I just got the worst news ever. My mechanic called and advised me not to drive my 1997 Pathfinder SE any longer, and get a different car because there are too many serious issues.
The technician stopped investigating it here because of the volume of issues:

"NEEDS BOTH FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS, BOTH CV AXLES, BOTH TIE RODS, TRANSFER CASE ID DRY, FRONT DIFF IS MAKING NOISE,
ALIGN IS WAY OFF- VEHICLE IS VERY ROUGH, NEEDS MORE WORK THAN LISTED"

I love my Pathfinder, but money is an issue right now. Should I give up?

It's be a shame, it looks nice and clean and there aren't many left like that. Unless the safety issue is the strut tower rusting away like they do I'd be inclined to ask him to fill the transfer case, change the oil on the front diff, then get a second opinion somewhere else. Now I'm not demeaning your current mechanic at all, actually he sounds like a stand up guy telling you it's going to cost more to fix it than it's worth. And or ask him to do what's really, really needed right now so you can limp it along until you can either afford to fix it properly or buy something else. And by all means, sell it as a mechanics special, be honest about it, but don't just junk it.

There is also the philosophy that repairs should be based on what it would cost you to replace it with, not so much the value of the vehicle. In other words it might only be worth $3K, but need $3500 in work. But if it would cost you $10K to replace the truck, that $3500 might be justified.

Now if it is the rust issue, all bets are off, that is likely a fatal flaw.

Mike W.,
Thanks for your response. I picked it up and talked to them. It's not rust, it's always been in a no-salt state, so that's good. It's that there's so much it needs right now and because so much is related to steering and safety and the age of it. It has 163,970 miles. I know it's worth less than the cost to fix it, but I'm not in a position to buy something else right now.
I'm taking your advice, getting a second opinion.

I agree with Mike W's advice. It's kind of odd that your mechanic wrote "..vehicle is very rough." Based on the photo of your Pathfinder you provided, "rough" is not the term I would use. It looks extremely straight, with clean paint and nice tires and good glass. The items needing attention are not that pricey to replace unless you go to a Nissan dealer. From my perspective, only when you are in a situation where you have to replace an engine or transmission does the proposition become a little more dicey in terms of the cost/benefit analysis. Have another mechanic look it over and ask him to be thorough and tell you everything that it needs.

You've not indicated whether you're having any sort of driveability issues or hearing the noises the mechanic has claimed to exist. It might help us give better opinions if you explain why the truck was taken to the mechanic in the first place.

I'm always skeptical of mechanic recommendations when they seem dire or misplaced. I'd never consider any of those items serious or costly, unless they were expressly accompanied by severe driveability issues, noises, and several other symptoms.

If I deemed him a good mechanic (and so far I don't), he'd take the time to spell out the issues and leave it up to the customer—not himself—to determine the value and worth of work. He's got no say what the repairs are worth, just what they cost, unless you guys are buddies and you asked him for genuine advice. And just because he'll charge you more for parts and labor than the vehicle is "worth" (in his opinion), doesn't mean it's not worth doing, but that's your personal decision.

It's not abnormal for an older vehicle require excess or cumulative work. What is abnormal is having only 164K on that truck, it looking as pristine as it does in that pic, and you seemingly being totally blindsided by the mechanic's assessment. Something doesn't sound right. And by the way, just of those parts and fluids you listed, you're talking $200 in standard replacement items (probably $150 in economy items) from RockAuto and requiring no more than 4 hrs of work by a shadetree mechanic. That work is trivial...I'd never call it serious, so I'm questioning the mechanic's agenda here.

I think we need a lot more information here to be helpful.

I’m curious to know if the mechanic has made some low ball offer to “take it off your hands” by now. Probably a pristine truck that needs minimal work, if any.