I love my 99 DIi, its got 173k miles on it and I have replaced shocks, brakes, plugs, water oump, belts, yadda, in the past 3 years. I need something a little newer, and would like to find an LR3 at the right price.

Saturday, I had a customer drop off an 05 xterra. It s in to have the cats replaced, it needs brakes, tires, shocks, and a few minor cosmetic things. Other than the damn air freshner smell, the truck is clean. It has 135k miles on it. Just joking, I asked if he had a price on it... he said $6k before we do the cats. Trade in is in the 4-5 range.

My question... should I? I rover, but this might be a smart decision. Or, maybe I should buy it, flip it and make some $? These things usually go for about $9k or so with the mileage.

 

Before I joined the Rover club I had an '04 Xterra for about 4 years. ('08-'12) It went from about 75k to about 140k and all I ever changed on that thing was the oil (occasionally) and the tires & brakes, once.

Just sayin...

 

Probably easier to turn a profit on than a rover. If you could make $3000 on it, you're that much closer to an LR3.

 

Honestly, drive the xterra and see how it compares. The xterra I rode in years ago was probly around an '05, and I liked it but it felt smaller than my Disco. It also felt very Japanese - not much personality.

I have not driven an xterra, but there are many things about my Disco that I find very endearing. I started to type out a list, but I guess for me the Disco is closer to my ideal than any vehicle I've driven or ridden in. The only thing I truly don't like is it's propensity for block/head gasket problems.

 

Well the Vehicle history was clean, and the "owner" and I made a verbal agreement on the price. I came up more than I would like, but still cheap enough that I could turn a nice profit on it... if I like (he's including the $1000 flat panel stereo).

With my cost on the maintenance needed, I will have about another $1200 in it. At that point, I need to decide if I'm going to drive it and sale the DII, or flip it. It's a good looking, clean truck... that may be a hard decision.

And for the record, I do like the Land Rover's, but there's a fine line between "personality" and constantly fixing **** for the sake of fixing things (I have better things to do with my time, my tech's time, and my money, right now).

 

Sell both, get an LR3. They are much more reliable than a D2. Or so it seems from reading forums.

 

So are they as reliable as Nissan? Or is that just crazy talk?

 

They probably don't have the quality control that japanese cars have, but they use a LOT of japanese hardware in these things. Where the D2 has Bosch engine management, the LR3 has Nippon Denso stuff. Stuff like the coils, MAF, etc, all have NDenso stamped on them, just like a Toyota or Nissan would.

But I still vote for crazy talk.

Also, I think the LR3 LOOKS more impressive if you care about any of that. People in the real world don't know that some of us buy Rovers because we can get them CHEAPER than Toyotas. I wouldn't be able to look at a Land Cruiser or 4runner from 2006, for the same price as my LR3, even with the same crazy miles like I have on the LR3.

 

True on the reason I bought the Rover. Maybe I keep the Nissan for a few years to get me through the transition, and then if I miss the Rover, get another one. On the other hand.....

 

So I realize I never gave you guys an update. I bought the Nissan for $5500, drove it 4 months replaced the tires, cats, brakes (from pads twice), a wheel bearing, rear trim, and oxygen sensor (twice). I spent $150 having it detailed and put a flowmaster exhaust on it.

I never really liked the truck. It was twitchy, felt like plastic, the seats weren't all that comfortable and everything in the rear cargo area slid around... from dogs to luggage.

Net result... I sold it before Christmas and made a few hundred bucks on it. Im glad to be rid of it. Now its time to find the next Rover.... be it an LR3, an 04 DII, or? I've got an in at the dealer auctiin and plan to start using it.