles before we finally sold it.
@VDCdriver The 2005+ Xterras all use a 4.0L variant of Nissans VQ V6. The first gen Xterras could be had with a supercharged V6. But it didn’t run much boost and was only good for around 30 HP over the non-supercharged model.
My brother’s cleaning lady has a Xterra . . . might be a little older than the one OP is planning on getting
It was a naturally aspirated V6. Old school, with a distributor. It had over 200k, and the engine still seemed to have decent power
I worked on it, and after I fixed it, I drove it to pick up some furniture. It got the job done, but I felt it wasn’t very roomy. Neither for cargo or passengers. I really didn’t like the second row of seats. Not very comfortable, IMO