So,

We need a family car with third row seating. I'm stalking two options at the moment, a 012 Nissan pathfinder and a 04 Disco. Here's the deal, which one would be the most expensive to own over the next five years? The disco is 6k the Nissan 31k. I'm talking about total cost including, depreciation, insurance, gas, maintainence, repairs, interest, etc. Total cash out of pocket. Any thoughts? My non-accounting spreadsheet gave the LR the edge. Wife's not convinced.

 

Is this a joke because I missed the punch line.

But, Seriously. I see your logic.

LR = gas thirsty british slob. Any and all repair costs come of pocket. Probably would pay cash or finance a small portion.

Nissan = 2012. Fuel efficient. "Any" and all repair costs covered under warranty. It's brand new. I assume you would finance the 28k into monthly payments and not pay it all upfront. What would be the total yearly payments? How does that compare to repair, maintenance costs of the Rover.

The repair ratio (LR needing repairs compared to Nissan neesing repairs) favors the Nissan.

Need a little more info.

 

Is that a 2012 Nissan? I love my '04 and its our daily driver, but if I had a choice for a newer vehicle that didn't require me to be as on top of it (and below, under the hood, you name it,) I'd go with the Nissan simply because its newer and is a more gas and go/daily driver than an 04 would ever be at this age.

Also, there are so many other factors to consider. Major ones include: Has that Disco had its front propshaft rebuilt with new serviceable U-joints? If not, it needs to be done first thing (approximately $100 DIY to $300 bought and install it yourself) otherwise you're looking at a new tranny. Ouch.

Also, even if the Disco is lower cost on paper, it will require more of your time with maintenance which leads to higher couch time when your wife tells you, "I told you so."

Just my 2c.

-Anthony

 

Damn - that's a much better and succinct reply than mine.

 

At a difference of $25k, I think the Disco wins hands down. With that much dough, you could replace the engine, transmission, drivetrain and suspension and still have some leftover.

Staying out of debt is nice too; 60 months @ 3.5% should be around $550/month (off the top of my head).

Time wrenching: Nissan wins hands down. How much is your time worth and can you get by with the Disco out of commission?

 

Buy 2 Discos of the same year and color, and have a spare of everything. That does not help you with gas expense and time or some parts you will still need to buy. Also, at the end of say 4 years, resale or book value on your investment for the 2012 would be better than the resale on what you have invested in the D2. If you were to go with a 2011 or a used 2012 and not bite that first chunk of new to used value loss, this would even be better on the Nissan side.

 

This is good stuff. As for MPG the Nissan is only rated 16/20 not a huge jump from the Disco. Keep it coming!

 

The two Disco idea is brilliant. What are the odds they would both be broke at the same time? We have a car to sell worth the same as the Disco (Honda Element). So the Disco route would start near zero OFP. One thought is to then put $400 a month away in a car "Health Savings Account" to pay for repairs, etc. And see what's left at the end of the year.

 

If you compare an 04 Disco to an 04 Pathfinder, the Pathfinder will win hands down. I sold my 91 Pathfinder when I bought my Disco and it was really dependable. Gas mileage wasn't that much better with the Pathfinder at 20 highway. I'm still not convinced that the Disco is any better off-road.

 

All I read was the title, get the Nissan.