Opinions needed: Xterra, or alternatives?

hansolex

New member
I'm about two months away from making a purchase, and after crawling this site until the wee hours of the night and spending weeks obsessively searching thru Craigslist to get a sense of what my budget will allow, I think I need to get out of my own head and let the ExPo community weigh in about vehicle selection.

I keep coming back to the first-generation, non-supercharged Xterra for the combination of purchase price and capabilities, as well as reliability (not Toyota-level, but ok, according to ExPo owners). Also, it's a newer vehicle and so has some of the safety equipment that is important to me. A quad-cab Frontier would be neat, but they seem hard to find. Xterras in nice shape seem to ring in at less than $6k with reasonable (<200k) mileage, and that'd give me some wiggle room for adding stuff and handling maintenance.

Let me try to summarize my limitations and needs:

1. My total initial budget, including any modifications or upgrades, is $8k (US). This will be near Seattle (I'm moving back from Michigan).
2. Use will be mainly camping, fire service roads and other light offroading situations, and occasionally an ORV park. Likely won't tow, likely won't bolt on a lot of heavy equipment like a RTT. Four real seats would be nice.
3. I'm fine putting in elbow grease doing deferred maintenance and cleaning up little things, but I don't want a project. Mechanical skills are decent, don't have fab skills. Basically I'm not comfortable rebuilding an engine myself, but I could swap out a transmission.
4. This won't be a commuter, it'll be a 3rd vehicle. That being said, I'd like to feel comfortable taking kids or my GF along. Dual front airbags and side impact door beams seem like a minimum for me.
5. Definitely want a manual. Not really interested in automatics.
6. Not a power junkie. Used to slow vehicles. Prefer the simplicity and easier engine bay access of a four to a six, in general.

I'm thinking that, in terms of upgrades, I probably won't go much further than skid plates, a mild lift, and slightly larger than stock KO2s or Grabber AT2s. Can't see spending the coin on an air locker until I figure out if it's something I could really use. I do think a winch would be a useful upgrade that I'd save up for after getting the truck.

So, TL;DR, I could spend more on a Toyota (like an early Tacoma or late pickup) and have less coin to play with. Or get a later Nissan and have to deal with their issues, like VG33 timing belts and cracked exhaust manifolds. Anyone able to make a strong case either way?
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
Jeep XJ. These are a bangin mid-sized vehicle good for hauling a significant something, misc offspring, a furry creature, and some stuff. A solid power train in the later years and the engine is legendary for low end grunt and longevity. Decent but not stellar highway mileage, cheep parts, and they clean up pretty nice when you get around to the mild lift, bigger tires, bling bling in general.

Like most things jeep after market support is ridiculous. I can walk into my local Jeep supplier with a big enough credit card and walk out with a complete Jeep built solely from aftermarket parts, lacking only a title.

The only thing I'd reconsider is the auto. The XJs have a solid auto and they're plenty peppy with it. There's a '94 at my shop that I bought about 12 yrs ago with 148k for $400 because of a cracked head (bought it for parts) that turned out to be just a leaky water pump. I eventually sold it to a guy at my shop, that sold it to his sister, then bought it back, and then sold it to another guy at my shop. It's got 278k on it now, all on the original drivetrain with no major maintenance.

If I were in the market for a small to mid suv, I'd be on another XJ like stink on a skunk.
 

hansolex

New member
Thanks. Maybe I should put the XJ back on my radar. I definitely have an affinity for Japanese trucks, and I just sold a low-mileage 2003 Blazer 2-door that had a bunch of little issues that drove me nuts. The brand new oil hoses for the remote oil filter started seeping immediately, the blower fan resistor failed immediately after replacing it, heater core kept clogging up ... it was making me crazy. I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking the Blazer out of cell signal range for fear of it lunching something important unexpectedly.

Then again, XJs are cheap and underappreciated in the PNW. I'll definitely consider it, but I'd prefer something Japanese. Thanks for the input tho. (And for giving me the excuse to crawl a bunch of XJ ExPo build threads :D.)
 

Robert Bills

Explorer
I own a 2005 Xterra and find it quite capable for the style of offroading I do at this stage of my life and for daily use as well. [I come from 4 decades of jeep ownership.] If you are interested in an Xterra my advice would be to focus your search on 2005+ model years. The "second generation" is entirely different - better suspension, more powerful engine, etc. There are things to look out for in Xterras (as with everything else). Do your homework before you start shopping. You will find a wealth of knowledge at www.thenewx.org.
 

emtmark

Austere Medical Provider
Came from a full size blazer to a second gen Xterra haven't regretted a thing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

4x4junkie

Explorer
I'd definitely look at an Xterra long before a 4Runner just because of the artificially inflated prices Toyotas fetch in the used market. The Xterra does seem like just as good of a vehicle to me.
Jeep Cherokee XJs are popular, though are not near as big on the inside as their size suggests (and lacking a frame they suffer a lot more from body flex issues).
You might also keep the Ford Explorer on your radar (1st-gen or 2nd-gen)... The Explorer beats almost everything else when it comes to durability & value (good sturdy chassis, very solid 4.0L OHV V6, comfortable spacious interior, decent amount of aftermarket, extremely easy to source parts for if needed). Explorers do have one weak spot, the auto transmission, but since you mentioned wanting a stickshift, this would be a non-issue (though it can also be made a non-issue by simply adding a good external auxiliary cooler on the return line, as their running too hot is the general cause of the auto's somewhat high failure rate).


