Buying a rogue..first time..and of course, questions..

[Direwolf]

Hiya gang.. first post here but Ive been reading the forum for some time now. Wife and I decided its time for a new vehicle. Heres the deal: we looked at about 9 crossovers, minisuvs and hatchbacks. In the end, we both really enjoyed the Rogue the most of all. The problem is this. we are also working on a new house. With the economy crap and with a major purchase already, getting a "good deal" on the Rogue has been tough. As much as I would love a SL, Im going to need to settle with a S FWD. We didnt want the AWD since where we live, its just really not something needed.

My question though is this: Ive peeked through the forums and didnt see an answer so if it is there, forgive me! Im also not a car person really. Im disappointed that the S does not offer rear tinted windows, top racks or fog lights. Is it possible to get any of these at all from a dealership or even going into Pepboys and having them put on, or is the S going to be pretty much as is? Thanks for the help and time people!

[kerrton]

Hiya gang.. first post here but Ive been reading the forum for some time now. Wife and I decided its time for a new vehicle. Heres the deal: we looked at about 9 crossovers, minisuvs and hatchbacks. In the end, we both really enjoyed the Rogue the most of all. The problem is this. we are also working on a new house. With the economy crap and with a major purchase already, getting a "good deal" on the Rogue has been tough. As much as I would love a SL, Im going to need to settle with a S FWD. We didnt want the AWD since where we live, its just really not something needed.

My question though is this: Ive peeked through the forums and didnt see an answer so if it is there, forgive me! Im also not a car person really. Im disappointed that the S does not offer rear tinted windows, top racks or fog lights. Is it possible to get any of these at all from a dealership or even going into Pepboys and having them put on, or is the S going to be pretty much as is? Thanks for the help and time people!

Hey Direwolf!

The window tint is no big deal, you can get that installed at any vehicle detailing shop. You can even do it yourself, but I've done this before and it takes a lot of practice to get it right so I'd recommend paying a shop to do it for you.

[kots]

I have an S FWD too. Things I really missed:- No vanity mirror (very impt!)- No trunk light- Wheel covers only

[gi'me]

Kots,

If you have not already done so, go to the hardware store and purchase a LED, stick-on light cluster for your hatch area.

[Phil'sFrontier]

I don't know about the Rogue; but my 2006 Nissan Frontier pick-up didn't come with the factory fog lights. However, it did come wired up for the fog lights. Guess maybe it's easier for the factory?? Might be worth looking into.

[bmeck16]

Hi There,

I bought the S FWD a few weeks ago. All of the S models on the lot had rear window tinting. It was added to the sticker price in what they called an "Appearance Pack" that also included clear guard door protection. It was a $599 add-on according to the sticker.

What was weird was they had to get my car from a sister lot across town because they didn't have a White S FWD on the lot where I was shopping...and after I had signed all the paper work and was ready to drive off the lot, they showed me my car and the tinting on it wasn't nearly as dark as all the other models I had looked at. I'm still a little sore about it...but what are you gonna do.

Other than that I love the Rogue. The only reason I wish I could have afforded the SL was for the radio. The radio in my car sucks. It sounds ok what I play a cd or my ipod, but the standard radio sounds hollow and muffled. I plan to upgrade that as soon as I figure out if I need to replace the radio receiver or just the speakers or what.

I also just got some clear guard type material installed on the inside door sill to prevent scratching. I would recommend getting that done...I was wiping off the sill every day because I read about the scratching problems people are having.

Good luck!

[philipa_240sx]

Re: Fog Lights

I had them on my Altima, my Rogue SL does not have them. Honestly I do not miss them. The OEM fogs were OK but I found they didn't help that much in foggy weather.

I don't know if anyone has figured out how to add OEM fog lights to the Rogue yet. Previous Nissan's came pre-wired for fogs. Nissan sold a kit with the lamp assembly and a new turn signal/headlight switch with one that has the fog light switch. Nissan has not released a similar fog light kit for the Rogue yet, nor have I been able to find the fog light wiring harness on mine.

Re: Roof Rails.

The OEM roof rails are bolted to the body. It 'may' be possible to retrofit a non-roof rail model by drillling the required holes (4 per side) and installing the new roof rail and moldings. It's not cheap. A quick scan of prices revealed the roof rails are $270 each + $70 for the molding. Multiply by 2 to do both sides and you are looking at $680.

There is another option if you just want a simple roof rack to carry gear from time to time. Yakima makes all kinds of great roof rack products. I have done a quick test fit and came up with an option for the Rogue without roof rails. Read more about it in this thread:

zerothread/343315

[Direwolf]

Thank you for all the comments and input; I sincerely appreciate it!

[Pescakl1]

Re: Roof Rails.

The OEM roof rails are bolted to the body. It 'may' be possible to retrofit a non-roof rail model by drillling the required holes (4 per side) and installing the new roof rail and moldings. It's not cheap. A quick scan of prices revealed the roof rails are $270 each + $70 for the molding. Multiply by 2 to do both sides and you are looking at $680.

At this price + the rear tinted windows, isn't it cheaper to buy the SL model without any package (you will have the alloy wheels too instead of the steel ones)?

That is what make me decided to buy the SL FWD basic model.And I did not take the premium package as it was less expensive to buy the basic + few extras I wanted than take the premium package.

It is just a math thing: Look at what you want in your car, what will be your use of it, and see what is the less expensive option. It may be not be the dealer option but it is your car, so don't bother his rhetoric.(If he is not happy, ask him to sell you his choice with your price ).

[Direwolf]

Well see the difference is, that extra few thousand to bump up to the SL model (And not 1 dealer around here has a base FWD SL model w/o any options already), can be used for the house.

The tinted windows/rails I can get a few months down the line w/o rushing to put out another few grand at the start.

[Pescakl1]

You have a point here. I was more thinking long term: Sometimes it is better to invest now than pay more later.I don't know your status, that is your choice, that was my 2 cents as you say.

For the basic SL FWD model, it is just crap dealer talk: They told me the same to force me to move to the AWD (Cannot have it, have to come from Japan, 6 weeks of wait, blablabla...) .

I resisted and say I needed it fast (sold my car): A week later, I got it with only 10km on it (with the extras stuff installed).

If they want your money, they have to earn it: Make them work. They can do it, they just don't want to.

[philipa_240sx]

That's too bad you cannot get an SL FWD without all the optional stuff. It's only a $1500 USD list price premium and it's an incredibly good value. It would be far more expensive to add these options seperately.

Not sure how it works in the US, but can you not have an SL FWD ordered in? Perhaps you lose some bargaining power this way? Ie. you can get a better deal for an in-stock model than a special ordered one.