Help Deciding on 2007 R51

[jtman]

Hi guys,

I used to be a member here a LOOONG time ago when I had a 350z. Sold her several years back but now I'm considering getting back into the Nissan game.

I'm looking at a 2007 Pathfinder LE for what seems to be a fair price. The goods:

LE model
20 inch wheels
low miles (77,000)
Everything seems to work. **
Leather seats aren't ripped!

The bad:
I'm selling my 2008 Range Rover Sport SC, love the truck, hate the repair bills, but the ride is completely different. I can get used to it though.
20 inch wheels are s***. Ugly in general but the chrome is nearly completely peeled off. I'll get newer/better.
The ** means that there is a caveat. The back of the center console, where the climate control is for the back seats, has a panel
that is missing. I don't know what this is but it obviously isn't working since it's missing.
Has a minor accident history from several years ago but expense was about 1400 bucks so it couldn't have been much.
Current owner is maybe not being honest about the vehicle. When I went to see the truck he put a tag on the back
that he said belonged to a buddy since the truck itself wasn't currently insured. He put it on so I could test drive it. He kept referring
to his "buddy" that is a dealer. When I noticed the hood was badly repainted he said there was a big dent in the hood
so he had the hood replaced and repainted and it wasn't done properly. The grill is also replaced with a non-OEM shiny black grill that
doesn't really match well. It's ugly.

There is a light odor in the truck that smells like a wet dog but he said he's never owned a dog much less had one in it. He's owned it for about a year according to him.
In one of the pics you can se the top of the driver front fender is bent where the hood support goes. Does this indicate a collision occurred?
The vehicle history doesn't reflect a front end collision.

Now here is the weird part. The photos used in the Craigslist ad show that it is parked across the street from a local body shop. I then
googled the guy's phone # and found out the guy works at the body shop. The photo even shows a paper mat placed on the drver's side floorboard
like when you go pick up your car from the shop. So he told me that while he won't come down on the price (10,000 CDN) he will have the hood redone
for free since he wasn't happy with it either.

I drove the truck and it was fine save for some slight steering wheel jitters when braking at highway speed. The good news is that he's letting me take it to a Nissan dealership to have it checked out (my dime) but
my spider senses are going off on this. Should I be worried? It this a good deal for 10K?

[nickelghandi]

Pesonally, I would run from something like this. I am not sure about Canada, but in the states, you can ask to see the vehicle title to verify ownership, and length of ownership. Doing that would rule out any dishonesty regarding how he obtained the car and how long he has had it.

The replaced hood and dented section of the fender indicates it was in some sort of front end collision. The ugly replacement grille insert is also an indicator that they were trying to cover something up on the cheap. Whether it was reported or not the damage is there. I took my old Pathfinder through the woods and got badly stuck literally between a rock and a hard place (tree trunk), and it was pretty dinged up from getting it out. I never filed a claim because there was no other vehicle involved and I made some repairs myself before selling it to someone on the cheap. I fully disclosed what had happened and there was no frame damage. That story is just to prove the point that there can be unreported damage.

You said you'd have to replace the wheels (probably tires too) and that will be an expense on your part.

Does it have the towing package? If so, I would avoid it again.

Has the transmission cooler in the radiator been bypassed? The R51s are notorious for that failing and leaking antifreeze into the transmission, killing it in a matter of hours of driving.

For 10k cad I would pass this up without thinking twice. If he were asking 5k I would try to talk him down if I really wanted/needed it, but still there are much better options out there.

I put myself through college buying and selling Craigslist Cars and some of the things I found that people did to conceal serious problems disgust me. I sold several cars at a pretty significant loss due to problems not disclosed and cleverly hidden by the seller. The issues you will likely face are not so cleverly hidden.

I would walk away and not even call the guy back.

[jtman]

That's all I needed to hear. Sometimes it's a matter of having someone else confirm what you already know:)

This morning I did some sleuthing and called the shop where the guy works. The lady that answered confirmed he worked there so I asked her about the truck and while she said I'd "have to ask him about it" she then confirmed that is because "he is the one that took the truck apart" so that just kind of confirmed what I thought.

The search is back on, THANK YOU for your post.

[barnaclebob]

Yeah good choice in running from this shady vehicle. In general with R51's you need to make sure the radiator has been replaced with one that wont nuke the transmission.

[BazookaJoe]

Good for you. ALWAYS go with your gut. Try not to find a "good" deal. All the cars that I've bought that were around blue book value have been really good to me.

I personally try to find stuff that is as close to OEM as possible. If someone changed the rims and the grill what else did they mess with? It can become a compulsion for some.

[jtman]

So the hunt continues. I've been searching on a daily basis for another Pathfinder and this seems like a contender.

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto ... 97242.html

The owner has had it since 2009 and they have receipts for front and rear u-joint replacements, year old tires and brake rotors turned a few months ago. They said they have almost all receipts since they got it. What they haven't done is the radiator bypass or replacement so that is the first thing I'll do if I pick it up. It has 100,000 miles and is 7500.00.

Any comments or advice on this one would be great.

[PathyPop]

That one looks much better! And 4wd too. Sorry but thanks for the link as I just bought it for myself (just kidding). I'd still get a PPI done with emphasis on checking the fluid and operation of the transmission as the symptoms start out subtly at first. Also a Carfax or Autocheck report.

[jtman]

Ha! The good thing is I gave a 100.00 deposit to have dibs on it if I decide to take it. I'll be getting it checked out for sure. Thing is, I'm getting more enamored by the idea of a V8 Pathy. There are none for sale near me and the closest one is ten hours away with 93,000 miles, for 13K, so I'm actually thinking about flying out for a couple hundred bucks to drive one home. Does the V8 also have the radiator/transmission issues?