Went to Buy a Used Truck
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,607 ✭✭✭✭
This is a 2016 Nissan Frontier 4WD. 88,000 miles, truck really looks good. I looked it up on Carfax and the title etc. all looked clean. No wrecks.
Now it gets weird. The owner of the car is on an 18 month trip to Germany and he has gotten his wife to sell the truck. I went over for a test drive this morning, first thing I did was check the dipstick. The oil just barely touched the bottom of the dipstick. There is a FULL mark, and a LOW mark, and this was way below that, maybe oil on the bottom 1/8 inch of the dipstick. Also, the oil was filthy, very dark.
I had learned from Carfax that this guy bought this truck 2 1/2 years ago at 70,000 miles. I looked in the glove box, there were no maintenance records. Then I looked in the upper corner of the windshield, there was a sticker from the last oil change, it said CHANGE AGAIN AT 75,000 MILES.
They go on a 5,000 mile interval for oil changes. This truck had the last oil change at the used car lot at 70,000 miles. This guy drove this truck for 2 1/2 years and 18,000 miles and never did any maintenance. That's why there were no maintenance records. I told the lady "See you later, no need for a test drive."
Comments
That’s a shame. They’re solid trucks, with great power in the 4.0 engine. I really like my 2014 that I bought off my father-in-law. It feels more like the type of basic truck you USED to be able to get before they just became rolling entertainment centers.
Amazing how folks neglect maintenance. I’m not perfect, but I always change oil on time or early. I knew a girl in college whose car started running rough. She asked me what I thought, and I asked her when she last changed the oil. Her response: “Oh, it doesn’t take oil. It runs on gas.” 😆
I have an old Nissan Frontier,1999,that has been bulletproof. 530,000 miles and still uses no oil between changes.The automatic transmission gave up at 400,000 and I put a $300. junkyard trans.in it.Sometime in the early 2000s Renault bought Nissan.Around 2005-2010 there was a leak in the transmission cooler in the radiator that let engine coolant mix with the transmission fluid.When Nissan buyers took the trucks back to the dealer with what was called a strawberry milkshake in the failed transmission,the dealers refused to warranty the problem saying that if they had brought the vehicle to the dealership for normal maintaince it would be repaired by Nissan.I never heard if that was ever made right and I think it was just a few years with the strawberry milkshake problem but its a good idea to be careful buying a early 2000s Frontier.If you can find a low milage pre 2000 Hardbody or Frontier,they are gold now and about as scarce.
Yep, I’ve read a lot about the SMOD (Strawberry Milkshake of Death) on the Frontier forums. By all accounts, issue corrected from 2011 on.
Good catch Allen. Dodged one right there.
Unreal how many people skip on maintenance. Seems that is all I do and still have a hard time keeping things going. A neighbor would buy a new truck and only top off the oil when needed and would get around 100K miles out of it.
Son has driven leased work vehicles for the past 12 years( 2 Ford and 3 Chevy). The leasing companies instructions were: "Drive it until the 'change engine oil/engine oil life' light came on". Several times that ran into the 10K+ mileage range. The only vehicle that had problems was the pre-2010 Chevy that had the 'run on 4 cylinders' fuel saving mode. His didn't fail but several of his co-workers noticed engine issues prior to the end of the 100K leases.
I can't imagine running that long w/o doing normal maintenance tasks.
In 1990 I bought a 1984 Subaru with 22,000 miles. I called the lady I bought the car from ask her when the oil was last changed. She ask me why she would do that. Drove that car till it rusted out. Changed the oil every 5000 miles from then on till 150,000.
Back in my rangerin' days, I carpooled with a guy who had put 417K miles on his 70 Chevy C10 long bed. I once asked him how often he changed the oil in it. He said. "Never. It changes itself." 😁 Obviously worked for him.
I think you made a good call it may have been lack of record keeping, but as every one posted many more cars and trucks out their to pick from
Run from this one
If you bought it and did the proper PM’s that got skipped, you might have been fine. That being said, why chance it? You made the right call.
Jon
I went to the used car lot of the big Buick dealer today and bought a trade in. Nissan King Cab 4WD, a 2016 with 68,000 miles. This is a nice truck. 3 owners no wrecks. They were asking $19 Grand and I got them down to $17 Grand.
Thats really nice. Congrats Allen
I bought a '19 four door in March of 2020. So far it's been a good truck. I drive it like a sissy. I'm sick of working on vehicles. And paying someone else to. One thing I'll say is the squirrels like the wiring in mine. They got me twice. They prefer it over my wife's highlander. I'd say you got a good deal. That's decent mileage for a '16.
