Any Xterra owners?

[Anonymous]

DH and I are considering buying an Xterra. We used to have an Altima that was great to us- no problems and still running great when we sold it at 241,000 miles. Unfortunately, our Honda CR-V seems to be a bit of a lemon and it's just time to get rid of it and replace it with another mid-sized SUV. We are considering an Xterra, due to the fact that we loved our Nissan and never had any issues with it, and because in 2.5 years, my stepson will be 16 and needing a first car and we figure we can just hand this down to him then. Can any Xterra owners chime in on experience with yours- did you find it to be a good car? Any issues you wish you'd known about before you bought, or is this a car you'd recommend? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My husband has one. I think it's an '06. We bought it used about 4 years ago. We've had no problems with it at all. Other than routine maintenance I don't think it's been in the shop at all (knock wood). My only complaint is that it is definitely higher than our other SUV, and it's sometimes annoying for me to get our infant and toddler in and out with the carseats. If your kids are older and don't need that kind of help, it shouldn't be an issue for you.

[Anonymous]

PP here. One other thing: I see you're comparing the Xterra to a CR-V. I've driven that as well, and the Xterra is much bigger. I think the Xterra is considered a full-size SUV and the CR-V is more of a compact SUV. You will notice the difference when parallel parking and definitely in gas mileage.

[Anonymous]

my mechanic refers to Xterra as a "disposable car."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my mechanic refers to Xterra as a "disposable car."

Does your mechanic have any recommendations for what he considers a non-disposable car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my mechanic refers to Xterra as a "disposable car."

Does your mechanic have any recommendations for what he considers a non-disposable car?

Try the infiniti one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my mechanic refers to Xterra as a "disposable car."

Does your mechanic have any recommendations for what he considers a non-disposable car?

Subaru Outback/Forester
Volvo Wagons
Hyundai Elantra

[Anonymous]

Love out FX35 but that is more comparable to the Murano/Rogue. I'd look at the crossovers before the SUV but thats more preference wrt to ride.

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:Loved my Xterra. Drove it to death at 195,000 miles. It is a bit higher but it is not very wide and quite easy to move around in narrow streets. I think it is considered a mid-sized SUV but it is quite tall. I didn't have many problems parking it either when I lived in Georgetown, but some might not like the height over others. If you are short you might have problems getting car seat in and out and will need the running boards as a step. Was quite helpful when we got our weekend house which is on a dirt road that doesn't get plowed during the snow.

I had basically routine maintenance. Don't think I had any major besides oils and tires and brakes. Actually probably had a bit more brakes than say a car as stop and go driving in DC with a bigger truck is rougher on brakes. Wasn't that expensive to fix though vs. my F@#$%ing ridiculous Audi.

I would buy another one but for the fact I now have to carry 5 and sometimes 6 people. It fits 4 great or 5 if the ones in back are teens. However three car seats across the back is a bit tight, and 2 car seats + another can be rough as well.

I am OP and this is a big help. Our DD is 2.5 so she is in a car seat, but at least not one of the infant ones I'd have to remove all the time- and she's the only one so no need to worry about multiple seats. We have an Infiniti sedan so we're just looking to replace our SUV with one that's not a monster and that could be driven by a 16 year old when we go to pass it down to him. I know everybody has different experiences with cars (as I'm sure though we hate our CRV and have had lots of problems with it, plenty of people like theirs just fine) but your experience seems more in line with our past experience with our Nissan.