Advice Please - Is this a good deal? 2000 Pathfinder SE w/ 47k km's.

[albertaboy]

My wife is in need of a new vehicle. We came across a one-owner, 2000 Pathfinder SE, w/ 47k original km's. Beautiful condition. Sunroof, Bose stereo, etc.

They want $13.4k. They started at $14,999 and I got them down to $13.4 including tax, etc.

Is this a good deal? She literally will drive <10,000 km's/year, so I think it'll last forever.

It has the smaller engine 3.3 L. Drove it and it seemed okay. Not as peppy as my I35, but certianly more get-up than her Explorer.

Everything I read is positve with the exception of the gas mileage. Is the gas mileage awful?

Any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated. Really just looking for someone to tell me I'm not making a mistake...

Thanks!

[SVTCOBRA]

I had an 01 4x4 5mt and 03 4x4 AT and both got exactly what it was rated on the window sticker. No more, no less.

I would check Cars.com and Autotrader.com for comparison.Also, would check KBB and pay between trade in and private party.....with gas prices the way they are, would shoot closer to trade in!!!!

[Qxxx4]

thats a steal. go for it you wont be sorry especially at 47k kms itll literally last you forever

[jimmyzzer]

i know that here in florida with the gas prices they are having a hard time to sell suv's,they dont even want to take them on trade.I would look at ebay just to compare to see what the bidding is up to on one close to the one your looking at.

[albertaboy]

Thanks guys. I have looked everywhere, and I suppose that's what's causing the troubles. I haven't seen anything with that low km's. It is a little bit higher priced than other Pathfinders from the same year , but most from the same year that I've found have nearly 3x the km's.

Really appreciate the advice.

[Qxxx4]

gas mileage isnt TOO bad. my parents have a land rover discovery with a v8 and thats bad. Consider the mileage being twice that of a honda civic. On mine i get 12L/100km on a good week. and driving aggressively the worst i ever got was 15L/100km. If gas mileage bugs you then take off the roof racks, cargo cover, even back seats (then your wife can shop more) The reliability of these SUV's completely overrules the gas mileage issue in my opinion, but if you plan to drive 40,000kms a year, then reconsider. Im a college student and work full-time in my field between semesters and yes gas hurts but unlike my friends whose ford countours and dodge neons that are constantly in the shop....i actually save money. Plus i only put about 15,000kms a year so why not spend a little more on gas to drive in STYLE!!!

The only real issue about the 3.3L's (if you havent read the forums yet) is they need timing belt service at 160,000kms and good idea to do water pump too...it costs around a grand i hear.other than that the engine is nicknamed *bulletproof* haha i love nico.

[MagicM]

That is too expensive imo, you could find a 01+ pathfinder with the 3.5 Liter which has more power, and better mpg for the same price. As long as the service records are there 47K Km or 100 shouldn't matter, as i drove mine for over 210,000 km and the only thing i ever changed on it was a maf sensor and brakes/tires. In fact at todays market you could find a nice 01+ QX4 in that price range.

[albertaboy]

Thanks for the feedback. Respectfully, I have looked everywhere in Calgary, Vancouver, and the Island, and haven't seen anything close (price:km ratio-wise).

Where would I look to find a '01+ Pathfinder or QX4 for the same price?

I don't agree with you with-respect-to a 47k km vehicle being the same as a 100k km vehicle. Both are still good, yes, but the math just doesn't make sense...

Thanks.

[MagicM]

Thanks for the feedback. Respectfully, I have looked everywhere in Calgary, Vancouver, and the Island, and haven't seen anything close (price:km ratio-wise).

Where would I look to find a '01+ Pathfinder or QX4 for the same price?

I don't agree with you with-respect-to a 47k km vehicle being the same as a 100k km vehicle. Both are still good, yes, but the math just doesn't make sense...

Thanks.

I would take a 100K car with a full service record over a 47k with none that's what i mean . have you tried the Truck trader book? sometimes you can find deals in it. If you look hard enough i'm sure you could find it, I sold my 01 LE pathfinder for 10,500 and that was a few years back, so as they are older now you should be able to find a 01+ with around 100k on it within your price range.
Modified by MagicM at 9:27 PM 8/10/2008

[MagicM]

I just checked my Nissan dealer they have 2 2003 Nissan pathfinder in the 15 K price range(1 with 101K, and another with 117k),with today's terrible SUV market you can probably knock them down to 14 maybe even high 13's. You would be getting full Nissan certified car with full inspection and some type of warranty on it. Being a 2003 you'll be getting a much better engine and it's the end of 2nd gen pathfinder so you'll be getting most of the option/fixes on it. If dealers are offering those kind of prices for a 3 year newer pathfinder vs a 00 there's no doubt in my head that there is 01-02 in the mid 11-12 range from privates. Please do not buy that 13K for a 2000 even with 47 K is down right RIP OFF, i would hate for your wife/you spend all that when you could of gotten better for the same price. 47K kilometers VS 100 shouldn't warn you off, like i mentioned before i had 210,000 on mine No problem, and it had another 200,000 on it easy, extremely reliable truck.