... I just sold a low-mileage 2003 Blazer 2-door that had a bunch of little issues that drove me nuts. The brand new oil hoses for the remote oil filter started seeping immediately, the blower fan resistor failed immediately after replacing it, heater core kept clogging up ... it was making me crazy. I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking the Blazer out of cell signal range for fear of it lunching something important unexpectedly.
Those sound much more like issues related to low-quality (chinese?) replacement parts than problems with the design of the vehicle... The clogging heater core likely means there was crap floating around in there, which a complete system flush with solvent or disassembly & cleaning likely would've fixed. But I guess that's all here nor there now.
 

hansolex

New member
Those sound much more like issues related to low-quality (chinese?) replacement parts than problems with the design of the vehicle... The clogging heater core likely means there was crap floating around in there, which a complete system flush with solvent or disassembly & cleaning likely would've fixed. But I guess that's all here nor there now.

The fan resistor is just a bad design from the factory. It worked on the two highest settings so I stopped messing with it. The heater core was entirely a Dexcool problem, and switching it over to a regular ethylene glycol coolant solved that. There was a lot more than I listed ... basically I lost trust in the truck. Shoddy parts and flawed designs everywhere you looked. Have you seen the spider injector on a 4.3? But yes, I did permanently fix all of the problems: I sold it!

You're totally correct about the Toyota premium. I'd blow my whole budget to get a 250k mile 4Runner with issues. Not going to do that.
 

Triplesnake

Adventurer
I'd say a first gen Xterra is a fine choice. We have a manual 4x4 '01 we bought new and now has over 200k on it. For many years, it was our primary camping/hunting//mountain biking/outdoor adventure vehicle, as well as my wife's DD. It has spent a lot of time on the beach, down forest service roads, towing my boat and camper, and driving on our hunting lease. In all of these situations it performed very well. I've never gotten it stuck, nor has it ever left us stranded. Since we bought it new it has been through a couple of alternators (they don't like being dunked in salt water, LOL) one clutch, one radiator, and last year we had to replace the head gaskets. All of those situations except the clutch, it was easy enough to work on that I was able to do it all myself in my driveway.
 

AdventureHare

Outfitting for Adv
As someone who has lived in MI and now lives in The 206, you need to take into account that you're going to be paying sales tax here (8.5%-10%), unless you pay it somewhere else and have the docs to prove it (bill of sale and tax receipt from state). Buying in the PacNW will mean a rust-free car.
Monteros and XJ's are inexpensive here. You can also find a decent KJ within your range. Xterra's are more expensive, especially the 2nd gen, and thus aren't as good of a value. 4Runners are way out there. WJ's are really the best value, IMO, if you can live with the lack of MPGs.
Vehicles are cheaper down in OR and thus tend to be a better value. If you buy from a dealer around Portland, they're able to give you the WA registration and pay your taxes.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Good friend has the Xtera. Great truck. His big complaint is the stock drive line, its not the typical truck drive line its set up like a cv joint. This caused issues when he lifted it. He had to source a custom drive line more of an annoyance and added cost than anything. Out side of that solid truck, lousy mileage but solid other wise. He said its Xtera or 4runner thats really the only two machines playing in the same game regarding size and off road ability etc. Thats not Jeep.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
There's a guy named Paul, site staff on ar15.com, sometimes posts some pics and info in their Outdoors / survival / prepper forum, he's got an XTerra, part of an off road club with frequent outings into CA high deserts. He's sung the praises of the XTerra often and his pics seem to show it getting the job done in a lot of interesting terrain. He has a few nice mods on it and it looks pretty good.


http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1529974_Are_Nissan_Xterra_s_chick_SUV_s_.html

ShrockingPaul.jpg
 

outback97

Adventurer
Last edited:

Robert Bills

Explorer

I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading that thread that I will never get back. It reads like a bunch of 15-year-old car "experts," misogynists and bigots trying to be witty but coming across as only half that.

If you want to know about Xterras as offroad rigs you should look someplace other than www.ar15.com. Try www.TheNewX.org, www.XterraNation.org and www.ClubXterra.org for a start.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
look, that link was just to direct to ar15/Paul, so interested folks could find his other more detailed topics on the vehicle and his offroad excursions. It wasn't meant as a 'proof' of anything, so kindly stuff your maladroit criticism.
 

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