Thanks PR!

The last time I had this cautious feeling was when a Tuk-Tuk driver in Bangkok said he knew a top brand suit maker who just happened to be tailoring suits at heavily discounted price that very day! Needless to say I passed on the opportunity. Haha.

The advert in question with accompanied photos can be seen here:

http://abudhabi.dubizzle.com/motors/use ... D%3D&pos=8

I'll keep looking!

Thanks, Joe

Why dont you look on Dubizzle and shortlist the cars that say they have a full service history.

The Nissan dealer will have records on the car for the first three years at the very least as the car would be under warently which would have lapsed if the car was not serviced at the official dealer garage and noboday woulld want to lose the warrently on a new car.

The best person to speak t about Pathfinders of the model you are looking at is Silvester from Almost 4x4. He is also a member here so send him a PM. His sign in name is Caprihorse and he might even know of a good car for sale at a good price

Hey guys!

Hope you're having a good weekend so far!

I've found another Pathfinder which I tried out today- the guy is selling it for his uncle who had to move back home a few months ago.
The ad is from July, so I'm not sure why it hasn't gone yet as there are a few recent ones I've called but had already gone.

It drove really nicely!! It had a few light scratches and dents around the bodywork (is this not to be expected from a 10 year old car?), but I had a look at the engine and looked out for greasy patches (found none), and looked at the undercarriage, where I saw light rust (mainly on the exhaust) but nothing that stood out as being really rusty, and I saw no cracks of any sort.
He said the tyres and battery are new (just a couple of months old) as he was told to replace them when he last re-registered the vehicle.
However, he doesn't have the full maintenance records for it. I told him that I would only consider taking it if I could take it to the Nissan service centre for a check and if it comes back totally fine, which he agreed to so we arranged a time to do that soon.

Just to clarify- is not having the full maintenance records necessarily a big issue if it comes back fine after the Nissan check up?

It's a 2003 model which has done 145000km, and I got him down to 23,000 AED from 25,000.

Thanks!

That sounds much better, mate. I wouldn't insist on full service history from a private seller, as long as the Nissan inspection turns up no major issues.

The reason not to insist on the full service history is that the dealers are so expensive compared to outside servicing, hence not many owners continue with dealer servicing after the 3-year warranty expires. I sure didn't.

Battery, tyres, brake pads, shock absorbers, etc., are not your worry - they are consumables and need replacing every couple of years anyways - what you want to have checked professionally are engine, transmission, transfer case, differentials, and chassis. Those are the big ticket items that a regular guy can't check easily and that will cost you if they turn out to be damaged. Those are what make used cars lemons. Other mid-range items such as radiator, steering box, A/C compressor, alternator, water pump, etc., are important but not necessarily deal-breakers and if faulty can actually be useful to bargain down the price...

Thanks for the reply PR!

That's really good to know!

Just as a side note, a few other Pathfinders I've been looking at are around 17-19k AED, and have all done roughly 200000km plus.
Do you think it's worth spending the extra 5k AED to get one that's done 145000km... does it make much of a difference above a certain point?
I know they can just keep going with good care, but it'd be good to hear what your thoughts on that are!
On a similar note, I can see some really good looking deals on old Jeep Cherokees out there too, but as I'm not yet mechanically minded and don't have a huge budget for it, I'm slightly put off from them by the other threads on this forum that say Jeeps can be unreliable and that their maintenances costs can be large.
How much of a concern or risk do you see this as being for someone in my position?

Having said that, I'm really looking forward to Sunday now- I've arranged with the seller to take it to the Nissan service centre then, and if all is well I'm pretty sure I'll take it! Fingers crossed!
Can't wait to join you guys on some of the trips!!

Is there a particular name for the check up I'll be requiring at the Nissan service centre? Or should I just ask for a full check up?

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me so far with their advice, I'm very grateful.

Joe

Hi Joe, I owned a 2004 pathfinder which was bought privately with 145k on the clock for 26k aed. It had been well maintained at a Bosch garage and really gave me virtually no trouble (apart from a set of injectors). It went very well indeed off road (as was fairly light with a very nimble agile feel, it could often be driven out of stucks) and was a comfortable daily ride on road. Tyres, either 16 or 17 inch should cost around 2k for a set of decent make, Dunlop, good year, Bridgestone, etc... As with all vehicles, dealers are generally way over-priced so find a good general mechanic who can source parts at probably 30-50% of the dealer cost. Then get all fluids changed and as advised, when you find a pathfinder you really like, get it checked out before parting with any cash.

I heard that Nissan parts can be a bit expensive but they are also generally reliable (and there are plenty around) so focus on finding a vehicle that has been well looked after and check steering wheel condition, pedals and general appearance of the car to see how we'll it has been cared for. I saw one where everything was worn/broken and it had clearly had the clock altered back. If you are looking on dubizle, check Dubai (NOT Sharjah!) as there are often well cared for FSH ex-pat owned cars in excellent condition to be found there.

Good luck.

Often, the way a car has been looked after is more important than the Kms driven but of course things do wear out with use, personally I always used to go for lower Kms vehicles but between 150-180k seems to be the time when many parts go, so if it has covered 200k and has a service history with receipts (maybe had some key parts replaced - fuel pump, water pump, drive belts, etc... Then it should also be fine).

I would agree that a pathfinder of this age is a very wise choice over a jeep, just get the best condition one you can find within budget.

Hey Osprey thanks for your replies, very helpful indeed!

I've been looking around and have tried a few now, and am torn between two that are at the top end of my budget- I could really do with your thoughts again if anyone has got the time! I have a feeling I know which one you guys will think is the wiser choice but I'd just like to double check anyway

Both are 3.5L 2003 GCC spec Pathfinders.