Stadium Nissan has a 2003 with 125k on it and it's only 12,995 you could knock them down to the 11's!!.
Modified by MagicM at 7:09 PM 8/10/2008

[screwinitupagain]

Thanks guys. I have looked everywhere, and I suppose that's what's causing the troubles. I haven't seen anything with that low km's. It is a little bit higher priced than other Pathfinders from the same year , but most from the same year that I've found have nearly 3x the km's.

Really appreciate the advice.

Same here in NC. That can't give away Pathys! Hell its a small SUV that gets crap gas milege. Since mine is paid for I don't care about gas mileage.

[albertaboy]

I just checked my Nissan dealer they have 2 2003 Nissan pathfinder in the 15 K price range(1 with 101K, and another with 117k),with today's terrible SUV market you can probably knock them down to 14 maybe even high 13's. You would be getting full Nissan certified car with full inspection and some type of warranty on it. Being a 2003 you'll be getting a much better engine and it's the end of 2nd gen pathfinder so you'll be getting most of the option/fixes on it. If dealers are offering those kind of prices for a 3 year newer pathfinder vs a 00 there's no doubt in my head that there is 01-02 in the mid 11-12 range from privates. Please do not buy that 13K for a 2000 even with 47 K is down right RIP OFF, i would hate for your wife/you spend all that when you could of gotten better for the same price. 47K kilometers VS 100 shouldn't warn you off, like i mentioned before i had 210,000 on mine No problem, and it had another 200,000 on it easy, extremely reliable truck.

Stadium Nissan has a 2003 with 125k on it and it's only 12,995 you could knock them down to the 11's!!.

Modified by MagicM at 7:09 PM 8/10/2008

So we passed on the '00. Tough call, but in the end it came down to wanting an LE and your advice on 47k vs. 85k not being as big of a deal as we'd thought. Appreciate the advice. If anyone happens across a nice low KM LE somewhere in Western Canada I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks again.

[MagicM]

http://www.vast.com/cars/locat...inder

Scroll through that and try different cities like Edmonton. I saw some half decent deals, most are dealership ones looking to rip you off stay away from those. XD 2004 SE for around 13,888 and has 73 kilos on it. i Dont know when that stuff is posted though lOL XD.

[Qxxx4]

service records play an important role, but i still think 47k on an 01 is damn good. someone who drives it THAT little most likely wasnt too hard on it. The engine still isnt even out of its wear-in period...

and a $2000 difference for 125k kms vs 47k kms...big difference if you ask me. thats 2 and a half times the mileage and you think its worth the $2000 savings? lol

i think you guys are just jealous because our suv's wouldnt sell for that high because were all past our 100k mark. Not that thats a big deal!

I got my qx4 with 60k kms in 2006...we figured it was amazingly low. we had NO service records and it was off-lease apparently, and we bought it at a used lot...it was a gamble but it was too good of a deal to pass up.

week 1 it was given full service at mr lube, all fluids were changed. Since then it has full service records and we had NO problems ever besides a bad distributor cap and ignition thanks to a crappy tire remote starter that was installed. now has 111,000 kms

you get what you pay for. if you DO find a pathy from nissan with records and warranty but higher mileage for around the same price thats worth it in my opinion, but with 47k kms its a damn good deal and youd have no problems reselling that for about the same price later on.

dont forget you have 30 days to return a used car, or at least thats the law in ontario. Happend to my dad with a 2000 land rover discovery..great deal n had 120,000 kms, but after 2 weeks we had nothing but problems. we put over 1000 kms on it and they still gave us every penny back.

[albertaboy]

Totally agree with you re: 47k on an '01 being a good deal. The thing is that the truck we were looking at was an '00 w/ 47k on it. As you know, different engine, different transmission, etc. She's also pretty sold on the LE (leather, heated seats, etc). It was a tough call, and I do think it is a good deal.

If anyone is interested it was at Okotoks Honda...

http://www.highriverhonda.com/...=2000

[MagicM]

If it was a 2001 LE i would absolutely agree get it, but being a 2000 model big difference and not worth it. If anything would really suggest the 01+ 3.5L huge power difference and it even gets better mpg than the old 3.3 from what i hear, not to mention the full-time 4WD system(same ones in the 01+ QX4's, which isn't available pre 01+. As for wanting a SE/LE i dont think there is a huge difference because i think if you checked the box SE's also came with leather and heated seats.

[Qxxx4]

my bad if its an 01. i sort of regret not waiting around on a good deal for an 01+ qx4 theres a big difference, but im happy with mine

and when it comes to SE/LE it may not mean much to us guys but the girls look at the little things....like if theres a freakin light on the vanity mirror, so if you dont get the leather seats etc that she wants.....shell never get over it. lol

[screwinitupagain]

and when it comes to SE/LE it may not mean much to us guys but the girls look at the little things....like if theres a freakin light on the vanity mirror, so if you dont get the leather seats etc that she wants.....shell never get over it. lol

You're right the little stuff didn't mean much to me but it's my ride, & is not a 'family ride' & b/c it has a whole lot of stuff on it (lifted & biggass tires & a bunch of other crap) she doesn't drive it, but at the same time, she didn't pay for it either, I did!

But if both of you are buying it, then yeah get what she wants too... ya gotta keep the little lady happy!