Trucks.

[Bobby Stainless]

Let's talk reliable used budget-friendly options from the early 2000's era.

The roof on my Taco ('97, 148k) is starting to rust, so my plan is to cash out the value I have left in it and make a lateral move into something else. Based on what they're going for used around here I should be able to sell it for $5-6k. A larger back seat than you find in an extended cab compact pickup is also going to become necessary as my son gets older (just turned 6). We bought the wife a new car last year and then incurred a bunch of medical debt, so I can't afford to finance a whole lot.

I'm looking to spend no more than $8k and hopefully keep it under 150k miles. Real real hi/low 4x4 preferred but not a must. Been looking at Xterras pretty hard, but apparently the MPG isn't much better than a lot of full-size trucks. The SMOD issue also means automatic trannies must be avoided at all costs in the '05-'10 model years, and the MTs are a lot less common. Thoughts? Am I remembering correctly that the early 2000's were kind of the low point for quality/reliability from Detroit?

2001-2003

[sb]

Meh- it has some classic lines to it. Looks much better in person, I think.


Classic Belugas:

ScottyB approves this message.

[The Tortoise]

Good call on the Pathfinder/QX4.

As long as there is no rust that generation is bomber. My dad owned two, a 2001 and 2003 that he drove for 400,000 km between them (150k and 250k).

The 2003 had issues like the 6 CD player breaking and the power driver's seat failure but mechanically it was rock solid. Might be best to get a lower range trim so there's less shit to go wrong.

[Dantheman]

Any Explorer owners present? This thing looks pretty sweet. I can't drive until the weekend though.
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2647354?ad_cid=4

Drove an 06 xterra tonight. It had the 6 speed MT which is a pretty sweet transmission. $7k, 136k, super clean, new tires, only downside was that it's yellow. Very tempted to go for it.

[Cruiser]

That's a good vintage of xterra. The 4l and 6spd team up pretty darn well. I had an 08 for a few years and really enjoyed driving it.

[bodywhomper]

Is that the limited edition "tonka" trim?!!!

[dfinn]

Any Explorer owners present? This thing looks pretty sweet. I can't drive until the weekend though.
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2647354?ad_cid=4

Drove an 06 xterra tonight. It had the 6 speed MT which is a pretty sweet transmission. $7k, 136k, super clean, new tires, only downside was that it's yellow. Very tempted to go for it.

Mike D (springsproject) is selling his pathfinder, maybe you guys could work something out.

[Dantheman]

Is that the limited edition "tonka" trim?!!!

The HIDs are a bit much, but it looks better than stock IMO.

[Bobby Stainless]

Rear end is a problem on those Exploders.

[Dantheman]

Rear end is a problem on those Exploders.

Diff? Suspension? All of the above?

[gravitylover]

I thought that diff problem was only on first gen Exploders.

[DBdude]

Any Explorer owners present? This thing looks pretty sweet. I can't drive until the weekend though.
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2647354?ad_cid=4

I don't know if I would pay 6k for a explorer with a 150K

Pretty sure you can get a similar rig with half the mileage for 10k

[DBdude]

I thought that diff problem was only on first gen Exploders.

I think it was gen 2

gen 1 were bomber rigs. I ended up with one and when I scrapped it, it was at 225K

[east or bust]

Wanna talk about exploding rear ends? Look no further than the GM G80.

That said, I'm not a cousin fucker doing burnouts so mine still works fine.


Dan, no love for a mid 2000's Tahoe? If well maintained they hold up great.

[adrenalated]

Dan, no love for a mid 2000's Tahoe? If well maintained they hold up great.

We blew up 4 rear diffs on a 2000 Tahoe in the two years we leased it. Yes, we were towing, in the mountains. However we towed the exact same trailer with the exact same frequency on two different late 90s Tahoes with no issues.

No love here.

[Dantheman]

Dan, no love for a mid 2000's Tahoe? If well maintained they hold up great.

That's why I asked, I'll check those out. I sure did like that 6spd though.

Speaking of the Xterra, bit of a wrinkle today. I was going to drive it over to BobMc's shop to have them check it out, and as we're making plans for me to pick it up the seller tells me it's not registered. DMV says they don't have any kind of temporary tag they can issue for this situation. Looks like the only option is for the seller to pay the full fee to register it, and then I'd get to pay in full again a few days later. What a bunch of bullshit.

edit: Just got off the phone with them, they're going to drive it to Bob's and my bank for me unregistered w/o plates. Per DMV registration is $120, I don't know what the fine for driving an unregistered vehicle is but I bet it's a lot more than that....

[Bobby Stainless]

Diff? Suspension? All of the above?

Rear diffs were an issue on that body style. I'd would stick with Japanese, if you are looking at 100K+ mile rigs.

[east or bust]

We blew up 4 rear diffs on a 2000 Tahoe in the two years we leased it. Yes, we were towing, in the mountains. However we towed the exact same trailer with the exact same frequency on two different late 90s Tahoes with no issues.

No love here.

What were you towin?

[adrenalated]

What were you towin?

20' enclosed trailer. Can't recall the weight, but it was somewhere around 60% of the rated towing capacity. Maybe as much as 75%.

Not saying we weren't putting big demands on the truck, but we definitely put the same demands on an older version of the same truck and didn't have issues. So the early 2000s Tahoes don't get a good vote on reliability from me. Might be fine under normal use, not sure.

[basinbeater]

Dan, too bad you didn't spot that Cruiser basinbeater just scored in your area, that looks like it was a kickass deal.

I respectfully disagree.

[basinbeater]

However, I now have a 2004 4runner sr5 4wd for sale... It has 2013 Fj cruiser trail team springs and shocks on it for a slight lift of about an inch. If you don't think an inch makes a difference, ask your wife.
160 on the v6, gets 19-20 mpg on the freeway. 2 sets of tires. Has been a child to daycare delivery vehicle on i80 the last few years. Just got a new pioneer touchscreen stereo and front speakers installed at xmas.
$8500 it's yours... I'm in the avenues now.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Drove an 06 xterra tonight. It had the 6 speed MT which is a pretty sweet transmission. $7k, 136k, super clean, new tires, only downside was that it's yellow. Very tempted to go for it.

I just sold the same truck (in grey, Off Road trim, 125k miles) for $8k. I owned it for 5-6 years and it was bomber, no break downs, just regular service and never a single headache. MPG's are bad and it's really tall, but if my current commute was shorter and I had taller garage doors I'd still be driving it.

If I remember right the factory clutch might have been kinda crappy in the '06? Mine had been replaced by the first owner so I never had an issue, but I'd look into that.

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion...ssion-problems

[Mazderati]

Own a piece of the T. Shitty Detroit from the sounds of it, but the rest of the 4WD drivetrain looks built for nuclear warfare. Sprinters and Transits, eat your heart out.

[funkendrenchman]

Those Xterras are a good value.

[iceman]

So I want to put 285's on my '04 Silverado 2500 HD. The current 265's are shot and have always looked a notch small. Fitting 285's requires lifting the front end a little, I can buy the torsion keys from Rough Country for $99 and it's supposed to be an easy job. Do I have to buy new front shocks? I spent almost 5 whole minutes on another forum trying to figure this out and I got bored so help me out.