I'm looking at various ranges of pathfinders from 1998-2003, or 2002-2003 QX4 for a third family car for our 17 year old to use mainly, with the hope of having a car that will last us 8-ish more years. Wondering about the rust issue. A lot of these vehicles have rust, so I'm wondering if you have any tips as to how to assess this, what to stay away from, etc when it comes to rust. How likely am I to find one without visible rust? I plan to have the vehicle tested by a mechanic I trust once I have it narrowed down to one, but narrowing it down is a challenge... Your advise/thoughts please? Thanks!
FYI- I live in the Lower Mainland BC.
1998-2003 pathy advice
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barnaclebob
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:55 pm
- Car: 2001 Pathfinder LE
2011 Altima SR
Re: 1998-2003 pathy advice
Read the post in one of the stickies about the rust recall and a few of the other various issues these cars can have, it shows pictures of areas that shouldn't have rust. Take it on a high speed test drive up to about 75mph and hit the brakes pretty hard to make sure no new vibrations show up in the suspension or brakes. The cars resonance with its wheels is somewhere around 65-70mph so that's where a lot of vibrations can come out.
Encourage your 17 year old to do as much maintenance as possible on it. These cars are very easy to do routine maintenance such as fluid changes, brake jobs, and what not. Learning how to do maintenance will save him thousands of dollars over his lifetime and give him a position of power when it comes to having a mechanic work on the car.
Encourage your 17 year old to do as much maintenance as possible on it. These cars are very easy to do routine maintenance such as fluid changes, brake jobs, and what not. Learning how to do maintenance will save him thousands of dollars over his lifetime and give him a position of power when it comes to having a mechanic work on the car.
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Buzzman
- Posts: 2079
- Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:35 pm
- Car: 2016 Lexus RX 350
2023 Kia Stinger Elite V6 AWD.
Re: 1998-2003 pathy advice
If you can afford it, look for a 2002 or newer.
In 2001 they switched over to the 3.5 engine, but it had teething problems in it's first year of production.
Prior to that, it was grossly underpowered.
If you find what you think is a good unit, run the VIN at a dealership and see if all the recalls were done, especially the strut tower.
Do a thorough inspection underneath the truck. Too much rust, then walk away.
In 2001 they switched over to the 3.5 engine, but it had teething problems in it's first year of production.
Prior to that, it was grossly underpowered.
If you find what you think is a good unit, run the VIN at a dealership and see if all the recalls were done, especially the strut tower.
Do a thorough inspection underneath the truck. Too much rust, then walk away.