Nissan's VQ and VK series engines are great & their (body on frame) truck transmissions are solid. Otherwise, most other components (leather, plastic gears, TPMS sensors, etc.) are not up to Toyota Sequoia quality. A comparable year/mileage Sequoia will be around $15k to $20k more (Toyota tax). For MY money, the pre-2016 Armada's and pre-2013 Pathfinder's are among the best values out there in SUV's. Very similar architecture, just that most (2008--2012) Pathfinders were 6 cylinder engines and all Armadas were 8 cylinder engines. A pre-purchase inspection (by a Nissan dealer) is a must. Every vehicle has issues/weak spots. For the Armada's, it's the catalytic converters, blend door actuators for the HVAC (you'll hear clicking inside various parts of the dashboard..........and you may, or may not have heat), cam shaft position sensors, and the rear air suspension. If the vehicle was well taken care of by the previous owner(s), none of these things are anything to be frightened of. Though, I would suggest choosing an Armada that either did not have rear air suspension or one where a previous owner deleted it. I own a 2012 Pathfinder (bought with 135,000 miles........now has 207,000 miles) and a 2015 Armada bought about 6 months ago. I love both of them and have zero regrets. Extremely enjoyable to drive on long highway trips. Both are gas guzzlers, but anyone buying a body on frame SUV of this vintage KNOWS what they're getting into with gas mileage. Had to replace the catalytic converter on my Pathfinder (@200,000 miles), so nothing really to complain about at that mileage.
I agree with getting it inspected before you buy; if I'd seen the rusty subframe a little better to understand it needed replacing, I'd probably have talked him down another grand. OH Well. It's running great so far, no complaints other than the gas mileage. Wished it would get at least 16; can't seem to get more than 13.8 on average for my commute.
Any update 4 months after ? I feel it's a car with solid engine and transmission but rest is not that good, at least not at the level of true Japanese vehicle.
My update 4 months after is that it's great! I had one issue where my wife and I were on a road trip about 4 hours from home and one of the rubber pieces of transmission hose near the radiator just decided to bust at 75 on the interstate. We caught it quick and got off the road, got a tow truck to a local shop, and 2 hours later and a 12" piece of transmission hose, we were back on the road. Since I replaced the subframe and got it aligned it drives great. Just wish it got a little better fuel mileage than the 13.8 I'm averaging on my weekly commute 27 miles to work and 27 back, and some other little errand running I do.
Nissan's VQ and VK series engines are great & their (body on frame) truck transmissions are solid. Otherwise, most other components (leather, plastic gears, TPMS sensors, etc.) are not up to Toyota Sequoia quality. A comparable year/mileage Sequoia will be around $15k to $20k more (Toyota tax). For MY money, the pre-2016 Armada's and pre-2013 Pathfinder's are among the best values out there in SUV's. Very similar architecture, just that most (2008--2012) Pathfinders were 6 cylinder engines and all Armadas were 8 cylinder engines.
A pre-purchase inspection (by a Nissan dealer) is a must. Every vehicle has issues/weak spots. For the Armada's, it's the catalytic converters, blend door actuators for the HVAC (you'll hear clicking inside various parts of the dashboard..........and you may, or may not have heat), cam shaft position sensors, and the rear air suspension. If the vehicle was well taken care of by the previous owner(s), none of these things are anything to be frightened of. Though, I would suggest choosing an Armada that either did not have rear air suspension or one where a previous owner deleted it.
I own a 2012 Pathfinder (bought with 135,000 miles........now has 207,000 miles) and a 2015 Armada bought about 6 months ago. I love both of them and have zero regrets. Extremely enjoyable to drive on long highway trips. Both are gas guzzlers, but anyone buying a body on frame SUV of this vintage KNOWS what they're getting into with gas mileage. Had to replace the catalytic converter on my Pathfinder (@200,000 miles), so nothing really to complain about at that mileage.
I agree with getting it inspected before you buy; if I'd seen the rusty subframe a little better to understand it needed replacing, I'd probably have talked him down another grand. OH Well. It's running great so far, no complaints other than the gas mileage. Wished it would get at least 16; can't seem to get more than 13.8 on average for my commute.
Any update 4 months after ? I feel it's a car with solid engine and transmission but rest is not that good, at least not at the level of true Japanese vehicle.
My update 4 months after is that it's great! I had one issue where my wife and I were on a road trip about 4 hours from home and one of the rubber pieces of transmission hose near the radiator just decided to bust at 75 on the interstate. We caught it quick and got off the road, got a tow truck to a local shop, and 2 hours later and a 12" piece of transmission hose, we were back on the road. Since I replaced the subframe and got it aligned it drives great. Just wish it got a little better fuel mileage than the 13.8 I'm averaging on my weekly commute 27 miles to work and 27 back, and some other little errand running I do.
It's sharp 👍🏽
Trying to get it there