Looks real nice. Never thought I would see the day a 9 y/o/ truck would dell for 17k and that's why I am not rich. BUT that looks like it has a 100k left so sweet deal.
Great find, Allen! Looks just like mine, except I envy your 4wd.
Recommendation: If you have a Facebook account (I just made a fake/anonymous one), join the group “Nissan Frontier Club.” That thing has discussions on anything you could ever want to know about these trucks. Very helpful with tips and tricks and understanding the Frontier’s likes, dislikes, and common problems/fixes.
Good looking truck and the price seems right but having 3 previous owners with only 68,000 miles would've raised flags to me but bargains are out there for sure, many people pay that & more for some ATV's, you got a real truck 😀. Hope you lucked out and the 4x4 is the way to go, I use my 4x4 a lot year-round.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
Thanks for that tip Frogdog I will join that group.
I love the Frontier and this is my fifth one. I have over 600,000 miles on Frontiers. All 4WD. Two of them rusted out. Six years of driving in the salt and snow is/was murder on these trucks, and they rusted out, off to the crusher. I think they have begun to undercoat them, these days. Another Frontier, I was driving on I-85 in S Carolina, a drunk gal was drag racing at 105 mph, she smashed in to me from behind and totaled my Frontier, I saw the cops haul her off in handcuffs. I had 148,000 miles on that truck, dammit!
Easy come, easy go with the Frontier.
My friend bought a new Frontire two years ago. All the bells and whistles. $44,000.
Yes it has the suicide doors.
I have seen some really good deals on vehicles in the southeast recently. Before I bought I would check for flood damage. Worked with a guy who got a deal on a flood damage vehicle and between the electronic issues and the real axle going out sooner than later he was a sick puppy.
That's why I liked that first Nissan so much. I knew where it was during the flood, it was in the parking lot of the big grocery store with a FOR SALE sign in the window. That grocery store, like my house, was built 500 feet above the river so it didn't flood. But, that deal didn't work out.
This current vehicle was traded in to a reputable Buick/GM dealer named Harry's on the Hill several weeks ago. These guys are not going to put a bad vehicle on their used car lot, they have a good reputation to keep up. Plus, I test drove the truck for an hour and a half. I drove it all the way out in the woods to my house, to try on my 3/4 mile steep gravel driveway, to make sure the 4WD worked. The 4WD was flawless. Everything worked fine and above all, no problems with the electrical system.
jltrent you're right there are going to be some flood damaged vehicles for sale, you have to be careful.
ps In checking the dipstick on my new truck, I believe the one I didn't buy was 2 quarts low. This 4 liter engine holds 5 quarts of oil. One quart is in the oil filter. So only 2 quarts were circulating, instead of all 4 quarts. There was a little rattle in that engine when I cranked it up, I think I think there was damage to the piston rings.
I contemplated getting a 2019 Nissan Frontier Pro4X (last of the 4.0's). I couldn't do it, 13 years with my 2006 Nissan Frontier SE KC 4x4 was enough for me.
I sold my 2006 Frontier to a friend for $5k 2 years ago.
4 liter/244 cu. in. What is that, a 6 cylinder?
V-6
There is a little light on the dashboard, right in the middle. It is a figure of a red car with a key in the middle. It flashes on briefly, once every 2 seconds. It does not flash when the engine is running.
This light was not flashing when I bought the truck or I wouldn't have bought it. Have any of y'all ever dealt with this light?
Vehicle immobilizer system activated.
Vehicle will not start without key or key fob in close vicinity.
If key, fob is in close proximity, the battery of key fob is weak.
Goggle, immobilizer warning Nissan frontier
Red car with key, Nissan dashboard
My wife's RAV4 has a blinks red light for same reason, anti theft system.
As I read the info on yours, it means your system is working and normal.
There's a lot of info on this on Google. I replaced the fob battery and it didn't change the little flashing light.
Possibly read your owner's manual?
I'm pretty certain,what you describe is normal.
montanajoe, you are right it is normal.
Good, glad it is.
l'm old and tired. Before this current GM 1500, My last new truck was a 98 Frontier. Being old/tired l can't afford a used truck. June 2023 l bought a new full size GM 1500 4wd 4 door truck. Some folks thought l was wrong buying a GM after driving Nissans since 1987. Unfortunately, l just laid eyes on the NEWLY redesigned Nissan Frontier. W O W😍