1st:

AED 23,000
145,000km
Advert has been up for 2 months.

The guy seems nice enough but it's not his car, it was his uncle's before he left the country, so he doesn't know much about the history or it's potential faults.
One thing that slightly concerns me is that when I rang Nissan to do a quick check of what they know about it (at the time I only had the number plate no.) they had it on their system as an x-trail. When I questioned him about this, he seemed confused as his uncle had supposedly never had one of them (I'm aware you can swap plates here). So not sure what to think of that. I'll ring Nissan tomorrow to see what they can gather from the chassis number.
But he's happy for me to get it checked out wherever I want for peace of mind.

A few knocks and scratches visible on bodywork, with a few touch ups from unknown accidents.
Very clean inside and looks fine on the outside until you look close and see dents etc.
No visible greasy spots under the hood, but a fair bit of rust on the rear axle (see photos!) and exhaust pipe, but nothing that would strike me as unusual given it's 10 years old.
However, after advice from Silvester aka Caprihorse- I noticed that the bolts and frame under the hood at the front of the car looked fairly new and rust free (see photos again!) which would suggest a collision heavy enough to have required replacing that area. I think and hope I was looking at the right bolts!

Also, thanks to this website https://es.adpolice.gov.ae/trafficservi ... Culture=en
I found out that it has indeed had 3 accidents between 2011 and 2012, varying from 20km/h to 40km/h but with little detail as to the exact cause or damage. Also I'm unsure of which car they are talking about where it does list damages:

e.g. one of the descriptions read as follows-

Accident Reasons	REVERSING WITHOUT MAKINH SURE NO ONE IS BEHIND
Dameges Parts	---------------------- : REAR RIGHT ANGLE ------------------- : VEHICLE FRONT, BONNET

So it's fairly vague.

If you are interested to check for yourself, the chassis no. is:
JN8DR05Y13W608878

It's got insurance up to March and has a brand new set of tyres and battery.

Some photos:

Now on to the 2nd!:

AED 25,000
136,000km
Advert has been up for 2 days.

This guy was really nice and seemed totally genuine- he said it's his wife that's used the car mainly (she answered the phone and sent him down!), and he also knew of all intricacies of the car- it's faults, the small knocks it's had, the touch ups he's made and the things that can sometimes be faulty. He seemed very open and keen to be totally transparent which was reassuring.
The only thing he said he didn't know about is the actual 4x4 function- he said it's never been used for that (and I believe him- really clean car, very few knocks or scratches, and loads of baby/kid's gear in the back- looked very much like well looked after family vehicle to me!).

He said he's touched up the front bumper a couple of times, and the top above the windshield where a branch fell on it.
The air con sometimes doesn't kick in properly first time you press it, so you have to wait for 15 seconds and try again.
Also the CD player doesn't work. That's about it as far as I can remember!

When I rang Nissan to see what they had on it, it had been taken in twice- the last time being at around 80 or 90k kilometres. They mentioned a few things that had been replaced in the engine, but didn't mention anything to do with an accident. Without any prompting he also mentioned that the last time they took it there (which was 2006/7 I believe) he'd had a few things replaced, but not because it needed 'repair' as he put it.

Also when I searched the chassis no. on the same website as before, it came up with 'no accidents'.

Again, no sign of greasiness in the engine, just a lot of dust (he said he was reluctant to clean it and didn't see much point in it)- and this time the same bolts and frame area I was looking at seemed to have more corrosion than the other one, which I was told would suggest that it's the same age as the vehicle and as a result hasn't suffered a collision or needed to be replaced.

Underneath, everything looked cleaner and less rusty than the other one- especially the rear axle, on which I could see no where near the same corrosion as on the other (see photos!).
The tyres look a lot older than on the other one, and he said they'd been replaced perhaps 2 years ago, with maybe 8 more months left in them.

He was also perfectly happy for me to get it checked out at a garage for peace of mind.

It's got insurance up to July next year.

Here are some photos:
That's it!

The only other thing to note is that I felt as though the first was more responsive with the pedals... I really liked how it drove.
The second was fine, it just felt different somehow. Perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me, but it seemed to 'lag' very slightly in accelerator response compared to the first. Also the brake pedal seemed to move slightly when initially accelerating. Don't know if that makes much sense, or means all that much.
I appreciate that whatever I buy I'll get used to and it'll become second nature anyway.

Given that I just want to explore the Emirates/Oman and hopefully do a bit of dune bashing for the couple more years I can see myself being here, what do you guys think is my best option? This will not be a car for commuting/family driving or anything. Just for fun.
Do the accidents on the first matter all that much given that it seems to be running really nicely, or is it really worth staying away from?
I'm not personally bothered about damage in terms of looks- I intend to be throwing it around a bit myself!

Really hoping someone will be able to advise me!

Thanks in advance!

Joe

Option 2, sounds very good - just get it checked out. AC and CD are quick fixes. Bumpers do seem to need re-painting on these cars, mine were scruffy and the plastic door strips were a bit weak. Otherwise I was very happy with the car - this one looks fine, is it clean inside too? Offer 22, then 23.

Option 1 sounds like it could be risky - too many "get out" clauses there for my liking. Also if it has been up for sale so long with no takers, not a good sign. Give that one a miss.

Good luck.

Hi Osprey!

Thanks for the quick reply!

Though they have both done >100k: (Unless you're speaking about the ex-company car I mentioned earlier in the thread, which had done 88,000km? PR suggested I stay well away from it!)

This first I'm now looking at has done 145,000 (for 23,000 AED) the other 136,000 (for 25,000 AED)!

My main concern I suppose is as to how much it may matter that the first has ben involved in a few accidents.